Rosé wines are quite enjoyable in the summer while you are on your patio, enjoying a meal, but these wines fit in throughout the year with their red fruit flavours and bright acidity. In BC we are familiar with the rose wines made here and maybe with rosé wines from Provence, but we should also be considering Ontario rosé wines. Part of our Elbows Up initiative across Canada. Both provinces have different terroirs, so we should expect different expressions of rosé in the glass. The southern Ontario Niagara region is known for their limestone soil. Limestone imparts stony minerality, bright acidity, and crisp fruit flavours to wine.
I received eleven rosé wines in total from a few Ontario wineries to review and get a better idea of how their wines taste. I sat down with six other wine tasters I know, and we went through each of these wines, discussing them. Below is some background information from each winery about their wine, followed by my wine-tasting notes. The wines were opened and tasted without any decanting. The most used grape for these rosé wines was Pinot Noir, followed by Cabernet Franc.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Redstone Winery Rosé 2025 (ON $22.95) – a blend of Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Merlot.
It has a clear, medium-intensity peach colour. Medium-intensity aromas of red fruits and strawberries. Dry, medium-plus body with a lean, smooth mouthfeel. Brighter acidity. Medium tannins. Tart red fruits, strawberries, and stoniness on the palate. Medium to medium-plus length, finishing with tart strawberries, stoniness, and some bitter grape stem on the finish. 
Redstone Winery Vineyard Rosé 2025 (ON $26.95) – 100% Syrah from their Redstone vineyard.
Clear, medium-plus intensity salmon colour. Medium-intensity aromas of red fruit with some pepperiness. This wine is dry, medium-plus body with a lean, thicker mouthfeel. Red fruits, some red cherries, grape stem bitterness, pepperiness, and stoniness on the palate. Medium acidity and tannins. The wine finishes with a red cherry flavour, plus some grape stem bitterness and stoniness.
The Grange of Prince Edward Rosé Northfield Block, Victoria Block, Isabela Block 2025 (ON $25) – a blend of 68% Gamay and 32% Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir was handpicked and pressed into a light pink juice. Fermentation started for 5 days until the Gamay was picked and pressed into the same stainless tank, beginning a co-fermentation. A slow, cool fermentation preserved fruity aromas. The wine matured in stainless for six months before bottling.
This wine has a pale, clear, peach skin colour. Light aromas of peaches, strawberries, and stoniness. Dry, medium-minus to medium body with a smooth, soft mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Light flavours of peach, strawberries, and stony minerality. Medium-plus length, finishing with strawberry flavour and a touch of grape stem bitterness.
As an aside, we had sushi to nibble on as we sipped the wines. This wine with its acidity and light flavours made an excellent pairing with sushi.
Tawse Winery Estate Rosé 2025 (ON $23.95) – a blend of 54% Pinot Noir and 46% Syrah. To impact structure and colour, it was made using a process called “saignée,” in which we combine the free-run juice of select single-vineyard reds before they are pressed.
A clear, medium-intensity orange-rose colour. Medium-intensity aromas of ripe cherries and red fruits. Deeper aromas. Dry, medium-pls body with a soft, thicker mouthfeel. Rhubarb, ripe cherries, and some pepperiness. I get a nice mouthfeel from this wine. Medium acidity and lighter tannins. Medium-plus length, finishing with flavours of red cherries and pepperiness, plus touches of tannins and grape stem bitterness. A tasty wine. – 
Tawse Winery Quarry Road Rosé 2025 – Crafted from carefully sourced Pinot Noir grapes from the Quarry Road Estate Vineyard, we use a process called “saignée”, to impart structure and colour.
Pale, clear peach colour. Medium-minus intensity aroma of strawberries. This wine is dry, medium-plus body with a really smooth, soft mouthfeel. Medium-plus flavours of strawberries and stoniness. Medium-plus length finishing with strawberry flavour, stony minerality, and a hint of pepperiness. –
Cave Spring Vineyard Rosé Dry 2025 (ON $17.95) – a blend of 43% Gamay, 42% Cabernet Franc, 7% Pinot Noir, and 8% Riesling.
Clear, medium-minus intensity peach colour. Medium-intensity aromas of strawberries and stoniness. Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth, soft, thicker mouthfeel. Rhubarb, red cherries, some candied cherry flavours with stoniness picking up toward the finish. Medium acidity and light tannins. Red fruits, stoniness, and a little peppery on the finish. An elegant wine.
Cave Spring Vineyard Estate Rosé 2025 (ON $27.95) – made from 100% Gamay.
A clear, lighter orange-salmon colour. Pleasing, light aromas of strawberries and red fruits. This wine is dry with medium to medium-plus body. Medium to medium-plus acidity. Lighter tannins. Strawberries, red fruits, and stoniness, plus some grape stem bitterness and pepperiness. Medium-plus length, finishing with red fruits, pepperiness, stoniness, and some grape stem bitterness. –
drea’s wine co. rosato 2024 (ON $28.50) – I used Dornfelder for its deep, rich colour. In contemplating using it for my rosé it was apparent that the juice could only spend a moment or two on the skins for colour extraction, so the saignée method was used. Even this short time resulted in a deep coloured rosé which is why I have named it a Rosato. The wine was fermented bone dry.
This was a controversial wine with our tasters, with some loving it as it was so different and others not enjoying it for the same reason.
It has a clear, medium-intensity salmon colour. Medium-plus intensity aromas of pine needles, flint, and a touch of red fruit. Dry, medium-minus body, but medium-plus intensity of flavours. A smooth and soft mouthfeel. Floral and red fruits, with touches of pepperiness, pine needles, and grape stem bitterness. I found the floral component of this wine quite unique. Medium-plus length finishing with floral, red fruits, and some grape stem bitterness on the palate.
drea’s wine co. Cuvee Rosé Brut 2025 (ON $32.50) – 100% Pinot Noir.
This was our only sparkling rosé wine to taste. It has a clear, medium-intensity cherry colour. Light bubbles in the glass. It is dry, medium-plus body with a thicker mouthfeel. A mix of medium-sized creamy and biting bubbles. Medium-plus acidity. Medium-plus length finishing with rhubarb and strawberry flavours.
Reif Estate Winery ‘It’s Complicated’ Rosé 2024 (ON $23.95) – This wine is a blend of classic Bordeaux varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.
Clear, medium-intensity peach colour in the glass. Medium intensity, flinty nose. Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth, textured mouthfeel. Raspberries, red cherries, and plums, plus touches of sweet spices and pepperiness on the palate. Medium-plus to long length, finishing with red fruits, some grape stem bitterness, and sweet spice flavours.
Reif Estate Winery ‘Fortune’ Cabernet Rosé 2024 (ON $19.95) – The Cabernet Franc grapes were harvested from our estate and then crushed and allowed to spend 6 hours on the skins for colour and flavour extraction, pressed from the skins, and then cold fermented for ten days in stainless steel using white winemaking procedures.
A medium-intensity clear orange colour in the glass. Very light aromas of red fruits. Dry, medium body with a very soft and smooth mouthfeel. Light red fruit flavours with a touch of pepperiness and stoniness. Lighter acidity. Medium length, finishing with light red fruit flavours. –
Group Comments
In general, many of the wine tasters mentioned that these wines tasted minerally. Red fruits are the most common flavour, along with a few mentioning floral. Bright acidity and a lean mouthfeel. The word “texture” was used. I too agree that these wines had a textural feel to them, which came from the limestone soil.
If you love drinking Chablis wine, you will probably enjoy these rosé wines. They both come from limestone soils. Chablis offers minerality, bright acidity, and crisp fruit flavours, just like these rosé wines.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
All these wines can be purchased online from their respective winery:
I have not checked, but some of these wines should be available via the LCBO stores across Ontario.
Thank you to each of these wineries for providing me with a sample of their latest rose releases. It was very educational and shows the mineral terroir of southern Ontario. Thank you also to my wine-tasting friends for their feedback as we tasted each wine.
