Okanagan red can be served anywhere, any time

Orofino is a town just over the ridge from the Okanagan, toward the coast, on Highway 3. There are some wineries starting up there but, as is usual for a new growing district, the distribution outside B.C. is spotty. One of them, Orofino Bridge Winery, is run by an exSaskatchewan couple in the Similkameen valley. Their wines do occasionally show up here on wine lists, and recently got listed by the SLGA.

Orofino Bridge tends to favour easy drinking wines ready for consumption when they leave the winery. Their Red Bridge Red is very much such a wine. If you think you’re ready to leave behind the Kool-Aid of your youth this is one you need to try.

You are led by a great herbal bouquet into an exceptionally smooth palate. If you do the full wine-taster swish, you’ll find there are solid tannins (a.k.a. structure) behind a pleasing easy sipping wine with flavours of fruit and coffee. The finish is dry and earthy and not overly obvious.

This is a wine you can serve anyone any time. It makes a nice cocktail lead toward dinner. You can drink it with pretty much all foods, from pizza to casseroles to roasts. You won’t need a cognac afterward as it will carry you off to the couch quite happily.

One thing you do need to notice is the alcohol content. This is a ripe red wine and comes in at nearly 15 per cent. You won’t want to go out if you open this bottle over dinner, and when fed to an elderly relative will likely result in their having a pleasant post-prandial nap on the couch.

Orofino Red Bridge Blend. $33 ****

More wines to survive Autumn with Monday, here, and on Twitter @drbooze.