Are you looking for some new Rosé wines to try? I have been lucky to try some wonderful Croatian Rosé wines made from Croatian indigenous grapes. It wasn’t until recently that Croatian Rosé Wines have become available in Ontario. Of course, I made sure to stock up!
Although rosé wine is a popular choice during the hot summer months, Rosé wine can be enjoyed any time of the year.
Croatian Rosé Wines Available in Ontario
These Croatian Rosé Wines are available online at the LCBO website in Ontario. You can also order your Croatian wine in Ontario at Croatia Unpacked. It is super simple to order wine online and it is delivered right to your door.
Testament Opolo Rosé 2019
Testament Opolo Rosé is a beautiful rosé wine made with Babić grapes. Babić is an indigenous Croatian red wine grape commonly grown in Northern Dalmatia. You will see it grown in and around the towns of Šibenik and Primošten.
Testament Opolo Rosé is made by destemming and crushing the grapes with a gentle pressing with skin contact that lasts for two hours. They ferment this wine for two months and add additional stirring on the lees to add complexity.
This rosé is fresh and crisp with flavours of peach, melon, and some floral flavours. This is a great summer wine to be enjoyed with pizza, pork, fish, and various cheeses. During a live wine tasting with Jure from Testament winery, he indicated that he likes to pair this Opolo Rose with roasted crackling pork. Roasted pork is a traditional Croatian food you will find throughout Croatia. Make sure to serve this wine chilled at 10°C.
Kutjevo Rosé Wine 2019
This Premium Kutjevo Rosé is a blend of Pinot Noir and Zweigelt varieties and made in Slavonia. It has a delicate orange-pink hue colour that was achieved by skin contact for more than 20 hours giving it a salmon colour.
It has refreshing fruit aromas and flavours of rose, fresh strawberries, and raspberries, and I also got some stone fruit. I am also getting some “cotton candy” flavours on the finish. It is a refreshing rosé with well-composed acidity that is low in sugar 5g/L with 12% alcohol.
Although it pair perfect with salads, poultry and fish, it is also wonderful on its own.
Volarević La Chic! Rosé 2019
This Volarević La Chic Rosé is a beautiful, crisp rosé that is made from 100% Plavac Mali. Plavac Mali is the primary red wine grape grown along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. The name Plavac Mali translates to little blue, referring to the little blue grapes.
These grapes are harvested by hand overnight to preserve acidity and aromas. The grapes have undergone a gentle pressing at low temperatures to achieve a light rose colour. The fermentation is at lower temperatures to preserve the fruity aromas.
As soon as I opened this bottle of Volarević La Chic! Rosé 2019, I got extreme aromas and flavours of fresh strawberries. This is a light and refreshing wine that is perfect for the summer. It pairs easily with anything. Try it with pizza, seafood, pork, and charcuterie.
Damjanić Penelope Rosé 2019
This Damjanić Penelope Rose 2019 is made from 100% Borgonja grapes from Istria. Borgonja grapes are also known as Blaufränkisch and Gamay.
This Penelope Rosé has a beautiful pink colour and has aromas and flavours of strawberries and raspberries with some minerality.
It is a fresh wine that pairs well with many dishes. Try it with feta, spinach and strawberry salad, salmon, soft cheeses, chicken, charcuterie and even pizza.
Croatian Rosé Wines Conclusion
These are some of the top Croatian Rosé Wines I have tried and I would highly recommend. They are all a wonderful introduction to Croatian indigenous grapes. I am looking forward to trying some more Croatian Rose wines.
