New packaging, wines, staff and a restaurant kick the winery’s Next Chapter

Hester Creek Estate Winery, located in Oliver, BC, continues to re-invent itself.

Since purchasing the winery in 2004, owner Curt Garland has invested heavily in transforming Hester Creek into the ultimate South Okanagan winery by hiring new management, improving vineyard practices, and constructing a new winery that includes a new cellar, tasting bar and guest centre, teaching kitchen, amphitheatre, and luxury guest villas.

Now, for spring 2011 a new and polished look to its packaging, new website, three new wines and a soon-to-be opened restaurant complete the Hester Creek experience.

Launched at the recent Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, the winery’s new wines and packaging were embraced by the trade and public alike. The new labels are refined from a playful, colourful swimmer to more muted colours that link to the winery’s aesthetic of old-world elegance.

Two of Hester Creek’s new releases are a red and a white estate blend, each called Character. Held under screw-cap closure, these blends take the best from Hester Creek’s 95-acre estate and combine them in perfect proportion. Making wines that are the best representation of the amazing land on the Golden Mile Bench is important to winemaker Rob Summers, who wanted to create blends truly unique to Hester Creek. For example, the Character White includes the Okanagan’s only Trebbiano, grown and produced by Hester Creek.

Hester Creek is proud to also present a third new wine, an ultra-premium red blend called The Judge. Borrowing from the Golden Mile bench, Hester Creek invites the public to “step up to our bench and we’ll let you be the judge of the wine.”

The name Character is inspired by the character of the land, the quality characteristics in the wines, the character in the personalities behind Hester Creek, and, most importantly, the character found in the many wine lovers who choose Hester Creek.

In launching the Character wines, Hester Creek asks wine lovers to “express your character!” Just for fun at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, Hester Creek handed out buttons showing various “characters”. There was a measurable buzz as Hester Creek devotees and new fans alike found their character while they tasted the new wines.

One of Hester Creek’s New Character Buttons

New sales director Rob Smith received great feedback as he poured at the Hester Creek table during the prestigious festival.

Executive Chef Dino Renaerts of Fraîche and Beachside Forno commented that he thought “the quality of the wines is top notch. BC has some world-class whites, and these wines were of the same calibre.” Renaerts also commented that he liked Hester Creek’s character buttons that were a hit with both trade and consumers. “The buttons were quirky and added an element of whimsy and fun to the winery’s presence at the festival.”

With the launch of the new wines, website and packaging underway, focus now shifts to the new restaurant, Terrafina at Hester Creek. Run by Chef Jeremy Luypen, the Terrafina menu features locally grown ingredients and wines from Hester Creek. In the redesigned former tasting room, the 45-seat restaurant also has 24 seats on the vine-laden patio.  Surrounded by the thriving Hester Creek Vineyards, Terrafina invites diners to experience local food and wine in the place where it was grown.

For Hester Creek, everything has finally come full circle. They are excited to finally express their true character in this, the winery’s ‘next chapter’.

Hester Creek Estate Winery:

Hester Creek Estate Winery is situated within some of British Columbia’s oldest vineyards in the bountiful Golden Mile region. The 95-acre, Mediterranean-influenced grounds, winery and guest villas evoke an old-world sense of tranquility that takes you back to a more simple, unhurried era-a time when a young girl named Hester pondered life and daydreamed by the edge of the creek that would later take her name. Discover winemaker Rob Summers’ fresh, lively wines that truly convey the extraordinary place where they were grown. Relax on the patio, among the vines or browse in the new wine shop for local artisan foods, glassware and accoutrement to accompany your wine purchases. Visit one of the world’s most recent and exciting wine discoveries. The Okanagan Valley’s “Golden Mile Bench and Hester Creek await your arrival.

For more information, visit Hester Creek’s website or find us on Facebook and Twitter.