Clik here to view.
Clos du Soleil remains confident in the Similkameen
Photo: Clos du Soleil's Michael Clark In May, Clos du Soleil Winery announced the acquisition and conversion of an organic orchard to a new vineyard not far from the winery in the Similkameen Valley....
View ArticleClik here to view.
BC wineries have green light to use imported grapes in 2024
Photo: SpearHead's Grant Stanley (photo courtesy of SpearHead Winery) Grant Stanley, the general manager of SpearHead Winery in East Kelowna, was in Oregon last week. He was finalizing the purchase of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hillside is optimist about Naramata vineyards bouncing back
Photo: Hillside winemaker Kathy Malone The latest releases from Hillside Winery & Bistro also included a positive report on this Naramata Bench winery’s vineyards in light of the hard January...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hester Creek has a good inventory of wine - and a strategy to get through the...
Photo: Hester Creek's Mark Sheridan Like nearly all Okanagan wineries, Hester Creek Estate Winery will be making wines this fall with Washington State grapes. Hester Creek’s estate vineyards, along...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Township 7 is thankful for its sparkling wine portfolio
Photo: Township 7's Mary McDermott with sparkling wines After winemaker Mary McDermott joined Township 7 Vineyards & Winery in 2014, she inaugurated a major sparkling wine program that now accounts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fort Berens partners with Washington winery
Photo: Fort Berens winery in Lillooet It is not surprising to learn that the Lillooet viticultural sub-appellation did not escape the damage from the January 2024 freeze that devastated vineyards in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Road 13 celebrates John Oliver
Photo: Winemaker Dominic McCosker The premium tier in the portfolio at Road 13 Vineyards, formerly called Jackpot, is now being called John Oliver, a tribute to one of British Columbia’s more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Blue Mountain chooses not to import grapes this fall
Photo: Blue Mountain vineyard near Okanagan Falls Followers of Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars hardly need a reminder to stock up on the current releases while they are available. Like other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Strategies for BC's 2024 vintage
Photo: The vineyard at Blasted Church Vineyards It is interesting to read how different wineries in the Okanagan are approaching the 2024 vintage, given the almost total lack of local grapes, due to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mission Hill releases 2020 Oculus
Photo: John Simes John Simes, the legendary winemaker at Mission Hill Family Estate, retired in 2015 but his fingerprints are all over the portfolio still, perhaps most notably with Oculus, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
River Stone is counting on its strong red wines
Photo: River Stone's bare vineyard in September 2024 There is good news and bad news at River Stone Estate Winery in Oliver. The good news is that winemaker and co-owner Ted Kane (pictured below) has a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Blue Mountain releases premium wines from 2022
Photo: Winemaker Matt Mavety During a recent trip to the Okanagan, I drove past the picturesque Blue Mountain vineyard in Okanagan Falls and was pleased to see a full leafy canopy on the vines. That...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hillside is among Naramata Bench's climate survivors
Photo: Hillside winemaker Kathy Malone The Naramata Bench’s vineyards survived the January freeze better that most Okanagan vineyards, due perhaps to the climate moderation from the vast and deep lake...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Checkmate 2021 Merlots
Photo: Winemaker Philip McGahan When Australian-born winemaker Phil McGahan was recruited from a job in Sonoma to launch CheckMate Artisanal Winery in 2013, he focussed it on Chardonnay and Merlot....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Haywire Winery counts on inventory to get through 2024 vintage
Photo: Haywire winemaker Matt Dumayne This summer, the staff at Haywire Winery in Summerland discovered a forgotten pallet of 2018 Syrah at the back of the warehouse. An excellent wine, it was promptly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SpearHead releases two Pinot Noirs from 2022
Photo: Winemaker Grant Stanley Pinot Noir is now the second most widely planted grape variety in British Columbia and the fastest-growing red. Arguably, no winemaker has contributed more to the success...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mt. Boucherie taps old vines for complex wines
Photo: Director of winemaking Jeff Hundertmark The current releases from Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery often are made with fruit from vineyards in the Okanagan and the Similkameen Valley that often were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Remembering winemaker Ron Taylor
Photo: Ron Taylor Ron Taylor, a major figure in British Columbia winemaking, died in Kelowna on October 22 at the age of 82. He will be remembered as one of the creators of Baby Duck in 1971, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Painted Rock Winery had a 2024 harvest
Photo: Lauren Skinner Buksevics In a normal vintage, Painted Rock Estate Winery’s Skaha Bluff vineyard yields up to 120 tons of grapes. Because of the devastating January freeze, 2024 was not a normal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
French Door will have wines in its tasting room
Photo: Jason Shull Any Okanagan winery with Pascal Madevon as consulting winemaker is assured of having excellent wines in its portfolio. French Door Estate Winery is one of Pascal’s clients. Trained...
View Article