Why not try an NB rosé this week?

We have great wine starting to come from our wineries here in NB, and today I want to focus my attention on rosé. 

Rosé wines are made one of two ways. In traditional rosé winemaking, red wine grapes are harvested and crushed and allowed to ferment with their skins on for a little bit of time. The skin is what gives the wine its colour. The grapes are pressed once the colour is deep enough, and then left to continue fermenting and ageing.

The second method for producing rosé involves taking a red wine and a white wine, in most cases already fermented, and blending the two wines together with a larger proportion of white to red, creating that beautiful pink colour that just screams "summer sipper".

In addition to variations in vinification (winemaking), rosé wines also vary greatly in their sugar content, going from very dry to almost syrupy sweet. Here in NB, we have an additional variety of rosé wines, fruit-based. Strawberry, Strawberry-Rhubarb, Raspberry, Cranberry - these all produce beautiful rosé wines of varying intensity.

Rosé, thanks to it's versatility and balance of acid, tannins, and usually fruit-forward flavours, is a wonderful pairing for the great Canadian BBQ! The classic strawberry nose of most rosés lend themselves nicely to pairing with a bit of smoke and char. For spicier dishes, choose a sweeter wine, and for lighter vegetable and fish dishes, consider going with something drier so it doesn't overpower your meal.

Here are some great choices (many of which are available at the Superstores in ANBL's wine pilot program):
Mott's Landing - Wild Rosé 
Mott's Landing - Cranpagne
Gillis of Belleisle - Honey Rosé (a little bit sweeter)
Magnetic Hill Winery - Mystique
Belliveau Orchard - Sour cherry
Winegarden Estate - Raspberry