You gotta love it when July 1st's Canada Day falls on a Monday.
It's an automatic long weekend.
A three-day summer kick-off that demands patriotic fun and fabulous wine.
I'm declaring Rose the wine of Canada Day 2024 for two reasons.
The first is that today is actually International Rose Day.
It's timed to be the fourth Friday of every June to line up as closely as possible with June 21st or June 22nd's summer solstice.
But with the way the fourth Friday of the month falls this year, International Rose Day is closer to the end of June, crowding July 1st's Canada Day.
So, the only logical solution to this wine column scheduling dilemma is to combine International Rose Day and the Canada Day long weekend into a blockbuster of pink.
It's by no means a hardship.
Rose and Canada Day are the perfect summer long weekend pairing.
You can drink pink all on its own, of course.
But it's also a match for Canadian classic cuisine from West Coast salmon and maple syrup-marinated chicken on the barbecue to BC brie cheese and even poutine.
Like most famous wine varietals and styles, Rose originated in France.
That's why our list of 11 Roses for Canada Day starts with a French bottle.
See the list below.
But, the world has embraced Rose as a beautifully hued, sensual, fresh and crisp summer sipper.
And, all wine regions across the globe make some version of this pink wine, which is essentially a white wine made from red grapes.
The key to a perfectly pale Rose is just a few hours of skin contact with the newly pressed juice before fermentation starts.
The classic Rose profile is strawberries and cream, but there can also be aromas and flavours of cherry, raspberry, pink grapefruit, watermelon, cranberry, pomegranate, rhubarb and herbs de Provence.
The best examples are also finished dry with just a hint of sweetness to make them refreshing and mouthwatering.
These 11 Roses are such stunning examples and will be welcome this weekend at any Canada Day celebration, picnic, barbecue, patio, beach, bike ride or nature walk.
- Maison Sinnae Esprit du Rhone Reserve Rose 2022 ($24) from France
We had to include one non-Canadian bottle in a nod to Rose's French roots.
- Liquidity 2023 Estate Rose ($30) from Okanagan Falls
I like my Roses the paler the better and this one is so light it dances in the glass like a mirage.
- Laughing Stock 2023 Rose ($25) from the Naramata Bench
- Nk'Mip 2023 Rose ($30) from Osoyoos
- Tantalus 2023 Rose ($24)
- Hester Creek 2023 Rose Noir ($28) from Oliver
Billed as the new standard of excellence for pink in country, this wine just won 'rose of the year' at the All Canadian Wine Championships.
- Noble Ridge 2023 Rose ($25) from Oliver
- Narrative 2022 XC Sparkling ($27) from Summerland
Usually sparkling is in a heavy bottle with a mushroom-shaped cork under a metal cage and elaborate foil.
But this bubbly is in a regular bottle with a screw cap to reduce packaging and just to prove it can be done.
- Haywire 2022 Gamay Rose ($28) from Summerland
A dark, purposeful Rose.
- Maverick Premier Cuvee Sparkling Rose Brut ($35) from Oliver
In a traditional heavy bottle with mushroom-shaped cork, metal cage and elaborate foil in keeping with it being traditional Champagne-style bubbly.
Fireworks and wine
Sip wine and be wowed by Canada Day fireworks at the same time.
Nk'Mip Cellars in Osoyoos is hosting a Canada Day Fireworks Viewing Dinner on Monday on its patio.
Dinner starts at 7 pm and is a four-course affair of oysters with Okanagan cherry mignonette sauce, sablefish poached in brown butter, short ribs with polenta and maple-infused panna cotta for dessert.
Then, stick around for the 10 pm fireworks because the patio will have a stunning view of the pyrotechnics over Osoyoos Lake.
Tickets are $125 at: https://www.exploretock.com/
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
