Vern Rose, a retired Alberta school teacher, purchased the 6.7 acres that are now the home to House of Rose Winery in 1983. Shortly after the property was converted from an apple orchard to a vineyard.
Aura Rose and her husband Wouter van der Hall purchased the winery from her father in 2009. They decided to turn to organic practices in maintaining the vineyard and are increasingly shifting from traditional to more sustainable practices in the overall winery operations. In 2013 the winery was audited by the International Green Tourism organization and earned the bronze standard for sustainable practices.
The Vineyard
The House of Rose estate vineyard is 4.5 acres. This is now planted in all whites – Chardonnay, the French American hybrid Verdelet, and a small patch of Riesling. The vines are all over 30 years old, coming from plantings in the late 1980s.
Last year we planted part of an acre of Pinot Gris and will plant the rest this year. We are doing this in stages as we have a small staff.
We also lease 1.5 acres of Pinot Gris from a property near us (these plants are less than 10 years old) and purchase Marechal Foch (old vines) from a property kitty-corner to us. So 95% of what we produce is from our direct terroir. I say 95 as we sometimes purchase bulk wine from others and do purchase ice wine.
Aura Rose, Winemaker and Co-owner, House of Rose Winery
The grapes noted above are all fermented and bottled on site. We are actually one of the very few small wineries that have our own bottling line.
The Winemaker – Aura Rose
I did not come into the industry as a trained at school winemaker. I have a business degree. For two years, I studied under a wine consultant and took several classes through Okanagan College and online from University of California – Davis.
I love to experiment with each vintage with different yeasts, different soak times etc. and keep copious notes. My philosophy is to produce smooth, fruit-forward fresh whites and gently oaked reds that do not require a long cellaring time. All the wines I produce are vegan, which takes more work in the cellar for the reds but it is important to me.
The picture is me drinking Vietnamese wine. Yes they produce wine. The Vietnamese grow grapes in Dalat, in the mountains on the border of Laos. Not the traditional varieties we are used to but actually a blend of what we would consider eating grapes and wine grapes. It is significantly better than it was 7 years ago (our first time here) and better than 4 years ago but still has a ways to go to become an internationally recognized wine!!
Aura Rose
2019 Harvest
As to the 2019 harvest, varieties showed differently. No grape likes the wet fall we had but we saw no mildew (we follow organic practises) fortunately. We had a higher yield of Pinot Gris, a lower of Chardonnay and an average on the rest.
As I say, every variety is different! The wines will be lower alcohol than we have seen in the last few years, but I am actually happy about that as many wine drinkers prefer it as do I. Alcohol levels will be closer to what was normal five plus years ago.
I had concerns at first during harvest but our whites show a beautiful acidity which I am quite excited about. Harvest for us started the last week of September with the Foch and continued into the third week of October. We get a breeze on our bench so did not see the first frost that others did, so saw more sugar development through the start of October.
Aura Rose
The Wines
The House of Rose Cool Splash ($16.43)
The sister to Hot Flash is a delightful light and fruity blend of PinotGris, Riesling, and Gewurztraminer. The soft fruit from Pinot dominates at the front, then it finishes crisp from the Riesling. It pairs well with white fish, chicken, and salads or is simply delectable on its own.
Gold Medal, 2019 Best of BC Wine Competition and Silver Medal, 2019 Savor International Wine Awards
House of Rose Rose-eh! ($17.33)
The blush blend of Foch and Chardonnay. Off-dry, it has a nose of candied strawberries with tropical fruit, watermelon, and wild berries on the palate. Perfect on its own or served with fish, salads, pork or turkey. Silver Medal, 2019 Savor International Wine Awards
House of Rose Hot Flash ($19.04)
A special wine to celebrate that wild and wonderful phase of life! This medium-bodied red blend of Foch and Syrah will go well at any gathering. Unoaked, it is smokey with a peppery finish. Pair with meals, chocolate, cheeses and most appetizers. Gold Medal, 2018 BC Best of Varietal Wine Awards and Silver Medal, North West Summit 2017.
For the complete portfolio of the House of Rose Winery, please visit the winery website.
Future Plans
We are a small winery, producing between 2000 and 2500 cases and do not plan any future growth. We enjoy the work-life balance this creates for us, allowing us the opportunity to travel. I love trying other BC and international wine and always drink the wine from where we are.
We will continue to follow organic practises in both the winery and vineyard and to work on reducing our environmental footprint.
We won the city of Kelowna Environmental Award in 2014, being stewards of the environment is important to us.
Aura Rose
Conclusion
The House of Rose will be permanently closing Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021.
Note: Wine tasting notes and photos courtesy of the House of Rose Winery.