Winemaker Elaine Vickers thrives on the cutting edge.
"Basically, what we've done is refresh the brand by making the same varietals of wines, but in a new, fun way," said the winemaker from Red Rooster Winery on the Naramata Bench.
For instance, Red Rooster is the only Okanagan winery to make a Champagne-style sparkling wine from Malbec.
Traditionally, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are used for sparkling.
However, Vickers experimented with Malbec, loved the results and bottled it to share with the public.
The Red Rooster Sparkling Rose ($30) is fresh and fruity with a cranberry and pink grapefruit profile, but it still has the texture and fine, long-lasting bubbles you expect from a Champagne-style sparkler.
Generally, wines are fined and filtered before bottling to clarify and extract any stray protein particles and yeast cells.
Red Rooster didn't fine or filter its 2021 Sur Lie Chardonnay ($25).
"As a result, it can appear a little cloudy," said Vickers.
"But that's on purpose. It's one of our favourite wines here at Red Rooster."
Sur lie refers to the wine being in constant contact during aging with the dead yeast cells left over after fermentation.
Such contact adds more texture, flavour and aroma for a Chard that's rich in the mouth with a crisp apple, grilled pineapple and fresh lemon profile.
The 2020 Carbonic Merlot Malbec ($29) is Vickers' first vintage of wine that underwent carbonic maceration.
The process sees whole-cluster grapes fermented in a sealed tank full of carbon dioxide to extract a red wine that's lighter in taste and colour and is low the tannins that can make a wine astringent and create an unpleasant drying effect on your palate.
"This wine is meant to be fresh and fruity," said Vickers.
Petit Verdot tends to be the least known of the five traditional red Bordeaux varietals originating from France because it's used as a minor blending partner with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and-or Malbec to amp it up with some extra colour and structure.
Vickers decided to make the unfamiliar grape the star of the show in the yet-to-be-released 2020 Petit Verdot, which shines with flavours and aromas of violet, blueberry and vanilla.
Vickers has been with Red Rooster since 2019, which is when the winery started to rebrand, including taking poultry off the labels in favour of more abstract imagery of vineyard soils and the winemaking process.
Red Rooster is part of the Andrew Peller Ltd. family of wineries that also includes Peller Estates, Sandhill, Gray Monk, Tinhorn Creek, Black Hills, Good Natured and Wayne Gretzky.
While part of a much bigger company, Red Rooster maintains a separate entity so it can continue to produce distinctive wines.
Dine Around
Dine Around Okanagan starts Tuesday with a launch party at Metro Hub in downtown Kelowna.
The stand up reception features 10 food stations and wine and beer booths.
Tickets for the 6:30 to 8:30 pm event are $75 at DineAround.ca/Kelowna.
On the same website you can see a list of all 60 restaurants that are participating in Dine Around Okanagan from Wednesday to Feb. 9.
Each listing also has the specially developed lunch and dinner menus and the suggested wine and beer pairings the restaurant is offering for set prices of $25 to $65 per person.
Dine Around is deliberately scheduled this time of year to encourage people to eat and drink out in the traditionally slow time between New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day.
The promotion is also designed to get you to try new restaurants, wine and beer or frequent your favourite resto more often.
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.
