Olympic Special at Sanduz Estate Wines

Sanduz Estate Wines is cheering on the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics by offering specials on select wines which represent the colours of the Olympic rings! 

The following wines will be 10% off the regular price from February 12^th to the 28^th

Dry Blueberry Wine
Viognier Wine
Blackberry Wine
Granny Smith Apple Wine
Raspberry Wine

As Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year also fall on this weekend, we will be having our Raspberry Table, Strawberry Table and Raspberry Dessert wines at 10% off as well from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14.

We also carry frozen blueberries in the winery year round, in addition to the world’s first Puffed Blueberries.  Come try them today!  Our blueberry Blazins (raisin-like blueberries) are available now as well.

Also, visit us at Speed Skating Canada House located at the UBC Boathouse. We will be offering samples of our famous Puffed Blueberries.

Come by and visit our store and tasting room for complimentary tastings of our latest wines.  Open daily from 11:00am to 6:00pm.  Wheelchair accessible

Location: 12791 Blundell Road (& Sidaway Road), Richmond, B.C.
Ph: (604)214-0444 / Fax: (604)273-5646
www.sanduzwines.com

Joie wines 2009

We are pleased to announce the release of the 2009 Vintage of JoieFarm A Noble Blend, Rosé, Un-Oaked Chardonnay, Riesling and Muscat.  The wines are now available to order online at www.joiefarm.com/order_joie_wines.htm .  Please note that there is a 3 bottle limit on the Muscat due to limited quantities. 

As in past years, we will offer a complimentary pickup day in downtown Vancouver to help our mailing list customers save on shipping charges.  We look forward to seeing you on Saturday February 6th from 10 am – 2 pm at The Storeroom, 1396 Richards Street.    It is a pleasure to see all of you in person at this annual event.   Please submit your orders by 6 pm February 3rd, 2010 to take advantage of this pick up day.   If you do not wish to or are unable to use the Vancouver pickup day, orders will be sent out by FedEx courier at your expense.

Thank you for your ongoing support,
www.JoieFarm.com

Taste BC – Celebration of Local Food and Drink

January 19th 2010 at 4:30pm-7:30pm
Tickets are $49.99 available at all Liberty Wine Merchant Stores

Liberty Merchant Company is proud to host the 16th annual winter fundraising event: Taste B.C. 2010 – A celebration of local food and drink!

The goal of this event is to raise money for the B.C. Children’s Hospital – Oak Tree Clinic, which specializes in providing care and services to sufferers of HIV/AIDS. And of course to encourage public awareness of everything B.C.

Event goers will not only indulge in tastings from some of the finest restaurants, wineries, breweries and cheese purveyors in BC, their contributions also benefited one of the province’s most vital medical institutions. Along with the great food and drink, the attractions included live music, door prizes and a silent auction that features luxury items.

Last year over 700 attendees were present as well asover 65 participants.

January 19th 2010 at 4:30pm-7:30pm
Tickets are $49.99 available at all Liberty Wine Merchant Stores

Pentage Winery News

From all of us at Pentâge Winery – we wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season.

T’is the time of year to celebrate both the new and reflect on the old.

We would like to thank you all for supporting us on this journey and in the success of our dream.

The combination of growing premium grapes and handcrafting a masterpiece bottle of wine is like a chef who creates a masterpiece meal – the success is when it is enjoyed by our customers.

Another year has gone by and this vintage marks our 10th year anniversary here at Pentâge. It has been a great 10 years…..and here’s to another ten.

We are proud of the following recognitions….
At the Northwest Wine Summit Competition we were awarded 2 gold medals and 4 silvers. Northwest Results

At the All Canadian Wine Championship we were awarded 1 double gold (best in its class), 3 golds and 2 bronze medals and we won the Trophy for Best Dessert wine in Canada for our 2007 Ice Wine. All Canadian Wine Championship Results

At the Wine Access 2009 Canadian Wine Awards we were awarded 1 gold, 3 silvers, and 4 bronze medals.
The Canadian Wine Awards issues a Top 20 Canadian Wineries Performance Report and Pentâge ranked number 11! (how exciting is that) Wine Access Competition Results Wine Access Performance Report

Mother Nature had us on our toes this year – after a cold Spring, which caused plant and bud damage up and down the valley, our summer heat units pulled us through the late start and brought us back on track. Har¬vest was the earliest yet for us here at Pentâge. On September 18th, of this year, we brought in Pinot Noir from OK Falls. In early October Mother Nature decided to add a twist to things and we were struck with un¬usually cold temperatures, it hit -8°C one night which shut down all the vines. As a result, vintners didn’t have a choice but to bring in the fruit. October was a very busy time at Pentâge but after the cold snap the tem¬peratures started to warm up and made this harvest and crush a pleasure! For those wineries, like us, who produce Ice Wine – this was an exceptional year. You could find us in the vineyards on December 7th & 8th picking frozen berries at -11°C.

Today, our Ice Wine is happily fermenting to perfection in the winery. Adam and Paul sampled it yesterday and were delighted with the outcome so far and it can only get better with time. We are delighted to tell you about a small lot of “Syrah Ice Wine” we have produced this year – stay tuned, this is probably the only year we will be making a Syrah Ice Wine, as the berries didn’t weather the wind very well which gave us a very low crop from the vineyard. (note to self….)

Thank-you to everyone who assisted us in harvest and crush this year, your help is greatly appreciated!

New Releases for your Enjoyment
Pinot Gris ‘08 – $18
Pentâge Blend ‘06 – $29
Ice Wine ‘08 – $35
To view details and order please visit www.pentage.com/CurrentReleases

The Month Ahead
We are in the midst of getting organized for bottling in January 2010. Our 2009 vintages are excellent; given the varying weather conditions some vintage fruit was produced. For now, we are all going to take a few days and relax over the holidays with family and friends. All the best to our loyal customers who make all the “labour of love” worthwhile! Safe travels wherever this holiday season may take you.

Thank you for sharing our passion!
All the Best & Happy Holidays,

Paul, Julie & Adam

A Very Happy Holiday for Wineries in British Columbia: Toasting the 2009 Vintage

2009 was an unusual year for winemakers and viticulturalists in British Columbia with winter damage in January, late bud break in May, excellent fruit set in July and an early harvest in September and October. Unfortunately harvest was interrupted by an even earlier frost; Mother Nature was ever-changing throughout the year!

The Okanagan once again experienced a cold winter with a record-breaking cold snap in January; however, winter damage was not as widespread as expected, so we anticipate being down 20% in overall tonnage from 2008 figures.

The growing season was off to a slow start this spring with bud break two weeks behind in late-May. However, the steady warm, dry temperatures throughout the summer allowed the grapes to ‘catch up’ by early July. “The warm, dry weather with less than normal precipitation provided the best conditions for (fruit) set in years” remarked Valerie Tait, viticulturalist for Poplar Grove Winery in Naramata. The warm, dry weather continued into September and pushed ripening along to an early harvest.

Early fall conditions were spectacular. As Brad Cooper, winemaker for Township 7 Vineyards & Winery noted, “September weather was exactly where it needed to be.”  For most wineries, the warmer than normal conditions resulted in an early start to the harvest, with the first grapes being picked in the South Okanagan on September 1^st by winemaker Derek Kontkanen and team from Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate.

All winemakers and viticulturalists were very thankful for the early start as a very early frost on the nights of October 9^th to 12^th saw temperatures dip between -6°C (21°F)  and -14°C (7°F), depending on location. Winemaker Rob Summers of Hester Creek Estate Winery commented that, “If vintage wasn’t so early, the frost would have been catastrophic.” Because almost all fruit was ready to be picked when the frost hit, wineries did not experience detrimental affects from the frost; it merely stopped vine growth prematurely. The early harvest meant a condensed, busy pick with harvest taking only one month to complete for many wineries, including CedarCreek Estate Winery and Tinhorn Creek Vineyards.

Icewine has been recognized as one of Canada’s signature wines ever since the first vintage at Hainle Vineyards in 1974. This year, fourteen wineries expressed interest in picking the “liquid gold”, and were delighted with an early December cold snap. The first of the wineries began to harvest in the early hours of December 7^th at a chilly -11°C (12°F) with Tantalus Vineyards bringing in approximately 750 kilograms from their 30 year old Riesling vines. The picking continued at -11°C (12°F) on the morning of December 8^th at Summerhill Pyramid Organic Winery, Mission Hill Family Estate Winery (Naramata Vineyard), and Nk’Mip Cellars.  In total, the fourteen wineries brought in approximately 232 tons of Icewine from Riesling, Vidal, Kerner, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Ehrenfelser, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Muscat, Syrah and Zweigelt grapes.

Overall, despite the erratic conditions, the 2009 vintage looks to be one of premium quality. The natural crop thinning from winter damage lowered yields, and elevated the flavour profiles of the remaining grapes with the fruit quality noted as very good to excellent.

Conditions were ideal in the Okanagan for the cool climate varietals in the North with excellent acidity and freshness, as well as the warm climate varietals in the South that show great balance and structure. Some stand-outs to look for next year include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from the North, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the South Okanagan. In the Lower Mainland, it was a banner year for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Overall, both the white and red wines are showing very well. The whites are extremely fresh and vibrant while the reds are showing great colour and complexity.

The 2009 vintage was an overall success. Not only are the wines well on their way to store shelves, but with the Icewine harvest also completed for the year, everyone at the wineries can simply toast to another great vintage and enjoy the holiday season with the rest of us!

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