Results of the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)
Rosé
Category Overview by judge Craig Pinhey
There has been a major trend towards pale, dry rosé wines in the past 10 years, and it does not seem to be subsiding. Good rosé is made from a wide range of grapes, as well as styles, from bone dry to off-dry or even quite sweet or sparkling, and in all of Canada’s wine regions. There are also different techniques used, such as blending whites with a little red wine, or using a short skin contact time for red grapes.
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The best rosés usually come from savoury or even spicy grapes with red fruit aromas and flavours, including pinot noir, cabernet franc, gamay noir and syrah, but can be made from any red grape, really. Rosé wines have become really popular as a sipping wine by the glass, particularly in warmer weather, but good dry rosé can be excellent with a wide range of foods, too, from seafood to poultry, pork, burgers, and vegetarian dishes.
CedarCreek 2021 Pinot Noir Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Liquidity 2021 Estate Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lunessence 2021 ESV Blanc de Noirs Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tawse 2020 Sketches Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Unsworth Vineyards 2021 Rosé, British Columbia
13th Street 2021 Gamay Vin Gris, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
CedarCreek Platinum 2020 Home Block Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Chronos 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Corcelettes 2021 Oracle Rosé, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Deep Roots 2021 Rosé, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Divergence Wines 2021 Pinot Noir Rosé Crispino Vineyard, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Enrico 2020 Red Dragon Rosé, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Fielding 2021 Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Foxly 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Keint-He 2021 Portage Rosé, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Laughing Stock 2021 In the Pink Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lunessence 2021 Small Lot Series Vin Gris, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Malivoire 2021 Vivant Rosé, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Mirabel 2021 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2021 Reserve Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Peller Estates Niagara 2021 Private Reserve Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Red Rooster 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Road 13 Rosé 2021, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Rocky Creek 2021 Robin’s Rosé, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Rust Wine Co. 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stoneboat Pinot House 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Thirty Bench 2021 Winemaker’s Blend Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tinhorn Creek 2021 Reserve Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Two Sisters 2021 Margo, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Wayne Gretzky Okanagan 2021 Founders Series Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
180 Estate Winery 2020 Gamay Rosé Mia Cara Vineyard, Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
50th Parallel 2021 Pinot Noir Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Black Hills Estate Winery 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Bordertown 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Chain Reaction 2021 True Colours Pinot Noir Rosé, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Creekside 2021 Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
EastDell 2019 Summer Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Gray Monk 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Hillside 2021 Rosé, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Indigenous World 2021 Red Fox Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Inniskillin Niagara 2020 Reserve Cabernet Franc Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Intrigue Wines 2021 Social Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Kacaba 2021 Summer Series Rebecca Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Lake Breeze 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lakeside Cellars 2021 Rosé Lakeshore Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lunessence 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Magnotta 2020 Pinot2 Rosé Venture Series, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Ladybug Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2021 Rosé Moira, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Maverick 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mayhem 2021 Merlot Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Megalomaniac 2021 Pink Slip Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Modest Wines 2021 Eye of the Partridge, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2021 Rosé, British Columbia
Nk’Mip Cellars 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Organized Crime 2021 Rosé, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
River Stone 2021 Malbec Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Sandhill 2021 Rosé Terroir Driven Wine, British Columbia
Sandhill 2021 Sangiovese Rosé Single Block C9 Sandhill Estate Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Seven Stones 2021 Pebble Beach Rosé, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Speck Bros. Wine 2021 Three of Hearts Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Stag’s Hollow 2021 Syrah Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stratus 2021 Gamay Rosé, Niagara Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tawse 2020 Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Therapy 2021 Pink Freud, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Trius 2021 Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Wayne Gretzky 2021 Founders Series Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Wesbert 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
