Decanting Digest - Three fruit wines that capture the flavours of summer

A sommelier’s nose may turn upward at this notion, but a good fruit wine can be wonderful for summer sipping. Complex, nuanced, and cellar-worthy wines create a special experience, but sometimes it’s a simple and refreshingly chilled fruit wine that fits the bill on a hot day.

I’ve long been a fan of fruit wines from La Ferme Bourdages and seek it out in grocery store wine aisles whenever I’m driving home through Quebec. Imagine my surprise when we happened upon the farm itself on our recent road trip through the Gaspésie and I had the entire line of products at my disposal for sampling!

The farm has been owned by the same family since 1821, but it’s only in the past couple of decades that its strawberries and rhubarb have been transformed into these tantalizing tipples. In addition to the three wines reviewed below, the storefront in St-Siméon, Que., offers sparkling fruit wines, an aperitif and digestif, and a wide selection of baked goods, jams and other fruit spreads, alongside locally made artisan products. Many items can also be ordered online and shipped across Canada, though the fees are expensive. It’s best to make this a special treat to be picked up at select grocery stores or SAQ locations while passing through Quebec, or stop into the boutique during your own Gaspé road trip to find the best selection.

Léa Rhubarb White Wine
$19.00 for 750 mL, $14.00 for 375 mL

For rhubarb devotees, this wine is a beautiful thing. It combines the characteristic astringency of rhubarb with a just-enough hint of sweetness that doesn’t overpower the flavour. All but the most ardent rhubarb lovers will find this wine a little on the strong side on its own, but it’s brilliant mixed with sparkling water in summer spritzers or as part of creative cocktails, where the possibilities are endless.
Score: 7.5/10.

Laura Strawberry and Rhubarb Rosé
$19.00 for 750 mL, $14.00 for 375 mL

The combination of strawberry and rhubarb is one of the quintessential flavours of summer, and this wine captures its essence perfectly. The sweetness of strawberry and gentle tartness of rhubarb come together in perfect harmony to recreate those classic summer pie filling flavours in liquid form. Enjoy it as a patio sipper on its own, or you can make the most of it as I did when I got it home: alongside a plate of cheese and crackers with fruit preserves while getting dinner ready to put on the grill.
Score: 8/10.

Julia Strawberry Rosé
$19.00 for 750 mL, $14.00 for 375 mL

Of the wines being reviewed here, this is perhaps the most straightforward: it tastes of summery-sweet strawberries, through and through. There’s little nuance to it, but for the right person, that can be a good thing. It’s a refreshing and predictable companion to charcuterie or chocolate-based treats on a hot day, or it can be something different for drinks on the deck all on its own.
Score: 7.5/10

Steph is a successful, established freelance writer and has been a wine aficionado for more than two decades. Connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.
Decanting Digest appears every other Wednesday.
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