Feel the Warmth
You turn the corner, and suddenly it’s July. The warmer season has taken its time getting here in the Valley this year. A cold winter and cool spring with lots of rain and snow in the mountains resulted in a late start to our usual Spring weather. Now that the warm weather has returned—and with less rain than usual this past June—our vineyard and the other vineyards we know and visit are making up for lost time with healthy, active growth. We look forward to a good summer, and hopefully one that goes well into autumn! We’ll have to wait and see down the line.
So as we look forward to shepherding this year’s 2017 crop of wine grapes with great expectation and anticipation, we happily serve our guests both wine and food, take Club member orders and part with our portfolio of five 2015 reds and three 2016 white wines.
Meanwhile, our dark, cool barrel room is filled with luscious, ageing 2016 vintage red wines. They’ll continue to age well into 2018. And yes, our lovely oaked Chardonnay also shares space in the barrel room with a new surprising companion: we’re oaking the Pinot Gris ever so gently.
Further down in a far corner of the barrel room lie five barrels of Port, now in its third year with two to go, made the traditional way with no shortcuts. Starting with one barrel release only, a five-year old port will be bottled. One barrel will be released every year.
The last barrel will be bottled five years later, resulting in a ten-year old barrel-aged Port. For lovers of Port, here’s a fun opportunity for Port collectors: two bottles a year; one for enjoying now and the other bottle of Port stashed away until all five are collected. A collection of five to ten years of aged vinAmité Port will make for an interesting addition to a discerning wine collector’s portfolio.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here. As it stands now from the busy-ness of our wine shop, our wines are more popular than ever. We’re seeing familiar faces coming in just to buy the wines they love and to get to know new ones. Others are coming in to relax overlooking the vineyard with an appetizer platter and a glass or bottle of wine to lose themselves in time, and new clients who have been generously referred to us by other wineries who become new friends.
We do the same in return. In friendly conversation, we constantly recommend other wineries that also have an open, welcoming attitude and, first and foremost, make good wines. And of course, we have loyal Club members who email us their favourite selections for mixed cases made to order delivered door-to-door to their homes throughout B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Now that we’re cautiously making a little more wine every year, and with an expanded selection of eight wines— remarkable for such a small winery—we’re comfortable to extend our reach with our portfolio, knowing that this vintage, and the next vintage still in barrels, will exceed your expectations.
We can thank Mother Nature for that, and for our absolute dedication to make the best wines with the best grapes from our sustainable vineyard and other favourite vineyard farmers in the best styles and spirit of the Old World: the wines we love to craft and love to enjoy with the family and friends over great and memorable meals and quietly on the back deck over involving conversations! These are the very same wines we make for you and love to share with you.