4 days Ago By Anthony Gismondi
Article content It is all B.C. wine today as part of our run-up to the holidays.
It’s been a crazy year for local producers with devastating losses in the vineyard and unknown timelines to get back up to total production, but most are facing the challenges. It is probably best to wait for the spring before we take a deeper look at what the future holds, but know that a number of key individuals have left their jobs, some pushed out, others unsure what their future might be and are proactively leaving in search of work further afield. These are worrisome departures for a young, inexperienced industry that wants to compete at the top end of the business.
Several wineries have decided to bring in grapes or juice from outside the country, although, despite a lot of talk about transparency, we see very little at this point about who is doing what. It would be nice to know which land-based wineries have applied and are approved to operate as commercial wineries, thus becoming eligible to import grapes or juice. Also, how these wines will be labelled is as clear as mud to consumers who will be faced with wines made from grapes grown outside B.
C., possibly crushed outside B.C.
, but bottled inside B.C. They won’t be allowed VQA status, but they will likely reside on store shelves beside VQA wines or, worse, in the foreign section of retail stores based on where the grapes originated, but more on all that in 2025.
Let’s get started on B.C. wine suggestions for the holidays.
You can buy direct from wineries for delivery over the next week, three to four weeks before holiday shipping deadlines kick in, but those orders will be in six or one-dozen lots. If that doesn’t work for you, consider sharing an order with friends to cut costs. There has been an increase in listings of local wines at B.
C. liquor stores, so that is an option. Most private retailers have labels in stock, but inevitable shortages down the road mean there will be less inventory than usual to offer.
Don’t expect many wines to be on sale. At $30, not much competes with this Chardonnay. It’s the ripest, richest version we have tasted, with sweet pear/pineapple flavour amid a creamy, complex mix of spicy lees, toast, and minerals.
P3 stands for Pinots: Noir, Gris, and Pinot. The nose is elegant, the palate precise, pitching lemon and crunchy yellow pear streaks with subtle lees. This is a perfect holiday entertaining white.
This was a great discovery this year. It’s a Chardonnay for oenophiles, a blend of 96, 95, 76, and 548 Dijon clones. It’s impressive and another step up for Chardonnay at this winery.
In 2020, the blend is 79/21 Cabernet Franc/Merlot. Look for vibrant raspberry and strawberry on the nose, and savoury, spicy desert notes jump in, taming the fruit and releasing a subtle, persistent, long palate. Drink or hold.
Perpetua has gradually adjusted its fruit sources, including a Naramata component that enhances its elegance and complexity. It is considered one of the country’s best Chardonnays. From the western benches of the south Okanagan comes an excellent, sophisticated Merlot that turns heads at the dinner table.
Enjoy it now, or gift it to a lucky friend. A favourite at the National Wine Awards with a silky texture, a long luxurious palate, vibrant Pinot fruit and a stony/mineral finish. It doesn’t get any better for the price.
$23.99 I 89/100 696852018890 The last effort was impressive, and this one is equally fine. Lean, taut, and bone dry, it pitches a peachy, tangerine nose with lime, grapefruit, and guava that finish bright and clean.
This is another step up, and wine will attract Riesling aficionados. It is also well suited to limitless menu items, from crab and lobster to pork and lamb pizza. Solid.
$27.99 I 93/100 696852069731 Olivier Humbrecht, the legendary Alsace winemaker and biodynamic guru, is the consulting white winemaker at Phantom Creek — and it is his only outside consult. We are still awaiting the wild, stony Evernden Springs Vineyard Similkameen property to make it to this wine; in the meantime, Humbrecht has shaped his best effort 2023 from Okanagan grapes.
His unrelentingly slow fermentation techniques have produced a subtle, fresh style with acceptable intensity and length but without the heavy Alsace notes. Typically floral and fragrant, it’s an intriguing mix of citrus, pear, litchi and croissant that is hard to resist. The added minerality and electricity are much appreciated here.
Drink or hold. No rush. Excellent value.
$59.99 I 93/100 871610001554 Osoyoos Larose is firmly under the direction of Groupe Taillan in Bordeaux, which not only suits its styling but reflects a wine that has been intelligently planned, planted and made since 2001. There are increasingly more tannins in the Grand Vin since 2019 adding denser, sweeter, more refined tannins contributes to a longer, fuller life in the bottle.
Power meets elegance in 2020 with black fruit, cedar, toasted oak, and a dusting of savoury south Okanagan sagebrush. There is no rush here. Buy and cellar through 2030 and beyond.
$68 I 92/100 626990295549 A stellar vintage has yielded an excellent Gold Merlot in 2020. The result is a concentrated, rich, dark cherry and brambleberry nose. It is round and expansive on the palate, with sweet black plums leading the way, bright acidity, and a warm but balanced finish.
This is a fine example of serious wine. Drink or hold, but serve with a rare T-bone for best results. $105.
99 I 92/100 776545803184 Silent Bishop accentuates the vagaries of its south Okanagan site, the cooler western benches under Mount Kobau, namely Oliver North, Golden Mile, and Osoyoos West. The gentle early morning sun kicks off long days at 49 degrees north, beginning as early as 5 a.m.
all summer. The sun slips behind Kobau in the late afternoon, allowing the grapes to escape any late-day baking. Its organically grown Merlot tannins provide a silky base for a blend of red and black fruit that sets the table for a spicy mocha finish, dusted with desert sagebrush.
Drink from 2025 through 2030. The 8th annual Festival of Trees Winery Experience runs Saturday, Nov. 23, until Sunday, Jan.
5. Throughout the festive season, guests are invited to tour the decorated estate and the Mission Hill Family Estate cellar, followed by a seated tasting of wines paired with small bites from the estate’s culinary team. Tickets for the seasonal experience are $65 per guest, with partial proceeds donated to B.
C. Children’s Hospital Foundation. Reservations can be made online at .
If you are looking for a high-quality dinner at a bargain price, you can experience a one-night-only chef collaboration featuring District executive chef Ryan Lister from The Dorset in Toronto and Chef Paul Audet from H Tasting Lounge on Thursday, Nov. 28. It is an eight-course affair and the menu is a mix of coastal B.
C. flavours with local, sustainable Canadian ingredients, showcasing the unique culinary styles of two visionary chefs. Highlights include dishes like Roasted Scallop and Venison Tartare from The Dorset and Haida Gwaii Tea Smoked Sablefish and Koji Aged Hiro Wagyu Striploin from H Tasting Lounge.
Guests will enjoy a decadent dessert course and depart with a surprise selection of handcrafted treats. Tickets start at $145 per person at , and multiple seating times are available. $36 I 88/100 696852062992 In 2022, winemaker Grant Stanley combined fruit from East Kelowna and Summerland to create a designated Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir.
The style is primarily fresh, the nose a mix of red berries, the palate more of the same with some plums and spice with a hint of meaty reduction that blows off in the glass and just a hint of sour cherry in the finish for complexity. Easy sipping and rounding these slides down effortlessly. It is a mix of Dijon clones 115, 777, and 667, all hand-harvested, destemmed, and cold-soaked for five to seven days before an indigenous yeast fermentation.
It spent 13 months in French oak barrels, of which only 25 per cent were new. This is a fun wine for light pizzas, salmon sushi or duck pate. $22.
99 I 88/100 5013521100451 Fonseca Bin 27 was launched more than 40 years ago in Britain but has become a particular favourite in North America. It is a no-fuss Port with some power and fruit that reflects the goal of making “a smooth, full-bodied and densely fruity blend in style known at the time as ‘vintage character’ but usually known today as the finest reserve.” The firm habitually named its crusted Ports using bin numbers, and Bin 27 was born.
Little has changed today. The attack is sweet and spicy with a touch of fire, sugared blackberry, cassis, dark cocoa, black tea, and finished with black pepper. You can drink this alone or with some toasted nuts or Christmas pudding.
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