house wine

Sip into Spring with BC VQA

Spring is in the air and BC wineries have a vibrant bouquet of freshly picked BC VQA wines to offer! Renew your affection for our homegrown gems as you taste the latest releases and connect with the Winemakers behind the labels. Besides trying wines from all five of BC’s wine growing regions, you’ll discover a fresh new take on the Okanagan as you get to know the sub-regions of Kelowna, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Golden Mile and Black Sage/Osoyoos. What better way to enjoy these exciting newcomers than shooting fresh oysters at the BC Shellfish Growers Association raw bar, indulging in elegant hors d’oeuvres from Chef Marta Pan and savouring delicious Canadian Cheeses made from 100% Canadian Milk presented by Dairy Farmers of Canada!

Buy your tickets now and save $10! Only a few tickets left at this special price.

Date: Friday, May 25, 2012
Time: 6:30PM – 9:00PM
Venue: Vancouver Urban Winery
55 Dunlevy Ave, Vancouver, BC
Cost: $60 + HST

Save $10: first 50 tickets sold are only $50 + HST

Offer ends May 18 – while quantities last. Click here for tickets.

This estate grown Viognier from the hot hills of Desert Hills Osoyoos vineyard has ripe floral aromas of primrose, peach, with a  bit of musk and star anise.  On the palate there is a soft acidity, typical of the grape, and perfumey notes of honeysuckle, apricot, peach and some roasted pink grapefruit.  Would work well with mildly-spiced Asian foods such as coconut curries, and as a pre-dinner sipper.

#bcwine  $16.90

This unoaked Chardonnay has aromas of citrus fruit, green apple skin, nectarine with some herbaceous notes.

On the palate it’s a clean, crisp sipper, with apple, fresh pear and some light nectarine.  A light finish with balanced acidity.  Perfect for seafood dishes.  Try it with a green apple mignonette atop some fresh oysters.

http://www.deserthills.ca/

This is the ninth year of the Awards program, begun in 2003 by then Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo.  It honours excellence in wines made 100 per cent from grapes grown and processed in the province.

Any BC winery can enter.  A tasting panel of wine critics and journalists is held in the middle of June.  The panel selects wines they feel have achieved “excellence”.   Winners are announced in early July.  His Honour, The Honourable Steven Point visited the winning wineries at the end of July to present the Awards.  Winning wines are entitled to use the Lieutenant Governor’s Award logo for advertising.

This year’s winners are:

• Howling Bluff Estate Winery – 2009 Pinot Noir
• Laughing Stock Vineyards – 2010 Pinot Gris
• Mt. Lehman Winery – 2010 Viognier Reserve
• Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery – 2008 Syrah
• Red Rooster Winery – 2008 Meritage
• Sandhill – 2009 Small Lots Syrah
• St. Hubertus Estate Winery & Oak Bay Vineyard – 2009 Dry Riesling
• Stoneboat Vineyards – 2009 Pinot Noir
• Sumac Ridge Estate Winery – 2006 Steller’s Jay Brut
• Volcanic Hills Estate Winery – 2010 Rosé
• Wild Goose Vineyards & Winery – 2010 Mystic River Pinot Blanc

Canadian Wine Pioneer Begins Another First With New Okanagan Wine

Harry McWatters, a driving force in the development of British Columbia’s wine industry, is pleased to announce the launch of his own estate wine, McWatters Collection, from one of the Black Sage Bench’s first vinifera vineyards, originally planted in 1993. The first release of the McWatters Collection is a 2007 Meritage, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc releases planned in the future.

One of the most highly awarded vineyards in the country, the Sundial Vineyard (formerly named Black Sage Vineyard) is located on the Black Sage Road in the southern part of the rugged desert-like Okanagan Valley.  The region enjoys long hot days and cool nights, ideal for cultivating vinifera grapes.  Farmed sustainably since McWatters first purchased the land almost two decades ago, the vineyard is comprised of 60 acres, with varietals grown including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.  The planting of traditional Bordeaux grapes by McWatters and Viticulturist Richard Cleave in the early 1990s was the largest to take place ever in Canada at that time. A risky move for the time, as classic red Bordeaux varieties had yet to be planted in the region in any quantity.  The Black Sage Bench now totals more than half of the planted area in the Okanagan Valley with approximately sixty percent in red varieties.

“Having started in the wine business over 40 years ago, I have devoted my life’s work to establishing the Okanagan Valley as an outstanding vinifera grape growing region.  My vision with the McWatters Collection is to craft premium wine that reflects the unique Black Sage terroir and leaves a lasting legacy for future generations,” said Harry McWatters.  “I still have a lot of ‘firsts’ to achieve and crafting our own estate wine from one of the first vinifera vineyards planted on the Black Sage Road has been a dream of mine since I first acquired the property in 1992.”

“Harry McWatters and I share the same philosophy towards producing outstanding, well-balanced fruit, which only comes from vines that are in balance as well.  Thus we’re very thorough in vineyard management whether through limiting water use, cropping, or leaf plucking, which yields grapes with full phenolic ripeness, good sugar balanced with acidity, and full tannin development,” said Dick Cleave, veteran Viticulturist.  “I’ve been working with Harry from the start in 1993 and believed from the beginning, that the Black Sage Vineyard could grow excellent red Bordeaux grapes despite naysayers from Agriculture Canada who said it wasn’t possible.  I’ve lived and worked here for more than three decades and wine sourced from the Black Sage Bench now quite frankly speaks for itself.”

Harry McWatters is a pioneer in the thriving British Columbia wine industry in which he has been involved for over 40 years. He was founder of British Columbia’s first estate winery, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, in 1979. One year later, he led a group of hospitality industry businesses to establish the Okanagan Wine Festival Society, where he sat as founding president. He is the founding chair of the British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI) and is founding chair of the B.C. Wine Information Society.  McWatters was also instrumental in founding VQA Canada, a trade association that spearheaded the development of national wine standards for Canadian vintners, and served as the first Chairman. He is also the founding Chairman of the British Columbia Hospitality Foundation.

A limited allocation of the McWatters Collection is available in BC only at select restaurants in Metro Vancouver, Whistler, and the Okanagan including the Top Table Group (West, Araxi, Blue Water, Cin Cin), Gramercy Grill, Local Restaurant • Grille.  The wine can also be found at fine wine shops such as Everything Wine in Metro Vancouver, Local in Summerland Park Royal’s Village Liquor Store, and in the Interior at Great Canadian Liquor Warehouse and Fernie Mountain Spirits for an approximate retail price of $25. Or via mailing list at wine@harrymcwatters.com.

ABOUT MCWATTERS COLLECTION
Grown in the sandy loam soils of the southern Okanagan Valley’s Black Sage Bench, our Sundial Vineyard wines are made from sustainably grown estate fruit, hand harvested and handcrafted in small lots of under 1000 cases.  We are stewards of the land and our wines are truly a reflection of what’s in the ground.  Our vineyard’s unique terroir lends special characteristics to the wines, imparting a tropicality and lusciousness to the whites and intense velvety texture, spiciness, and richness to the reds.  One of the most highly awarded vineyards in the country, grapes sown in our soil have garnered countless Canadian and international wine accolades. The McWatters Collection wines are best shared with friends. www.harrymcwatters.com

Outstanding Quality Despite Challenging Vintage #BCWine

With tonnage down 11% from last year, the 2010 vintage provided numerous challenges for vintners in British Columbia. Despite Mother Nature’s temperament, BC wineries continue to produce exceptional quality wines.

The 2010 harvest got off to a late start with the first grapes being picked the week of September 15, two weeks behind the 2009 harvest. The majority of BC wineries started picking after September 24, and with fruit still coming in well into November, 2010 earned the distinction of being one of the latest harvests on record.

Because of the arduous circumstances throughout the vintage, crop levels were down across the province; however, not as much as initially anticipated. According to the 2010 BC Wine Grape Crop Report, tonnage* was down 11% from 19,879 tons in 2009, to 17,778 tons in 2010.

According to BCWI director Rod King of King Family Farms in Naramata, “[The grape] pricing reflects the reality of a shorter crop last year. All the main varieties were up a little bit on a price per ton basis.” Although the short crop affected some grape pricing, those changes have not affected wine prices at the consumer level, according to Stephen Schiedel, Portfolio Manager (Wines of Canada, USA and South America) at the BC Liquor Stores.

The 2010 white wines have been released to much acclaim. The cooler conditions of the vintage allowed for full flavour development while maintaining the vibrant acidity that the Wines of BC are known for, and perfect for summer sipping. Consumers seem to agree, with overall provincial BC VQA sales up 3% over the past 12 months and BC VQA Wine Store sales continuing to increase, with rolling 12 months sales ended May 2011 up 4%, over 2010.

The 2010 red wines (most of which won’t be released until 2012) were more of a challenge, but vintners are excited about their development. At Hester Creek Estate Winery, their team did a lot of work in the vineyard to ensure phenological ripeness, according to General Manager Mark Sheridan. “We cropped light and did a lot of canopy management, but we have some of the best colour, tannin structure that we’ve had and are extremely excited about the entire portfolio.”

As we release the 2010 BC Wine Grape Crop Report, vintners across the province are already well into the 2011 growing season. As Rod King stated at last year’s winemakers and viticulturalists’ forum, if there is one thing we can learn from the 2010 vintage “the lesson is to have faith, the vines will pull through.”

2010 BC Wine Grape Tonnage* by Variety – Top 10

The 2010 BC Wine Grape Crop Report was compiled by BDO Canada LLP from information submitted by 126 wineries across the province. Thank you to all those who contributed, as well as to the BC Wine Institute, BC Grapegrowers’ Association, BC Wine Authority and the BC Wine Grape Council for their assistance.

“Through compiling the Wine Grape Crop Report since 2008, we have been fortunate to be able to expand our knowledge of industry issues and increase our appreciation of the determination and efforts of BC’s grapegrowers, winemakers and proprietors,” states Ken Davidson, Partner with BDO. “BDO is proud to support the BC Wine Industry.”

To view the complete report, visit www.winebc.com/publications.php

*Tonnage reported in short tons. Note, participation in this survey is voluntary; therefore the tonnages reported here may differ from actual industry tonnages.

An easy sipper from the Five Vineyards Collection of Mission Hill Winery made from Merlot, Cab Franc, and Shiraz.  Aromas and flavours of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate and summer punch predominate. Some perceived sweetness makes this a good wine for Asian dishes, or just simply unscrew the cap and sip at your next picnic.

Mission Hill Family Estate Winery

Spierhead Winery is one of the newer wineries of the Okanagan Valley located up in the hills of East Kelowna.  The were 385 cases of Chardonnay produced with the 2010 vintage and the fruit was sourced from grapes from the winery’s own site as well as some from further south.  Whole cluster pressing and malo-lactic fermentation resulted in a soft wine with aromas of vanilla, apple and pear.

On the palate there is some  noticeable and well integrated oak.  It is interesting to note winemaker Tom DiBello used oak staves as opposed to the traditional oak barrels with this wine. Again apple, pear and vanilla are obvious. A luscious wine perfect for a roast chicken, baked or BBQ salmon or a rich pasta dish.

2011 B.C. Winery of the Year!

The results are in from The All Canadian Wine Championships 2011.   We are a proud recipient of 4 new medals:

Double Gold (Best in Category) – Viognier 2009

Gold—Pinot Gris 2010

Gold—Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Silver—Chardonnay 2007

To view the complete competition results click here.

If you blink you’ll miss the PINK! ONLY 35 CASES

Rosé 2010 – made from 100% Gamay grapes this wine is a vibrant cherry red color with aromas of wild strawberries and ripe raspberries..  Burst of berry flavors carry thru on the palate.  A beautiful summer sipper.

Other New Releases

Viognier ’09 -  This wine is pale gold in color with aromas of ripe apricot and pineapple, stone fruit with touch of orange blossom and tangerine. Fresh and crisp – intense flavours of tropical fruit mingle on the palate. This well balanced Viognier went up against Canada’s best at the All Canadian Wine Championships and received the only Double Gold.  If you haven’t fallen in love with Viognier yet…. now’s your chance.

Syrah ‘09 - This Syrah was co-fermented with a small amount of Viognier.  Dark purple in color with aromas of ripe raspberry, blackberry, spice and enticing floral notes.  The palate is full of toasty cocoa, dark berry with a hint of spice.  Soft silky tannins with excellent length.

Library Releases

We held back a few cases of our Merlot ‘05 and Sauvignon Blanc ‘08 ……after hiding them for months we decided to crack open a bottle of each.  We are very pleased with the wines….. perfect for patio dinners this summer.  Limited quantities available on each.

Sauvignon Blanc ‘08 - Under cork this wine has aged perfectly.  Aromas of stone fruits rise from the glass.
On the palate granny smith apples and citrus notes mingle with a touch of minerality.  Fresh and lively.

Merlot ‘05 - Deep ruby red in color, with aromas of dark fruit, cedar and forest floor.  Intense flavors with soft supple tannins.  Long clean finish.

• To view all our wines and order please visit www.pentage.com

Martini Anyone?

Looking for a deliciously easy martini recipe as your new party starter……..

1oz Pentâge Icewine

2oz Vodka

Garnish with frozen grapes

Absolutely fabulous!

As the sun finally shines upon the breathtaking beauty that is the Saanich Peninsula De Vine welcomes all of you back to our Tasting Room at our Vineyard
(map) as we unveil our exciting new wines for this late but truly beautiful season. During our first few weeks open you have waited patiently with us and our Pinot Noir “the Vixen” as the rest of our wines inched to perfection. Now to entice your palette the notes for each of our newly released wines can be found below the bottle tease of our now sold out first vintage Pinot Blanc. From all of us at De Vine we look forward to seeing all of you as the summer season draws you to another new wine adventure.

2009 Pinot Noir, The Vixen.
The near-perfect grapes for this single barrel of Pinot Noir came from Washington State.—a lot so ripe yet balanced that it was impossible to pass up. This wine is a classic Burgundian-style Pinot with rich aromas of cherry and blackcurrant, a kiss of French oak, and a lingering finish. A truly elegant wine to pair with grilled salmon, leg of lamb, or a mild curry.

2010 Viognier, Liquidity Vineyards:
Partially barrel-fermented and aged in French oak, this wine shows complex aromas that mingle honeysuckle, grapefruit, and stone fruit. It has a bright, “snappy” finish in the style of a French Viognier, and pairs well with grilled fish, roast chicken, and Asian dishes.

2010 Dornfelder, Liquidity Vineyards:
Rich garnet in colour with enticing red-berry aromas, and a touch of spearmint. A juicy, blackberry flavor with a mouth-watering shot of fresh-fruit acidity. The finish reveals just a hint of sweetness, but the wine could pass as dry. Fresh fruit and crisp acidity make it a
good match with a range of red meat, poultry and cheese.

2010 Epiphany, Dessert Wine
What happens when barrel-fermented Chardonnay meets an aged brandy? An epiphany! The nose of this off-dry dessert wine presents aromas of ripe tangerine and a hint of vanilla; the taste delivers the warm, luscious heat of a baked apple. Serve chilled with a fruit or cheese plate.