Bolton available
Valerie Lelong is a little incredulous when I ask her what it is about rose that makes it such a star nowadays in the wine world.
“The pale pink colour, of course, is the most attractive aspect of roses from Provence,” she answers in a charming French accent.
“It’s also delightfully dry, so it can be paired with food or enjoyed on its own. And, although rose makes many people think of spring and summer, it is also a wonderful wine year-round.”
Lelong is the export director for the Wines of Provence and she comes to Canada every year at the end of May, along with the huge shipment of Provence roses that are stocked at liquor stores in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. The timing is deliberate. After all, drinkers tend to seek out roses in spring; the latest vintage of the wines from the Provence region of southeast France are just being released and June is declared rose month in B.C.
I caught up with Lelong by phone while she was in promotion-mode in Vancouver.
Roses from 14 different Provence producers are being stocked at liquor stores across B.C., including the government stores in Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon.
With 1.5 million bottles of roses from Provence being exported to Canada this year, the Great White North has turned into the eighth biggest export market.
The U.S., of course, is the biggest foreign consumer of Provence roses at 18 million bottles a year.
Provence is the birthplace of rose and its version is inevitably pale pink and made from red grape varieties like Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah after a gentle pressing and very limited skin contact.
The taste is dry, light and delicate with subtle fruit flavours and an aroma of white flowers and Provencal herbs.
While Lelong’s mission is to get you drinking more Provence roses, the pink promotion will also get people sipping the dozens of roses that are produced in the Okanagan.
Okanagan roses tend to be more fruit forward, a little darker in hue and made from all kinds of red grape varieties from Pinot Noir and Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.
Two newly released standouts are from Summerland wineries – the Secrest Mountain Gamay Noir rose from Haywire with its lifted-berry profile and the slightly-off-dry Evolve rose featuring strawberry and watermelon flavours.
Obrigado
Obrigado isn’t some obscure grape variety from a forgotten corner of Europe.
It’s the Portuguese word for thank you, and as such the perfect name for Bartier Brothers Winery’s early-picked unoaked Chardonnay.
“The grapes are from vineyards on the Cerqueira family’s property on Black Sage Road in Oliver,” said one of the Bartier brothers, Don.
“They are Portuguese, so making this wine in their honour is a great way of saying thank you to them.”
Don doesn’t actually make the wine, his brother, Michael, does.
Don says he’s the “other guy” who does “everything else.”
“The Obrigado absolutely confuses people,” adds Don.
“They don’t know what the name means and they can’t tell its Chardonnay.”
Because the Chardonnay grapes were picked early and the wine didn’t see any oak-aging, as most Chards do, the resulting Obrigado is a uniquely austere, but tasty with a nice balance of minerality and citrus.
The wine is only for sale for $21 only at the winery.
Some of Bartier Brothers’ other wines, from a traditionally-oaked Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Semillon to Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot, are available at Save-On Foods in Penticton and Kelowna and a few select private liquor stores.
Riesling galore
Alan Dickinson so loves Riesling his Okanagan Falls winery, Synchromesh, makes not one, not two, not three, but nine different Rieslings.
“We’re really exploring the terroir and the different soils and elevations warrant having nine different Rieslings,” said Dickinson.
“Germany may be the homeland of Riesling, but the Okanagan can do it extremely well, especially at higher elevations.”
Synchromesh’s offerings range from dry to off-dry and are described as German in style with an Okanagan zip of acidity.
The current lineup includes the 2016 Thorny Vines Vineyard, 2016 Four Shadows Vineyard, 2014 Storm Haven Vineyard, 2016 Bob Hancock Vineyard, 2016 Blend, 2016 Storm Haven White Label and 2016 Storm Haven Black Label.
The Blend at $22 is the entry-level wine, but still has a striking and complex array of fruit and acidity.
The Storm Haven Black Label is at the top end at $40 and can be drunk now while fresh or cellared for up to 40 years to develop Riesling’s signature aged flavour of marmalade and aroma of petrol (which is a good thing in this case).
Just so you don’t think it’s all about Riesling at Synchromesh, the winery also makes a lively rose and three reds – a Merlot, Cabernet Franc-Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
By the way, Synchromesh is actually the part of a vehicle’s transmission that helps everything work together, a characteristic that produces good wine as well.
Mission Hill Winery’s summer concert series is sold out except for a few specialized tickets to crooner Michael Bolton’s performance on July 8.
The $255 tickets are for the concert in the outdoor amphitheatre and pre-show wine and appetizers in the loggia lounge.
Book at MissionHillWinery.com or 250-762-5050.
Bolton is best known for his Grammywinning hits When a Man Loves a Woman and How Am I Supposed to Live With You.
All tickets are sold out for the three other shows at the West Kelowna winery this summer – the Cowboy Junkies on July 7, Jewel on July 28 and Chris Botti on Aug. 3.
Steve MacNaull is the Okanagan Weekend’s business reporter and columnist. But, he loves to eat and drink too, thus his new Fill ‘er Up column on the Wine & Dine page. Reach him at steve.macnaull@ok.bc.ca.