Little Engine Rosé 2019
I picked up a Little Engine Merlot from the Vintage Room at our local Everything Wine. At that time, the winery was newly opened and their Merlot was recommended to me while chatting about Bordeaux styles. I decided to cellar that particular bottle but it’s had me excited for a number of years to get to the winery and try their wines!
Luckily this summer, even with limited travel, we got up to Penticton and planned one day of wine touring with just three wineries. My must-try, Little Engine, VanWesten Vineyards and La Frenz. While the whole day was fabulous, Little Engine was a highlight. The setting feels like you’re sitting on the patio of a French country home, with surrounding lavender blowing in the Okanagan breeze.
We tasted through a number of their wines and managed to convince them to put a splash of this rosé as well. So glad we did... we brought a bottle home and enjoyed in with a fantastic holiday season charcuterie board.
This wine is a brilliant dark pink, as they accurately describe it, “the colour of a watermelon jolly rancher” with glitters of fuschia when swirled in the glass. The bouquet jumps from the glass with vibrant red berry: cranberry, cherry and tart strawberry. The cranberry, strawberry and cherry follow on the palate with undertones of citrus, Meyer lemon and grapefruit keeping it fresh. It’s a very mouth filling wine, made predominantly of Pinot Noir with about 1/3 Merlot. The bit of time it spent on the lees gives this wine a bit of weight without disrupting the fruit and acidity.
The charcuterie pairing worked wonders with this wine. Pick some of your favourite soft and hard cheeses, add some beautiful salami and prosciutto, nuts, fresh bread and a tart spiced cranberry spread. It’ll complement the wine and make for a hell of an evening.
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