News: Okanagan Wine Festival Winners Announced

From the Okanagan Wine Festivals' media release:

Penticton, British Columbia – May 8, marked the announcement of the highly anticipated 2019 British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards by the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society. The competition featured 21 different varietal categories, with over 580 wines entered. Eleven respected judges narrowed the selection down to 143 finalists with one overall clear winner being declared THE BEST in each category. 

“Every year the Best of Varietal Wine Awards recognizes the best wines in B.C., using a panel of esteemed judges. This year we were privileged to have a diverse group of wine experts from across the country join us and participate in the competition. These judges expressed sincere appreciation for the calibre of wines submitted, as well as for the competition’s capacity to elevate and celebrate some of the best wines in our province,” says Julian Scholefield, Board Member and Judging Chair of the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society. “It has truly been an honour watching this competition continue to grow in reputation and prestige, and to witness its ability to support the B.C. wine industry.”

“Having judged this competition quite a few times. I felt it was the best "Best of Varietal' yet! Great fellow judges and great wines made our decisions easy,” said Mark Filatow, Best of Varietal judge and Executive Chef and Sommelier, Waterfront Wines. 

The British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards are open to all licensed British Columbia wineries that use 100 per cent fruit grown in the province. An exceptional aspect of the judging is that judges are chosen from the trade including renowned sommeliers and restaurateurs from across Western Canada, and features a unique judging process that allows each panel of judges to evaluate all of the wines in any given category enabling a direct comparison for selecting the best wines.

. This year’s judging featured the following judges:

1. Audrey Surrao – RauDZ Regional Table, Kelowna 
2. Dennis Dwernychuk – BC Signature Liquor Store, Kelowna 
3. Mark Filatow – Waterfront Wines, Kelowna 
4. Troy Townsin – Wine Blogger & CBC Radio, Victoria 
5. Sandra Oldfield – Consultant, Oliver
6. Adam Rosewarne – Sage Tapas, Nelson
7. Kurtis Kolt – Freelance writer, Kelowna
8. Brad Royale – Rocky Mountain Resorts, Calgary
9. Brian Berry – Revelry Imports, Kelowna
10. Katherine McEachnie – Wine Scholar, Penticton
11. Jeannette LeBlanc – Freelance writer, Penticton

And here are the award winners for the 2019 British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards:

LIST OF THE BEST OF WINNERS 

1. Best of Show: TIME Winery, 2017 Riesling
2. Best Cabernet Franc: Silkscarf Winery, 2015 Cabernet Franc 
3. Best Cabernet Sauvignon: Moon Curser Vineyards, 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon
4. Best Chardonnay: Upper Bench Estate Winery & Creamery, 2017 Chardonnay
5. Best Fruit Wine: Northern Lights Winery, 2018 Seduction – Strawberry Rhubarb
6. Best Gewurztraminer: Wild Goose Vineyards & Winery, 2018 Mystic River Gewurztraminer
7. Best Hybrid: Monte Creek Ranch Winery, 2017 Hands Up White
8. Best Icewine: Grizzli Winery, 2013 Merlot Icewine
9. Best Merlot: Mission Hill Family Estate, 2016 Merlot
10. Best Single Red Varieties: Hillside Winery, 2016 Reserve Malbec and Moon Curser Vineyards, 2016 Touriga Nacional
11. Best Single White Varieties: Bordertown Vineyard & Estate Winery ltd., 2016 Gruner Veltliner
12. Best Pinot Blanc: Wild Goose Vineyards & Winery, 2018 Mystic River Pinot Blanc
13. Best Pinot Gris: Mission Hill Family Estate, 2018 Reserve Pinot Gris
14. Best Pinot Noir: Arrowleaf Cellars, 2016 Archive Pinot Noir
15. Best Meritage Blend: Nk’Mip, 2016 Merriym Red Meritage
16. Best Rosé: CedarCreek Estate Winery, 2018 Estate Rosé
17. Best Sparkling: Arrowleaf Cellars, 2017 Summerstorm
18. Best Syrah: C.C. Jentsch Cellars, 2016 Syrah
19. Best White Blend: Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery, 2018 Recolt Blanche

The full list of finalists is available on our website:
www.thewinefestivals.com 

About The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society:

The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society is responsible for the development of the wine tourism sector in the interior of British Columbia. It is well known for producing four seasonally inspired Okanagan Wine Festivals in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. It is also responsible for Signature Wine Events including Sensation by Valley First, the WestJet Wine Tastings, and more. It produces and runs for two annual wine judging competitions: the British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Competition, and the province’s most prestigious and oldest wine competition, the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards.

Featured Wines: Warm Weather Wines

If the wine in this week's Featured Wines column tickle your fancy, you can order them directly from Jordan by email (JCarrier@everythingwine.ca) or find him in the Vintage Room of Everything Wine's newest location River District in South Vancouver (8570 River District Crossing).

Warm Weather Wines

By Jordan Carrier

I did a cartoonish double-take, the kind that Adam Sandler or Krusty the Clown would do, when I looked out the window. If I had coffee in my mouth it would have sprayed. On the way down from my hotel room, heading towards breakfast, I looked to my right and saw sideways snow, already accumulating on the cars outside. The front desk staff must have seen my wide-eyed Three Stooges expression because they both said in unison “Welcome to Edmonton”. That was Saturday.

But I’m back home now, having successfully collected my son from university, and it seems like Vancouver, in contrast, will be getting a lovely streak of pleasant weather over the next couple of weeks. I take no pleasure in informing you that you are not ready for it. Do you have crisp, aromatic white wines from the world’s most famous Amarone producer? Do you have lush, creamy Provençale Rosés that will drown your patio in happiness? No?

Fret not, dear drinker, for I bring you awesomes:

Quintarelli “Ca’ del Merlo” Bianco Secco 2017, Veneto IGT, Italy
By the time Guiseppe Quintarelli passed in 2012, he was such a mythical figure that many wine drinkers questioned whether he was real in the first place. A pioneer in concentration and intensity, Guiseppe led the Amarone movement away from rustic, oxidative wines, and towards purity of fruit and centre-of-the-sun mass and body (and even heavier price tags). This crisply structured white wine, half Garganega and the rest Trebbiano-Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc, is like the antidote to his glass-melting Amarones, conservatively nosed with white flowers and honeysuckle, and sneakily rich rather than obviously so, the body hides behind the structure. Very lovely, actually. Lees-stirred for texture and layers but not barrel-aged, great minerality, will theoretically age like a Loire wine but let’s not kid each other. Not yet reviewed, 2 6-packs available, $69.98 +tax

Rimauresq MAGNUM (1.5L) Rosé Cru Classique 2016, Côtes de Provence AOC, France
Because sometimes, the whole party has to know how awesome you is. Although the Cotes de Provence appellation is vast (and frequently dilute, as more and more producers cut corners to cash in on the hype), only 23 producers earned the title of Cru Classé (Classified Growth) in 1955, and Rimauresq – named after the “Real Mauresque” river that flows through the property – is often considered to be the top of the heap. Grenache and Cinsault (along with their weird cousins) are grown on north-facing slopes, so as not to overripen with the baked fruit notes that can befall that sun-drenched Mediterranean region. After a quick crush with minimal maceration and no barrel aging, we get a pale salmon-tinged glory of red fruit, spice and fresh melons. Big and generous and creamy but fresh and crisp – a gorgeous expression of Provence and a dandy way to win friends and influence people. 97 points Decanter, Platinum/Best In Show – Decanter World Wine Awards, 15 Magnums (1.5L) available, $81.98 +tax

Caves d’Esclans Whispering Angel 2018, Côtes de Provence AOP, France
Although the Pitt/Jolie wine called Miraval finally broke the dam on Provençale Rosé sales, one wine has risen above the ensuing flood to enjoy sustained buzz and actually outsell Miraval in many countries, and it happened based on word of mouth alone, Whispering Angel doesn’t market itself. Already an accomplished Bordeaux winemaker at Margaux’s Chateau Prieur-Lachine, Sacha Lachine (boy Sacha, not girl Sacha, because France) dove into Provence head first just over a decade ago and loosed his Terminator-esque Bordeaux ethics – optical sorting table, severe winery cleanliness, dominatrix-style vineyard management – upon a region historically known for picking stuff up off the ground and dusting it off. Sacha’s laser focus on purity of fruit shines through the vanilla-laced nose, and the chewy, mouthwatering body and clean finish remind me very much of being on a big boat in the sunshine. I don’t expect to have this for very long, I never do. Not yet reviewed (although it tends to consistently score around 93 points). 4 cases available, $42.98 +tax

Penner-Ash Viognier 2016, Willamette and Rogue Valley, Oregon
They don’t make much Viognier in Oregon, but Lynn Penner-Ash has never really paid mind to what anyone else is doing, a trait that was gloriously on display when I met her and her husband Ron 3 years ago at her winery in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Lynn comes at viticulture from a science perch, and bumped around Stag’s Leap and Chateau St Jean before landing in the Willamette in the late ‘80s. Her main gig is of course Pinot (two of which landed in WS Top 100) but she makes a tiny batch of Viognier – so tiny that it’s not even listed on the website (or submitted for review) – and it’s to die for. Neither as aromatic nor as oily as a Condrieu, but far more generous and rich than comparably priced Australian or BC offerings, jasmine and lime dance around pink apple and honeysuckle. Pretty and vibrant, with considerable afterburn. 2 6-packs available, $41.98 +tax

Until next time, Happy Drinking!

News: Stag's Hollow Sold to Investor

From the Stag's Hollow media announcement:

Okanagan Falls, BC: Stag’s Hollow Winery & Vineyard has been purchased by a local, private investor. This person is well vested in the Okanagan and in the BC wine industry, owning vineyards in Summerland, the Similkameen and Bench 1775 Winery on the Naramata Bench. As a new and separate venture, business will continue as it has at Stag’s Hollow, with founders Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger managing the winery moving forward. Plans this spring, to complete the planting at our Shuttleworth Creek Vineyards with a highly-prized Pinot Noir clone, will continue, together with the ongoing objective to focus on realizing the premium potential of wines made from our Okanagan Falls terroir.

About Stag’s Hollow Winery & Vineyard: Stag’s Hollow Winery, in Okanagan Falls, was founded in 1995 by Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger. It produces some of British Columbia’s highest quality, most distinctive wines. Always innovative, with a spirit to be unique and push the limits of both grape growing and winemaking in the Okanagan, the team at Stag’s Hollow has researched and sought out grapes, both new and old, suited to the area soils and microclimate. These include Tempranillo and Albariño from Spain, and Dolcetto and Teroldego from Italy. These unique varietals offer a new experience for the Okanagan wine lover. Although these grapes come from all over the world, wines we produce from these grapes are identifiable, as being from nowhere else in the world but from the Okanagan Falls sub-GI, in the   Okanagan Valley.

At the request of the new owner, a more public announcement will not be made.

Media Contact:

Erin Korpisto

Sales & Marketing Manager, Stag’s Hollow Winery

Email:     erin@stagshollowwinery.com

Phone:     250-497-6162

Some of Stag's Hollow Winery's newest releases:

Stag's Hollow Winery 2018 Blanc de Noirs - $25
An off-dry blend of 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Gamay Noir with medium-plus body, texture to spare and a clean, crisp finish. A flavour profile of fresh-off-the-tree peaches and hot apple crumble show on the delicate nose and the well-balanced palate.
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Stag's Hollow Winery 2018 - $20
Opens with an exotic nose of papaya, candied peach, kiwi, melon andcitrus aromas followed by a textural palate with a juicy, melon fruit-driven entry and a mineral-kissed, mouth-watering, crisp finish. Coming into its own with maturing vines and a maturing fermentation/elevage program in the winery.
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Stag's Hollow Winery 2018 Syrah Rosé - $22
Expressive rosé with a hint of residual sugar nicely balanced by fresh, but never overwhelming acid. Flavour profile will remind you of Provence with lifted, red fruit, a touch of minerals and a supporting, savoury backbone. Finish is a tad short compared to previous, stellar years - more of a reflection of their high standards.
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