CELEBRATE B.C. DAY BY LIFTING A GLASS
Steve MacNaull’s top wines
B.C. Day is essentially a made up holiday. The first Monday of this month was previously just part of the August long weekend, an extra day off for no other reason than it’s the middle of summer and people revel in having additional time to enjoy the hot weather.
But, somewhere along the way, the first Monday in August was assigned provincial significance and named B.C. Day.
There are no parades to attend or historic figure to honour as there are with other holiday weekends.
So B.C. Day is simply a glorious summer day to give thanks for being a
British Columbian and all that entails.
And one of the things that entails is Okanagan wine.
Pick up a bottle, or two or three, to take camping, sip on the patio, serve at a picnic or throw in the cooler on the boat.
The 16 wines highlighted in this column are all fine examples of Okanagan vintages and deserving of being part of your B.C. Day long weekend.
Cheers!
Love Liquidity
Liquidity winemaker Alison Moyes arrives on the tasting patio, fresh from a Chardonnay blending session in the cellar of the Okanagan Falls winery.
“Chard is my favourite white wine to work with,” declares Moyes.
That’s apropos because Liquidity prides itself on being deft with the classic varietals of France’s famed Burgundy region, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
“Therefore, Pinot Noir is my favourite red to work with,” adds Moyes with a laugh.
Moyes joins my wife, Kerry, and I for the tasting and, naturally, the first two wines we indulge in are the textured, lime-and-nectarine 2018 Estate
Chardonnay ($29) and the cherry-andmineral 2018 Estate Pinot Noir ($29).
For a bigger red, we also sample the blackcurrant-and-vanilla 2017 Dividend ($35) Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
We couldn’t leave without trying Liquidity’s first and only sparkling wine, the lime-and-almond Reserve Brut, and the summer-perfect strawberries-andcream 2019 Rose.
Liquidity is open for sales seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and private tastings are by appointment only.
Check out LiquidityWines.com.
Bird-themed
The Wyse family has gone all in with bird themes for their two wineries in Oliver.
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, the family’s premium brand, is named after the tiny owl that makes a nest by burrowing into a hole in the ground and lives in the desert that surrounds the winery.
Calliope Wines, the more approachable and affordable line up, is named after the Calliope hummingbird that buzzes around the winery.
The respective labels of both wineries feature the image of the birds.
Plus, the wineries donate generously and regularly to charities that protect the birds and their habitat, including The Nature Trust, Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of B.C. and South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls.
Themes, labels and donations are all important, but, most important is quality, delicious wines. And the two brands over-deliver. The crop of new releases exemplifies that with 10 wines for all budgets.
The 2018 Calliope Figure 8 white blend and 2019 Gewurztraminer are both priced at $17.
The 2019 Calliope Rose and 2019 Sauvignon Blanc are each $18.
And the Calliope Figure 8 red bland is $20.
Burrowing Owl’s offerings range from the pear-grapefruit-and-honey 2019 Pinot Gris ($25) and elegant 2018 Chardonnay ($30) to the big, smooth reds, 2017 Merlot ($32), 2017 Cabernet
Franc ($35) and 2016 Meritage at $50.
Burrowing Owl’s wine shop, tasting room, Sorona Room Restaurant and 11-room guest house overlooking 140 acres of vineyards on the Black Sage Bench is open daily.
Go to BurrowingOwlWine.ca for reservations.
More bubbly
Sparkling wine is celebratory, so toast B.C. Day with BEE-zoo 2018 Bubbles ($25), the latest release and pink sparkler from the Bizou+Yukon label of Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland. The label is named after the two Great Pyrenees dogs, Bizou and Yukon, that roam the vineyards and inspired the line of fun and delicious wines.
The BEE-zoo, which is the phonetic way to pronounce the French name Bizou, has aromas and flavours of cherry, grapefruit and shortbread cookie.
The bubbly is available at select retailers, the winery or online at BizouYukon.com. To launch Bee-zoo, Okanagan Crush Pad is running a contest for a lucky pair of British Columbians to win a weekend trip to Summerland to visit the winery and meet Bizou and meet the two giant white pooches.
To enter, start following @bizouyukon on Instagram and take a photo of your favourite Bizou+Yukon label and share it with your wittiest caption and the @bizouyukon tag.
The post with the most likes will win. Steve MacNaull is an Okanagan wine lover. Reach him at steve.macnaull@ok.bc.ca.