Bordertown releases excellent wines from small 2023 vintage.
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
20h ago
Photo: Bordertown's Mohan Gill Judging from the excellent 2023 wines which Bordertown Estate Winery is just releasing, the 2023 Okanagan vintage is terrific. That is the good news. The bad news is that it is the smallest vintage in several decades, to be followed by an even smaller vintage in 2024, the result of two consecutive winters with hard frosts. However, Mohan Gill, Bordertown’s proprietor, believes that his winery’s deep inventory of red wines will sustain his business until grape production is back to normal. The intense flavours and aromas of Bordertown’s 2023 whites is, ironical ..read more
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Il Molino di Grace: a Tuscan jewel at the Wine Festival
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
1w ago
Photo: Daniel Grace, the Tuscan vintner from California Among the 71 Italian wineries at the recent Vancouver International Wine Festival, perhaps the most unexpected discovery was a producer from Tuscany called Il Molino di Grace. Daniel Grace and his family, who launched the winery venture in 1995, originally came from California. Frank Grace, Daniel’s father, formerly operated a shipping business based in Britain. Wine lovers and wine collectors, the Grace family were intimately familiar with the Chianti region in Tuscany. When the opportunity arose to buy a 350-year-old 20-hectare Tuscan ..read more
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Staying in business: optimism at Pentâge Winery
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
1w ago
Photo: Paul Gardner and Julie Rennie The past two winters undoubtedly have been the most challenging that Paul Gardner and Julie Rennie have experienced since 1996, when they bought a derelict orchard at the south edge of Penticton for a vineyard. They have been selling the products of Pentâge Winery since 2003 although the tasting room opened only in 2011, initially in the massive 500 square-metre (5,500 square foot) cave that Paul dug from the crown of hard rock commanding this winery’s million-dollar view of Skaha Lake. Paul farms the winery’s two Skaha Bench vineyards, which total 6.5 h ..read more
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Blue Mountain releases 2022 Gamay Noir
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
2w ago
Photo: Blue Mountain's Matt Mavety When Blue Mountain Vineyard & Winery released its 2022 Gamay Noir, the release was only to its wine club. Consumers of British Columbia wines should expect to see that limitation often during the next few years. Due to winter damage to the Okanagan’s vineyards, wine production in the 2023 vintage was about half the expected quantity. And the severe freeze in January this year is expected to result in even less wine being made in the 2024 vintage. The result: wineries have begun to ration their limited wine inventories. And that will continue for several ..read more
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River Stone's strategy to stay in business.
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
3w ago
Photo: River Stone's Ted Kane After the devastating vineyard damage of the two recent winters, some Okanagan and Similkameen wineries have begun to disclose to their wine clubs strategies for staying in business. At River Stone Estate Winery, Ted Kane – the owner, viticulturist and winemaker – expects limited production from his vineyard. He plans to make white and rosé wines in the 2024 vintage while relying on his inventory of red wines from previous vintages to keep his consumers supplied. River Stone was opened in 2011 by Ted and his wife, Lorraine, who is a doctor in the South Okanagan ..read more
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Lakeboat is a star of Kaleden wine country
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
3w ago
Photo: Kaleden Hotel Recently, I heard a rumour that Kaleden’s iconic landmark, the skeleton of the old Kaleden Hotel, might need to be demolished in the interest of public safety. I hope that is not so. Just last year, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen was reported to have engaged engineers to prepare plans for structural upgrades. The old building, along with Linden Gardens, long have attracted visitors to this sleepy village just 15 minutes south of Penticton. The village has come to life in recent years with five wineries now operating amid the vineyards. When I went to searc ..read more
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Da Silva's Chenin Blanc and friends
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
1M ago
Photo: Twylla and Richard Da Silva (photo credit Luke Whittall) The 1988 pull-out of vines in the Okanagan was designed primarily to remove hybrid varietals such as Chelois, Maréchal Foch and Okanagan Riesling. But on one occasion, vinifera Chenin Blanc grapes also were pulled out. I wrote about the plight of Chenin Blanc in the Okanagan in my 1998 book, Chardonnay and Friends. The book, now out of print, had essays on 40 varietals being made into wine in the Okanagan. At the time, just four producers were making Chenin Blanc. I wrote: “An ancient white variety important in the Loire, Cheni ..read more
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CheckMate begins releasing its 2021 Chardonnays
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
1M ago
Photo: Winemaker Spencer Kelly Winemaker Spencer Kelly had not yet joined CheckMate Artisanal Winery in the summer of 2021 when the grapes for these wines were developing on the vines. “But I got to experience the heat dome,” he says, referring to the record high temperatures in the Okanagan that summer. A native of Penticton then working in California, Spencer was vacationing in the Okanagan that summer. He joined CheckMate in the summer of 2022. Now, he is presiding over the seven Chardonnays made by CheckMate in the 2021 vintage. The wines are quite remarkable, considering how challengin ..read more
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Meyer's trio of premium 2022 wines
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
1M ago
Photo: Meyer winemaker Chris Carson The latest release from Meyer Family Vineyards at Okanagan Falls showcases three wines from the 2022 vintage, one of the best years in this century. “The 2022 vintage was a classic Okanagan growing season with a typical spring budburst in early May and beautiful weather into June,” the winery’s notes say. “We had beautiful flowering from late June into early July, which resulted in good yields across the valley. July and August were consistent with previous years although slightly cooler, slowing the vines growth cycle. Leading up to harvest, the crop lev ..read more
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Township 7 bypasses Alberta government stores
John Schreiner on wine
by JohnSchreiner at Goodgrog
1M ago
Photo: Winemaker Mary McDermott With the winery’s latest releases, Mary McDermott, the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery’s winemaker, provides glimpse of three recent Okanagan vintages. Two were great and one was quite challenging. If you are an Albertan who is a member of Township 7’s wine clubs, you will have an opportunity to buy these wines. But tough luck if you are an Albertan consumer without membership in the Township 7 wine clubs. As has been widely reported, the Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Commission told most B.C. wineries in January to stop shipping directly to their win ..read more
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