Alfredo Jop is talking days of the week.
"The Reserve Rose ($26) is perfect for a Tuesday night," said the guest experience manager from Mission HIll Family Estate in West Kelowna.
"Exhilarat!on Brut Rose ($40) is your party night sparkling and save the (Border Vista Vineyard) Terroir (Collection) Rose for the weekend."
Of course, these recommendations are just that.
You ultimately decide what pink to drink whenever and wherever you want.
Thus, the expansion of the 'rose all day' mantra to rose all day, all night, all week, all month and all year.
I had this conversation with Jop at Mission Hill's Rose Revelry party last weekend where the three Roses the winery makes were spotlighted.
It wasn't just an afternoon of indulgence, it was a lifestyle invitation to position rose as your go-to spring and summer sip on the patio, on the deck, at a picnic, at a barbecue, on a boat, at the beach, with brunch, lunch or dinner.
The Rose Revelry launched with the Exhilarat!on (I love how the final 'i' in the word is an exclamation mark) as a welcome drink before lunch at the al fresco Terrace Restaurant.
The Terrace won't officially open to the public until May 11 -- just in time for Mother's Day on the 12th.
However, it was pressed into action for the Rose Revelry to feed hungry party-goers and preview some of the dishes that will be on the menu when the resto opens for the season.
That means Okanagan asparagus with leek croquettes and goat cheese, pole-caught ahi tuna on a salad of tender lettuce and marinated baby potatoes and opera cake.
By the way, the Reserve Rose was the perfect pairing with the tuna salad.
After lunch, there was room for more food and wine in the winery's salons, with the three Roses poured with a variety of bites.
31 Charkay
Speaking of winery restaurants, a new one opens today at Grizzli Winery in West Kelowna.
It's called 31 Charkay -- which was the address of grandma Helen -- the love, kindness and exceptional-shared-meals inspiration for the restaurant.
Granddaughter Amy Chang is the daughter of Grizzli owner John Chang and the head chef is Tye McLellan.
McLellan builds on his Indigenous heritage and training in a French kitchen to offer a contemporary Canadian menu.
That means dishes like Mediterranean bannock (the Indigenous fry bread with pesto, goat cheese and caramelized onions), orange basil sockeye salmon, sesame chicken bowl, mushroom and duck wontons, beef carpaccio salad, pan-seared scallops, tenderloin and New York strip steaks, vanilla ice cream topped with Grizzli icewine and strawberry-rhubarb cobbler.
31 Charkay is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for lunch, 11 am to 3 pm, and dinner, 5-9 pm.
The drinks list is made up of Grizzli wines, of course, as well as other wines, beers, spirits and cocktails.
Some of the cocktails feature Grizzli wines.
For instance, Grizzli Ice is icewine with vodka and lime, Rum & Coe is rum, cola and sparkling wine and Tye Me Up (named after the chef) is rye, Grizzli raspberry wine and lemon.
Reservations at www.31charkay.com.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears in this space every Friday afternoon.
