Rust Rosé 2018 in a magnum

 Photo: Magnum of Rust  rosé

The Rust Wine Co. has the answer for those who don’t get enough rosé from just a standard bottle.

Rust has just released its 2018 rosé in a magnum bottle (in other words, a two-bottle format). It is $34.99 a bottle and is available at orders@bacchusgroup.ca.

The special feature about this wine is that $5 from each sale goes to the B.C. Hospitality Foundation, supporting the BCHF’s charitable work within its industry. “We are proud to be part of the incredibly diverse hospitality industry that plays such an important role in this province,” says winery spokesman Jesse Harnden.

“We are grateful for the support we receive from the public,” says Dana Harris, the executive director of BCHF. “But support from within our own community is essential for us to deliver on our mission.”

That mission ranges from financial assistance to hospitality workers facing financial crises due to medical circumstances to scholarships for emerging talents in the hospitality industry.

Rust is a winery midway between Oliver and Osoyoos and operated for a number of years as Rustico. The vineyard at the winery is notable for its block of Old Vines Zinfandel. Those grapes were not used for the rosé, probably because a bottle of Zinfandel table wine commands a much better price than a rosé. Pink wine has become very popular – but not popular enough to get the big return that other table wine gets.

Through its sister winery, Mt. Boucherie, Rust has access to grapes from various other vineyards. This rosé was made with Merlot from the Lazy River Vineyard near Cawston in the Similkameen Valley.

This is a saignée rosé – in other words, some juice was drained (or bled) from a tank of crushed Merlot after the juice has spent 18 hours in contact with the skins. Consequently, this is not one of those fashionably wimpy rosés but a wine with enough colour to make a statement in the glass. The wine was fermented with indigenous yeast.

Here is my note.

Rust Rosé 2018 ($34.99 for a magnum). The wine presents with hue of a red apple. There are aromas and flavours of orange zest and ripe strawberry with a hint of spice on the finish. The soft acidity gives the wine an easy quaffability. 89.