Depending on where you live, spring can feel pretty different across the country.
If you’re fortunate, right now you’re being greeted with green things emerging and the smell of damp earth and spring blossoms. Those who live in the prairies are faced with less idyllic conditions, a roller-coaster of high-and-low temps, icy sidewalks and a never-ending amount of mud.
If you’re part of the latter, you may be in need of these spring wine picks more than most –a little something to boost your spirits and remind you that warmer weather is on the way…eventually.
Benjamin Bridge 2021 Wild Piquette (Gaspereau Valley, NS)
Fresh green hues are an immediate way to get you thinking about spring!
This unique and refreshing take on Piquette from Nova Scotia’s famed Benjamin Bridge pours a vibrant sea foam green with a bounty of tropical fruit wafting from the glass. Made by infusing their Piquette with marine plants and foraged sea berries, they provide a beautiful colour and deliver a gentle dose of salinity to help amplify the ripe fruit flavours.
It’s worth noting that Benjamin Bridge was one of the first wineries to reimagine the Piquette style as well as utilize aluminum can packaging, both as part of their commitment to sustainability and environmental preservation.
The Benjamin Bridge Wild Piquette can be purchased in 750 mL format and twelve packs of 250 mL cans.
Lock & Worth Winery 2022 Very Dry Cabernet Franc Rosé (Oliver, BC)
Matt Sherlock and Ross Hackworth–the leading minds behind BC’s Lock & Worth–are making really beautiful, precise wines.
Using grapes harvested from a vineyard they had planted in Oliver, their Very Dry Cabernet Franc Rosé (not to be confused with their off-dry rosé of the same varietal) is so delicately hued and delightfully fresh. The pale peach colour is achieved through just a few hours of skin contact, providing the wine a gentle dose of stone fruit on the nose and palate.
This is a gentle start to what I like to call “rosé drinking season”.
Trail Estate Winery 2021 Oh Juiius! (Prince Edward County, ON)
I had the great fortune of trying this delightful wine by way of Garneau Block. The Edmonton-based importer has partnered with Trail Estate Winery to bring this wine out west.
The packaging is different in Alberta than what is being released directly from the winery in Ontario, but what’s inside remains the same –a juicy, effervescent delivery of flavour! The wine is a blend of sauvignon blanc, viognier and riesling fermented on the skins, providing the sunny orange hue and gentle texture. Each varietal plays their part, delivering confected notes of tangerine and peach blossom. There’s also a really intriguing hint of tender pine needles that offer a refreshing and cleansing finish.
If you’re on the fence about orange wine, this is the one to put you over!
Trail Estate Winery 2021 Red Pet Nat (Prince Edward County, ON)
I wouldn’t typically include two selections from the same winery, but the bubbles in this wine got to my head and I would be remiss to not share this interesting red pet nat. Petillant naturel (i.e. “pet nat”) typically offers frothy bubbles and a little more funk than your typical sparkling wine, and this wine definitely brings the funk!
A blend of riesling, baco noir and cabernet franc immediately engages you upon opening. For any 80s and 90s kids, it smells like Fruitopia Fruit Interrogation (perhaps the best fruit punch ever made) with muddled rosemary and a bit of damp earth. It seems these soft piney notes are a recurring theme but it’s a smell that sings of springtime and regeneration.
This wine would also lend itself to some really fun food and wine pairings. (Think sauteed fiddleheads or flatbread with grilled ramps and goat cheese!)
Haywire Winery 2020 Garnet Valley Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir (Summerland, BC)
Haywire Winery was formerly known as Okanagan Crush Pad until rebranding earlier this year. It’s a leader in organic viticulture in Canada and makes truly top notch wines.
Lead by Christine Coletta, the entire lineup of wines from Haywire is deeply emblematic of the Okanagan Valley. This wonderful pinot noir from the 40-acre Garnet Valley Ranch Vineyard is no exception.
Pinot Noir is beautiful any time of year but I find it particularly enjoyable this time of year as a backdrop to spring halibut and tender garden greens. It has classic cherry notes with a lingering smell of ocean driftwood and warm cedar. The tannins are gentle but present and the acidity is clean and precise.
