There are so many interesting and exciting new wines hitting the market at this time of year that I decided to double up on this theme and present another batch that includes different styles from east and west. I will focus on wines that show well as fresh 2025 releases and that rarely get much attention in Canada: rose and sauvignon blanc. I have tasted several of both in preparing this post. Then there are two debuts from Niagara’s eminent Dobbin Estate, and big ripe Osoyoos Bordeaux blend reds from La Stella and Osoyoos-Larose.

Canadian Rose

Canada makes plenty of pink wine, largely for practical and commercial reasons. It is relatively quick and easy to produce. It is moderately priced and it is increasingly popular, which makes it a cash-flow wine. But it can achieve recognizable quality as well. Thirty-one roses achieved gold, silver or bronze medals at the National Wine Awards in 2025. The one natural advantage Canada has is the high acidity that makes rose refreshing, which is its prime lot in life. But rose also provides a comfy backdrop to fresh summer cuisines, even those that range into stronger Central and South American, African and Asian flavours.

Below I have done full reviews and backgrounders on three styles of rose being made in Canada: from Burgundy grapes like pinot noir and gamay; from Bordeaux grapes like cabernet franc and merlot; and from one-off grapes like French cinsault and Spanish mencia (see post 11). All are from the 2025 vintage that was ripe but balanced in both B.C. and Ontario

I was most stirred by the pinot noir rose examples. They captured these lovely red fruit aromas — cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, red currant — that combine to provide what I call “pinosity.” They were uniformly bright, brisk, intensely flavoured and, at times, elegant. Some showed rounding sweetness through small amounts of residual sugar, but none were what I would call off-dry. Acids were crisp, alcohols moderate, and tannins very mild. I have focused on the superb Le Vieux Pin Vaila in the reviews, but also really liked 2025 examples from King + Victoria in Niagara, Grange of Prince Edward (a pinot/gamay blend) in PEC, and 1 Mill Road Pinot Noir from Naramata (previously reviewed in Post 11).

Given the wide planting of cabernet franc (No. 1 red in Ontario) and merlot (No. 1 red in B.C.) it follows that there should be many roses made from these Bordeaux varieties. I expect a bit more colour depth and weight from this style. The fruit can be more raspberry-like and, when cabernet franc figures in the blend, some fresh and dried herbal character reveals itself. These wines tend to be a bit more weighty, smoother and softer. Some can show some sweetness, which needs to be restrained. A fine example from La Stella is reviewed below. Stratus Cabernet Franc Rose 2025 from Niagara-on-the-Lake shows the richer, medium-bodied and softer style, with a trace of sweetness, that made me think of Tavel Rose from the south of France.

Globally, the Provençal style of very pale, almost translucent but aromatic, smooth and discreet rose has become hugely important. But the Mediterranean varieties that render these wines do not grow well in Canada. Yet Terra Vista of B.C, which has developed the En Terre series, found a sunbaked pocket of cinsault in Okanagan Falls and has given it a very good shot. (See the review below.) Elsewhere across the country there are the singular roses made from unusual red varieties. Any red grapes can be deployed to make pink and in Canada there are all kinds, including roses made from hybrid varieties in eastern parts of the country. 

Sauvignon Blanc

In the weeks ahead I plan a deep dive into Canadian sauvignon blanc, focused more on the Bordeaux-inspired, barrel-aged blends of sauvignon blanc and semillon that are growing in numbers and stature in both B.C. and Ontario. I have tasted some grand wines in this genre in the past two years. 

But this post features three intense and refreshing unoaked 2025s from three regions: Prince Edward County, Twenty Mile Bench in Niagara, and the South Okanagan. And I am keen on them, with the Canadian un-oaked style falling between New Zealand and the Loire, but dialing a bit closer to the latter thanks to our cooler (than New Zealand) climate, and the minerality of soils in both Ontario and B.C. 

Canadian winters can be a challenge to sauvignon blanc, which has a lower tolerance to winter cold than other vinifera, so its rise in prominence in both provinces perhaps speaks to growing viticultural confidence wrought by a warming climate. I am so pleased to see this body of work flourishing.

Please see 12 reviews of new releases below. And look forward to our next post on May 28 that details Canada’s best rieslings.