Vineyard Decisions Being Made!

The past few days have been full of vineyard strolls tasting grapes and evaluating ripeness. It looks as if things are getting ready and we have pegged Monday as the day for our first pick. Muscat will come off of the Hendsbee Vineyard and our own. The flavours are incredible and our kids haven't eaten too much of them yet (Muscat are their favorite) so we look forward to some tasty grapes. We are also looking at Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay this morning from just down the road at Blind Creek Vineyard. We have a designated block of chardonnay there and it tasted great yesterday afternoon in the hot sun but I want to revisit it in the cool of the morning to better evaluate the flavours. They are more true in the morning. The Sauv blanc is most likely good to go as well so it looks as if Monday could be busy here! The forecast is for sun and heat over the weekend and then some rain next week. Lets hope the rain holds off.
Over the next few days we are looking forward to the Fall Wine Festival and more crush preparation. Our time will be spent between looking presentable and smiling as we pour our wines for customers both here at the winery and at events on the weekend and getting wet and dirty as we clean crush equipment. We will be at the Coast Capri's People's Choice Awards in Kelowna on Friday and at Oliver's Festival of the Grape on Sunday. 

2009 Macon-Uchizy, Climat La Martine, Bret Brothers

My mother and sister were visiting today from opposite corners of the world, so we pulled out all the stops and steamed lobster in shallots and white wine (Carly picked up the lobster in Halifax a couple days ago). We served it with a cream of corn (in season) and butter sauteed Chantrelle mushrooms that were freshly foraged and delivered today from our mushroom guy. Yes, that's right, we now have a mushroom guy. The food was really fresh and a blast to pick at. To go with, we opened the 2009 Macon - Uchizy, Climat La Martine from Bret Brothers. A white Burgundian wine that comes from East facing, 50+ year old vines, hand picked and oak aged for 11 months. Toasted hazelnut and pear of the nose, with lots of fruit, acidity and minerality on the palate. Lush mouth feel. Very balanced. Fun all around.

Another sunny day in the Similkameen...

Orofino Vineyards... end of September... 33 degrees Celsius... not a cloud in the sky... crisp glass of Riesling in hand... enough said.

Vancouver after hours

Virginia and I just got back from a couple of days in Vancouver. The business end of the trip included a very successful trade and media event hosted by our Similkameen Wineries Assocation and a sold-out SWA Winemaker's dinner at Eric Pateman's super cool Edible Canada restaurant on Granville Island. A couple of days in the city is not wasted on us and we enjoyed some of those things we love but are rare in rural Cawston!

David Hawksworth's food. Wow!

Sean Layton serving up his finest at L'abbatoir. Sommelier and friend Jay Whiteley enjoying a night off!

Grape Sampling in the Vineyards

We enjoyed yet another day of sunshine and 30+ degrees today. That prompted us to walk around a few of our vineyards tasting and evaluating the ripening grapes. We focussed on the earlier ripening varietals today and ended up taking proper berry samples of Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. The canopy looks healthy and should be plenty powerful to push through for a great harvest.


Blind Creek Chardonnay: 21.2 Brix, 10.5 g/litre acidity, 3.15 pH
Blind Creek Pinot Gris: 22 Brix, 11.5 g/litre acidity, 3.11 pH


These grapes are on the Cawston Bench and have benefitted from all of the sunshine in the last 6 weeks. The flavours are ultimately what will determine when we pick but we will continue to sample and monitor. Picking next week? Stay tuned. More samples from different blocks and varietals will happen throughout the next week.

Tawse 2009 Grower's Blend Pinot Noir

Carly and I had the Tawse 2009 Grower's Blend Pinot Noir the other night with fire-grilled chicken thighs. The pairing was excellent and the wine delicious. Located in the Niagara peninsula, Tawse winery practices organic and bio-dynamic methods of grape growing and wine-making. The production for this wine was 1000 cases. 2009 was a cool and long vintage for them, resulting in balanced amounts of acidity and tannin., sweet and complex fruit, and a delicate, smooth mouthfeel. Retails for $32. Tawse is doing it right.

BC Wine Appreciation Society Lunch

The BC Wine Appreciation Society stopped in today for a tasting and lunch on their annual bus tour through the Similkameen Valley. We started with a tasting of our current releases and a walk through the vineyards and proceeded to the two-course lunch in the sun (its always sunny on the Cawston Bench), prepared by our dear friends from Joy Road Catering. There are worse ways to spend a sunny afternoon.

The Menu:

First Course: Homemade charcuterie, Alsace style onion tart with thyme, creme fraiche and bacon, and baked in the Orofino wood oven. Pairing: 2010 Orofino Riesling

Second Course: Local braised lamb shoulder, duck egg pasta, roasted pepper relish, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, Gabby's fabulous French beans with black olive tapenade. Pairing: 2009 Orofino Red Bridge Merlot.