Okanagan wines make their mark at festival
All this without leaving the country.
The Vancouver International Wine Festival, one of the biggest and best consumer wine events in North America, wrapped up on the weekend; 147 wineries from 17 countries were there.
Thousands of people went through the tasting room and enjoyed lunches, dinners and seminars with the winemakers and winery principals.
Okanagan wineries showed well at the festival, pouring old favourites and new releases for appreciative fans of local wines. In this two-part series, we’ll look at newly released wines, mostly whites, at ten Okanagan and Similkameen wineries to try as you make your way around the region in 2023. Remember, postpandemic, it’s generally best to book a tasting room visit in advance.
Lake Breeze – 2022 Pinot Blanc ($22.00), 2022 Pinot Gris ($23.50)
Lake Breeze is a long-time favourite on the Naramata Bench with fabulous views of Okanagan Lake, and lunch at The Patio restaurant is an experience to be savoured. (They don’t do dinner.) From Penticton, head up Naramata Bench Road about 12 kilometres, turn left onto
Sammet Road and follow the signs.
New releases at Lake Breeze include the 2022 Pinot Blanc, a grape that isn’t as widely produced in the Okanagan. However, the wineries that do make a
Pinot Blanc do it well, and Lake Breeze’s version is the winery’s signature white wine. Their tasting notes describe it as offering “aromas of Granny Smith apple, lemon zest and honeysuckle, with a bright finish.”
Also new at Lake Breeze is their 2022 Pinot Gris. This is one of the white grapes that the Okanagan does particularly well (some wine industry people think it could be developed into B.C.’s signature white grape). It does reflect the Okanagan’s terroir well. Lake Breeze’s version of Pinot Gris is lively, fresh and fruit-forward, with notes of green apple and quince.
Moraine Winery – 2022 Gewürztraminer ($22.00), 2022 Cliffhanger White ($21.00)
If you think smaller is better, another Naramata winery not to miss is Moraine, just a few kilometres north of Penticton on the Naramata Bench Road. There’s a guest suite, the views from the patio don’t quit, and winemaker Amber Pratt has put together a couple of spring wines that sing of the season.
The 2022 Gewürztraminer is made of grapes from the winery’s own Lily Estate Vineyard and Cossentine Vineyard. A fresh expression of this widely-grown Okanagan white grape, you’ll find notes of pink grapefruit, ginger and lime. A touch of white gardenia blossom rounds out this wine, which fits with Gewürztraminer’s often floral character, especially as found in the Okanagan.
A gold medal winner at the 2022 All-Canadian Wine Championships, the Cliffhanger White is Moraine Winery’s signature white. Blends became a thing in B.C. a few years ago when the industry moved away from almost exclusively making single-varietal wines. This is a unique blend of Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. Look for notes of pineapple and
passionfruit, lemon and rose petal (there’s that Gewürztraminer again) with a medium-dry finish on the palate. Try pairing it with a curry dish.
Corceletes Estate Winery – 2020 Cabernet Franc ($34.90), 2020 Syrah ($32.90)
If you’ve never ventured to the Similkameen, you gotta go. Close to the Okanagan, yet a completely different feel as a wine region. Corcelettes is a few kilometres from Keremeos on the Upper Bench Road. Their first vintage was 200 cases in 2011; they now produce 8,200 cases annually and their acreage under vine is growing each year. There’s a guesthouse too.
The 2020 Cabernet Franc is a new release and a must-try for people who like how this red grape expresses itself in this rugged terroir. You’ll find aromas of cherry and raspberry on the nose, a savoury palate offering spicy tobacco, and a toasty finish. It’s got firm tannins and will go well with anything off the barbeque. If you can resist cracking this one now, it will cellar for up to ten years.
The 2020 Syrah is another full and intense red wine. Twenty years ago it would have been hard to imagine this grape doing
so well in Canada, but
Corcelettes has produced a go-to B.C. Syrah rich in dark fruit with dusty tannins. A unique twist is the addition of Viognier skins during fermentation to create a mid-palate richness.
CedarCreek Estate Winery – 2022 Pinot Noir Rosé ($26.00), 2022 Pinot Noir
One of the originals, still one of the best, and just a few minutes south of Kelowna on Lakeshore Road, there’s nothing not to like about a visit to CedarCreek.
Don’t miss lunch or dinner at the Home Block Restaurant.
Pinot Noir Rosé. The grapes for their newly released 2022 Pinot Noir Rosé were picked during last year’s warm and extended autumn. The wine spent four months in stainless steel tanks, and sports a pale grapefruit colour, with strawberry and grapefruit on the nose and white flowers and raspberries on the palate. It’s dry but finishes with a hint of sweetness. Serve it chilled on a warm afternoon.
Also new is the estate-grown Pinot Noir. These grapes come from CedarCreek’s Home Block Vineyard, which has a combination of soils, differing elevations and a moderating effect from Okanagan Lake which lets the heartbreak grape (as it’s sometimes called by grapegrowers) shine. Look for notes of cedar, fresh cherries and earth. This certified organic wine was naturally fermented in concrete and oak and spent 12 months in French oak barrels. You can’t go wrong pairing this with grilled B.C. sockeye salmon.
Chronos Wines – 2022 Sauvignon Blanc ($29.99), 2022 Rosé ($25.99)
Part of the Time family of wines, Chronos is crafting wines, often in small quantities, that showcase unique south
Okanagan vineyards. You can taste and buy their wines at the District Wine Village in Oliver.
Chronos is offering a 2022 Sauvignon Blanc made with grapes from a vineyard between Penticton and OK Falls. This is an aromatic white with notes of orange blossom on the nose and passionfruit and tangerine on the palate. Not everyone loves Sauvignon Blanc; people accuse some expressions of this grape of tasting like cat pee. But it’s the white grape that, blended with Semillon, helped make France’s Bordeaux region famous and it grows well in the Okanagan.
The 2022 Rosé is made from Syrah grapes grown at the same site as their Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes were pressed in whole bunches and cold-fermented with a particular yeast renowned for developing the fruit’s natural flavours. The nose offers watermelon and rhubarb and you’ll find strawberry and cranberry on the palate. Chill this one and sip it on the patio.
Bench 1775 – Spring Whites Pack ($88.25)
North of Penticton on the Naramata Bench Road, Bench 1775’s patio views are to die for. They offer a tasting of six wines (including an icewine) which you can choose to have paired with tapas. Definitely book this one in advance.
Three wines make up their Spring Whites pack. First is a Roussanne, a white grape common in France’s southern Rhone Valley but not grown widely in the Okanagan. The 2021 Roussanne is floral and spicy, with flavours of marzipan and stone fruits. The 2021 Riesling is next, a crisp wine with notes of green apple, lemon zest and honey. Rounding out the threepack is the 2019 Chardonnay, with that grape’s usual buttery mouthfeel combined with vanilla, pear and caramel flavours. This would match very well with grilled halibut.
Phantom Creek – 2020 Estate Petit Cuvée ($38), 2020 Cabernet Franc ($42).
Many of the best red wines in the Okanagan – in all of Canada – come from the Black Sage Bench, midway between Oliver and Osoyoos, and that’s where you’ll find Phantom Creek Estates. Apparently Okanagan wine
pioneer Harry McWatters used to call this area ‘the beach’ for its distinctive sandy soils.
Phantom Creek takes Okanagan reds to a different level here. The 2020 Estate Petit Cuvée is a blend of the five noble red grapes that made Bordeaux famous (look them up), plus a little Syrah. You’ll find aromas of dark cherries, plum, coffee and a hint of desert grass. On the palate you’ll find dark berry fruit, sage and fresh acidity. If there was ever a wine to go with a grilled ribeye, this is it.
Cabernet Franc has carved out a special place in the pantheon of Okanagan reds, and Phantom Creek’s 2020 Cabernet Franc is a great example of why that’s the case. Look for ripe blackberry and a lingering sagebrush finish. It’s built to age in the cellar, if you can resist opening it today. Try this with Manchego cheese.
Check out The Restaurant at Phantom Creek for a menu driven by locally-sourced produce and other ingredients.
Poplar Grove Winery – 2022 Pinot Gris ($20.78), 2022 Rosé Nouveau ($25.99)
A Naramata Bench original, Poplar Grove never fails to please. It’s one of an amazing cluster of wineries strung along the Naramata Bench Road north of Penticton, and their Pinot Gris
has always been a signature white.
The 2022 version was blended with a little Chardonnay, Viognier and Muscat for body and fragrance. Look for a floral and lemony nose and stone fruit
flavours with great balance between acidity and sweetness. This is classic B.C.-style Pinot Gris that stars on a sunny veranda.
For a patio pounder that still lets you walk home from the
neighbour’s summer barbeque with a steady gait, the 2022 Rosé Nouveau will do the trick. It’s just eight per cent alcohol, and only 85 calories per glass. It’s an intriguing blend of Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir, cold-fermented to keep the flavours bright. It’s dry and complex; look for strawberry and peach on the nose and you’ll find watermelon and red fruit flavours. Try this with a chilled salmon salad.
The tasting room is open every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Reserve a table at their restaurant, also open for lunch and dinner every day.
Ex Nihilo Vineyards – 2021 Pinot Noir ($44), 2022 Vampata Rosé ($28),
North of Kelowna, Lake Country was one of six new sub-appellations – grapegrowing areas with distinct soils, elevation, aspect and topography – approved in the Okanagan last year.
Ex Nihilo Vineyards is at 1525 Camp Rd. in Lake Country, and winemaker Jim Faulkner is producing award-winners.
The 2022 Pinot Noir nabbed a silver at last year’s Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards. It’s an elegant wine offering flavours of dark cherry cola, caramel and licorice root with a smooth finish.
Spring is the season to drink pink, and the 2022 Vampata Rosé calls you to. It’s made from Pinot Noir and Syrah grapes cold-soaked for 48 hours and then cold-fermented, keeping the flavours fresh and bright.
Look for rosehip aromas and flavours of gooseberry and pink grapefruit. Pair it with a charcuterie plate.
The CHAOS Bistro is open Wednesday to Sunday; the menu is small but mouth-watering and includes suggesting wine pairings.