Last Friday night the Oakville Wine Enthusiasts Club (OWEC) monthly tasting was lead by the delightful Krystina Roman from Rosewood Estates Winery. She is their "Social Bee" and explained to the club how everyone at the winery has a "Bee" name including her mom, the Queen Bee. Krystina told the group about her family history of beekeeping spanning three generations and how this along with family trips to Europe and a love for Niagara inspired her parents to open their winery.
Krystina’s grandpa who had experimented with making mead (honey wine, one of the world’s oldest fermented beverages), passed less than a year before she was born. Today the family produces several mead wines using their estate produced honey, and club members received a small jar of Niagara Bench Wildflower Honey to take home. The Rosewood 2013 Trois Femmes Rosé commemorates three generations of beekeepers in the family with a label symbolizing Krystina, her mom and grandmother. Unfortunately for the club, this wine is sold out and we did not taste it, although the club enjoyed many other outstanding Rosewood wines!
Six wines were tasted beginning with their 2013 Sémillon. Krystina told the club how passionate her family became about this grape while touring Bordeaux. She remarked on how special it was that they could plant this grape in Niagara and produce a single vineyard 100% Sémillon wine in Beamsville. She also shared that unfortunately this was the last vintage year due to harsh winters over the past two years. Rosewood lost over 10 of their 45 acres of vines and decided to pull out their Sémillon along with their Merlot, Gewürztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc vines to make way for heartier varietals better suited for the cool and at times unpredictable climate of Niagara.
Krystina, the "Social Bee"Krystina, the "Social Bee"
The club tasted Rosewood’s 2012 Origin Chardonnay (wild ferment, barrel aged), 2012 Select Pinot Noir, 2012 Select Merlot (their 2010 Merlot won Gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2012), 2013 Origin Cabernet Franc (new vintage bottled last month, the OWEC was the first to taste it!), and 2013 Select Süssreserve Riesling (one of Krystina’s favourites).
Rosewood is turning seven in May! Visit the cellar door (their tasting room) during weekends in May when they will be pulling out bottles of their 2010 Merlot for tasting. Rosewood is one of the eight wineries celebrating the Bench during the annual Graze the Bench event happening June 6 & 7. If you can’t make it to this event, maybe I will see you on one of my Niagara Vino tours which includes a visit to Rosewood Estates Winery.
The next OWEC tasting is scheduled for April 24th with the Trialto Wine Group. Mark your calendar for next year’s Esoterica Wine Fair. The second annual fair in March was a great success resulting in over $35,000.00 in sales for the exhibitors. Over 250 club members and guests had the opportunity to check out 11 Ontario wineries, 7 wine agencies, and 1 craft brewery with cheese and antipasto by Whole Foods all for $5.00 admission fee during this OWEC event - good value for all.