We’re now a few months into the Crafted in BC wines tenure and, honestly, they’re really good. As a primer, these are wines that are made by B.C. wineries with grapes from Washington, Oregon, California and, in the case of Mission Hill and CedarCreek, New Zealand, under an exemption from the province to help deal with the killer cold front that decimated the Okanagan and Similkameen crops in 2024. The move has been allegedly controversial, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why, given the stakes involved. I suppose some people are concerned it may dilute the value of the VQA brand, to which I say, it won’t, not with the quality I’ve seen so far. And also said brand (“VQA”) is not nearly the draw for consumers that some industry folk think it is. Our quality is our brand, not the designation. I suppose there are people who are boycotting all things USA and, while I can’t fault that (assuming they’re doing the same with things from China or Myanmar), I would note that almost all of these grapes were contracted for before the tariffs kicked in (and point made clear by the wonderful label from Spearhead’s Dual Citizen wines that notes, “Before the Insanity”). I’d also note that the vast majority of wine industry folk in the aforementioned states are as blue as Paul Bunyan’s ox. And if none of those sway your opinion, how about the fact that a very significant amount of our wineries would go out of business, save for this lifeline, and it’s really important to me that that doesn’t happen?

Spearhead’s awesome label (on their equally awesome white Pinot)

But if you want another reason? The wines are excellent. I’ll do a deeper dive on the vintage and locales in the near future, but for now I want to present Exhibits A-E to demonstrate just how good these wines are.

 

Wine Bartier Pristine Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé $20

Grapes Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington’s Soaring Eagle Vineyard, Wahluke Slope AVA

Notes Mike Bartier, normally makes 1 rosé, but this year he made 3. A Vin Gris, a more classic rosé (available at the BCL) and this version with Cabernet Sauvignon and he priced them all below $20. And they’re all great. Normally I stay away from Cabernet Sauvignon rosés like the plague as the tannic grape is usually ill-suited to the pink, but here Bartier weaves some magic and makes a wine that has some heft and crunch without losing it’s versatility. A juicy wagyu burger with cheese and bacon would be such a friendly pairing with this bargain. Winery and private stores.

 

Wine Tantalus Looney Vineyard Rosé $23.50

Grapes Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Ribbon Ridge AVA

Notes Tantalus’ “normal” rosé is always one of the best deals in the Okanagan so the bar for this offering using Oregon Pinot is high. And, as it turns out, ably exceeded. This is exactly what you want in a Pinot rosé ; lovely pale colour, subtle raspberry, wild strawberry with secondary crisp stone fruits and with this pedigree (Oregon Pinot don’t come cheap, especially when it’s vineyard specific) it should cost $36 here. Instead it’s a 1/3 of that. I’ll take a case please.

Wine 1 Mill Road Grenache Rosé $38

Grapes Grenache from Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills AVA

Notes So not everything is a deal…but you’ll be hard pressed find another Okanagan rosé like this (although I understand Blasted Church is doing a Grenache Rosé with WA grapes too). That’s mostly because is Grenache, one of the most widely planted grapes in the world and the base for so many of those Provence rosés everyone is willing to pay so much money for, is rarely grown in BC. Stag’s Hollow is the OG with their plantings and Bartier has some too, but it’s slim pickings. But this is not pale Provence Grenache—this wine has crunch, texture, salinity to go with it’s  bitter orange and marasca cherry. 1 Mill Road is killing it with their Pinots and Chardonnay so I shouldn’t be surprised this one off is so intriguing, but it is. And it’s still cheaper – and miles better and more compelling – than that $40 Whispering Angel you so love.

Wine Quails’ Gate Field and Flight Rosé $18 (on sale until July 26)

Grapes Pinot Noir from Lodi, California

Notes Unlike almost all the other wineries in BC the Stewart Family have a long connection to grapes in the US. They’ve long had an interest in Sonoma’s Lake Sonoma winery and they also had the Plume label which are American-graped or made wines. So it’s not a surprise that they’re able to do the impossible: make a rosé, either Canadian or Californian, that’s $18 that’s fantastic. There’s such a welcoming fruit profile here with plenty of ripe strawberry tempered with some tart cranberry that I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be charmed by this. If I’m having a party and want to put a case on ice that shows I’m serious about wine without taking out a second mortgage, then this is what I’m reaching for.

Wine Mission Hill Terrior Collection Rosé $39

Grapes Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley

Notes Well, this is a jump in price. And I don’t love that it’s not a designated vineyard. But you know what makes up for that – it’s a really beautifully made wine with a great ability to keep quite ample fruit steadied with vibrant acidity. I’m always a tiny bit skeptical about the “serious about rosé” trope that people trot out all the time (in part because there’s such amazing rosé for such great deals, see above) but this is in fact a serious wine and at $1 cheaper than the 8 zillions bottles of Whispering Angel (sorry for piling on Whispering Angel, but you’re the industry standard for “prestige” rosé) that get churned out every year, it’s still a very solid buy.