by Treve Ring | Lock & Worth is a new Naramata partnership between Matthew Sherlock and Ross Hackworth, longtime colleagues and comrades from Nichol Vineyard, which is further up the Naramata Bench. The duo’s low interventionist winemaking philosophy shines again here, with this whole cluster, unfined and unfiltered (yes, there are harmless floaties in the bottom, get over it) cabernet franc rosé from a single vineyard. There’s a whisper of orange pink peach, but what this rose lacks in colour it makes up for in acidity. It’s bone dry, with ripping mineral and citrus pith-laced acidity, light smoked stone, green apple, Anjou pear and delicate mandarin and floral notes. Honesty and vibrancy – more of this please. I recently talked to Matt about this characterful and uncharacteristically BC rosé…

Straight up – why did you make this wine? Firstly, we felt that the vineyard material was best suited to making a rose. Something with very little extract and that trades on delicacy and nuance instead of power. We also wanted to push our hands-off approach here so we started with a natural ferment (which didn’t finish) then did nothing else to the wine really. No fining or filtering or stabilization or any adjustments of any kind. It is what it is.

Where are the grapes from? Naramata Village, below the road, lake side.

Your ideal pairing with this wine would be…? Ceviche.

Favourite BC wine, other than yours? I think Dave at Tantalus, Matt at Blue Mountain the team at Le Vieux Pin and Alan at Synchromesh are really starting to change the game here. Oh and Jay at Bella and Richard Kanazowa as well. I’ve heard very good things about Tyler Carlton too but have yet to visit.

What do you drink when you’re not drinking BC wine? Champagne, Loire whites and reds, Beaujolais, Jura, German Riesling, Sherry, whites from the Marche in Italy, bourbon and good rye. Mostly Old World wines but pretty much anything that speaks of vineyard and vintage and isn’t made in a lab. Beer when it’s super hot. I’m very fortunate that my neighbours in Naramata are oenophiles so we have a chance to pop a lot of corks between us.

Lock & Worth Winery | Cabernet Franc Rosé | 2013 | Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley. $20.

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