(2019) Rebel Pi is the brand of Canadian entrepreneur and ex-The Apprentice candidate, Jackie Fast, the wine made for her in the Okanagan Valley by Pentâge winery. It is 100% Roussanne, harvested whilst frozen, with reputedly 1/10th of the yield of super-concentrated juice that such a vineyard would normally give. It has a tinge of gold to the colour, and a warm, yellow plum and apricot aroma, a hint of honey and marmalade, some floral highlights too. In the mouth it is super-sweet for me, probably as sweet as most Vidal or Riesling counterparts, but the Roussanne does give a little more weight and texture perhaps, the fruit luscious and exotic, the intense sweetness just about balanced by the lime-clean acidity, so that this does freshen up in the finish, despite the 233g/l of sugar, glycerine and honey richness. Will stand up to the sweetest desserts, maybe tarte tatin being the most obvious foil. Price is for a half bottle.
(2018) The rosé version of Eisberg's alcohol-free fizz is made in Germany like it's Blanc counterpart, from de-alcoholised rosé wine blended with grape must. It is fruitier than the white, small red berry fruits aromatically and in flavour, a pulpy strawberry sweetness and even if no more residual sugar, certainly a sweeter impression thanks to lower acidity perhaps. It's enjoyable and in many ways more convincing than the white version, a distant family relation in style to some pink moscatos perhaps.
