Okanagan Valley
Okanagan Valley
Poplar Grove 2009 Merlot
Canadian Red
$49.99
Cassis and vanilla aromas accompany plum, black cherry and chocolate flavours. The palate is rich and full, with rounded, light tannins. Tobacco, liquorice, cedar, mint, cocoa, kirsch, orange peel and dried herbs are also present. Made entirely from Merlot, the wine spends eighteen months in French oak and another eighteen months in bottle. It comes from Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley.
Poplar Grove 2021 Syrah
Canadian Red
$51.99
Deep purple in colour, this blend contains ninety-seven percent Syrah and three percent Viognier. Black cherry, violet and black pepper appear among the aromatics, while black raspberry, dark plum and vanilla are present in the flavours. The tannins are firm, the acidity is medium, and the finish is long and oak driven. The wine spends fifteen months in French oak and six months in bottle.
Poplar Grove 2020 Cabernet Franc
Canadian Red
$49.99
Medium ruby in colour, this Cabernet Franc has ripe blueberry, black tea and eucalyptus aromas. Tart cranberry, Bing cherry and cedar appear in a medium-bodied profile with bold tannins, bright acidity and a long, balanced finish. The wine is dry, made entirely from Cabernet Franc and aged in oak for twenty-one months. The fruit comes from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.
Rust Wine Co. 2022 South Rock Vineyard Zinfandel
Canadian Red
$49.99
Blackberry and pepper shape a bold, jammy profile with smooth texture. The Zinfandel comes from South Rock Vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. This historic twelve-acre site lies at the southern tip of the bench on a gentle east-facing slope, where morning sun and afternoon mountain shade mark the vineyard setting.
JoieFarm 2017 Chic Fille Pinot Blanc
Canadian White
$48.99
Golden in colour, this dry Pinot Blanc is herbaceous, with salty mineral and citrus flavours and ample texture. Lemon meringue aromas meet a strongly textured palate, fine white-skin tannins and a juicy, sea-breeze finish. The small experimental release contains eleven percent alcohol and was produced in a run of forty-five cases from fruit grown in East Kelowna.
Poplar Grove 2021 Munson Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc
Canadian Red
$49.99
Blackcurrant, cassis and vanilla appear with red cherry, blackberry and eucalyptus. The palate is rounded, with velvety tannins, bright acidity and a long, smooth finish. Cabernet Franc was hand picked and sorted, followed by a three-day cold soak. The wine matured for twenty-one months in new and older French oak and another twelve months in bottle. Alcohol is 14.9 percent.
Summerhill 2004 Cipes Traditional Cuvée
Canadian Sparkling
$69.99
Honeyed yellow apple, caramel, toasted nuts and earthy umami accompany marmalade, ginger and key lime pie. Seashell minerality appears with a creamy mousse and mouthwatering acidity. The blend is eighty-seven percent Chardonnay, twelve percent Pinot Noir and one percent Pinot Meunier. Made by the traditional method, it spent at least eighteen years on its lees before small-batch disgorgement began.
Summerhill Cipes 2012 Blanc de Blanc
Canadian Sparkling
$49.99
Golden yellow colour accompanies honey, apple, straw, citrus, mango and a hint of biscuit. The palate includes citrus, lemon cream, apple, pineapple, peach and melon, with abundant mousse and a medium-long finish. Brioche, key lime and lemon are also present. This sparkling white comes from the Okanagan Valley in Canada and carries 12.5 percent alcohol.
Synchromesh 2023 Storm Haven Vineyard Gold Digger Block Riesling
Canadian White
$49.99
Lime and quince accompany pear-skin texture, linear lime acidity and a long, lean, dry finish. The Gold Digger block is named for metallic elements scattered through its gravelly soils, where they glimmer and reflect light toward the vines. The site also contains sandy loam, shattered slate and granite. Residual sugar is sixty-four grams per litre, while alcohol is 8.39 percent.
Quails’ Gate 2022 Dijon Clone Chardonnay
Canadian White
$49.99
Honeyed peach and flint accompany a smooth, creamy texture and a clean, mineral-driven finish with stony character. Chardonnay combines Dijon clones 96, 95, 76 and 548 from selected South Kelowna vineyard blocks. The fruit is hand picked and whole-cluster pressed. Production includes French-oak barrel fermentation, fifteen months in barrel, full malolactic fermentation and some bâtonnage.
Pentâge 2018 GSM Dirty Dozen Vineyard
Canadian Red
$49.99
Bright raspberry, ripe red cherry, cranberry and black cherry accompany baking spice. The medium-bodied palate has soft, silky tannins and gentle structure. Grenache accounts for forty-seven percent of the blend, with forty-three percent Mourvèdre and ten percent Syrah. Each variety spends fifteen months in oak barrels, twenty percent new, and the finished wine records 13.5 percent alcohol.
Garnet Valley Ranch 2021 Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
$49.99
Clear garnet-red colour appears with lush berries, delicate flowers and earthy undertones. Raspberry, dark cocoa, anise, a silky texture and soft balance are also present. Estate-grown Pinot Noir ferments in small concrete tanks with fifty percent whole clusters. Basket pressing and ageing in neutral barriques and small concrete tanks are also used. The finish is smooth and lingering, and alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Ursa Major 2022 Chapter 8: Last Days in the Desert Syrah Rosé
Canadian Rosé
$52.99
Wild strawberry, dried rosemary, raspberries and cream, and hazelnut define the aroma, while salted Marcona almond, white peach, pink grapefruit and fresh feta appear on the palate. Syrah from Sagebrush Vineyard in Oliver is direct pressed and naturally fermented in neutral oak and stainless-steel barrels. The wine rests untopped on gross lees under flor for twenty-one months, then is bottled by hand without fining or filtration.
Birch Block Vineyard 2022 Blanc de Franc Pétillant Naturel
Canadian Sparkling
$49.99
Cabernet Franc is made into a light-bodied sparkling wine with no skin contact. Strawberry, raspberry and citrus shape the fresh profile. Production includes hand riddling, disgorging and hand labelling. The fruit comes from Kaleden, on high benches above the western shore of Skaha Lake in British Columbia. The estate farms five acres and focuses on low-intervention, energetic wines.
Moon Curser 2015 Carménère
Canadian Red
$51.99
Plum, green peppercorn, ripe raspberry, fennel seed, cherry, pomegranate, vanilla and cedar shape the profile. The wine is medium-bodied, with balanced acidity, soft tannins and a juicy impression; the finish is long and silky. Carménère comes from the Home and Stubbs vineyards on the Osoyoos East Bench. Hand-picked clusters are sorted in the vineyard and destemmed. Fermentation takes place at low temperature, and maturation uses French oak barriques, about one quarter new.
Bordertown 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
Canadian Red
$51.99
Dark red in colour, with black fruit, blackcurrant, dark cherry, herbs, spice, stewed plum, mint, pepper and leather. The texture is firm, with fresh acidity and well-managed tannins. Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon comes from an east-facing Osoyoos vineyard with gravel, light-coloured sand and heavy soil. Fermentation lasts twenty-four days. Natural malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak, and maturation lasts twelve to eighteen months in French oak.
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2022 Century Block Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
$51.99
Kirsch, blackcurrant and raspberry appear with leather, forest floor and pepper. Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777 grow beside the wine shop in the riverbed of the now-dry Three Mile Creek. The block’s name refers to the hundred different species that once grew there. Maturation lasts eighteen months in French oak barrels. Production totalled 250 cases, and the wine can be cellared for up to ten years.
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2022 Three Mile Creek Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
$51.99
Tobacco, ripe cherry, pepper and clove appear with mulled berries, blackcurrant and baking spices. Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777 come from the Three Mile Creek vineyard, whose oldest vines grow only five metres from the Century Block. Maturation lasts eighteen months in French oak barrels. Production totalled 305 cases. The vineyard has received two Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence and a Red Wine of the Year from the Canadian Wine Awards.
Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2021 Three Mile Creek Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
$51.99
Sour cherry and raspberry form a tart, cool red-fruit profile with savoury and earthy notes. The vines include Pinot Noir clones 115, 667 and 777 and were twenty-two years old when reviewed. Fruit receives a two-day cold soak. After three weeks, the wine is pressed into French oak barrels and aged there for eighteen months. Further acidic fruit appears on the finish.
La Frenz 2021 Aster Brut
Canadian Sparkling
$54.99
Chardonnay makes up two thirds of the blend, with Pinot Noir accounting for one third. Toast and autolytic notes sit with singed citrus fruit. The wine has low dosage, balance and a long finish. It is made by the traditional method in the Okanagan Valley. This white sparkling wine is produced from estate-grown fruit in British Columbia.
Fairview Cellars 2016 The Bear Reserve Meritage Golden Mile Bench
Canadian Red
$53.99
Red and black berries, currant, tobacco, bell pepper, herbs and anise define the profile. Integrated tannins, medium acidity and a long, clean, balanced finish are present. The blend combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, with Cabernet Sauvignon making up at least half. The wine comes from Golden Mile Bench in British Columbia.
Fairview Cellars 2016 The Bear
Canadian Red
$54.99
Clear deep ruby colour has garnet tinges. Savoury dark plum, dark cherry, cigar box and thyme appear in an intense aromatic profile. The full-bodied palate combines rich dark fruit with tobacco, leather and a hint of cinnamon. Silky tannins and composed acidity accompany a lengthy finish. This red comes from Oliver in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.
Echo Bay 2017 Cabernet Franc
Canadian Red
$54.99
The fruit was destemmed and crushed before fermentation in an open-top tank. The wine then spent eighteen months in barrel, half of it new, and was bottled with thirty parts per million of sulphur. Production totalled 120 cases, and alcohol is 13.5 percent. Cabernet Franc comes from a southwest-facing vineyard above Skaha Lake, just north of Okanagan Falls.
Meyer Family Vineyards 2023 McLean Creek Road Vineyard Pinot Noir
Canadian Red
$56.99
Bing cherry, black raspberry, beetroot, pepper and toasted oak form the profile. The fruit is gently destemmed by gravity into open-top fermenters with twenty-five percent whole clusters. A cold soak precedes a two-week indigenous-yeast fermentation with gentle hand plunging. After fermentation and a post-maceration period, the wine moves to French oak, twenty percent new, for eleven months. It is unfined and coarsely filtered, with ripe fruit and a lasting finish.
50th Parallel Estate 2022 Pinot Noir Rosé Magnum 1.5 L
Canadian Rosé
$56.99
This dry rosé is made from Pinot Noir grown specifically for the style. The Lake Country estate covers sixty-one acres across thirteen vineyard blocks near Lake Okanagan, with Pinot Noir central to its production. The wine comes from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, was bottled in 1.5-litre format and received a silver medal at the All Canadian Wine Championships.
Stag’s Hollow 2022 Renaissance Merlot
Canadian Red
$58.99
Plump red cherry and plum appear with candied violet, cedar and cocoa nibs. The palate is polished and glycerious, with fresh acidity. The blend is ninety-four point nine percent Merlot, five percent Cabernet Sauvignon and zero point one percent Cabernet Franc. Its fruit comes from the gravel soils of a southwest-facing vineyard in Okanagan Falls, where small clusters and berries naturally limit yields.
Echo Bay 2022 Synoptic Red Blend
Canadian Red
$58.99
Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Carménère and Petit Verdot make up the red blend. The grapes are organically grown and ferment with wild yeast. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered after sixteen months in French oak, fifteen percent new. Its fruit comes from Okanagan Falls in British Columbia, and the finished wine contains fourteen percent alcohol.
Burrowing Owl 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon
Canadian Red
$59.99
An intense nose presents ripe cassis and blueberry with graphite, iron, dried oregano, dried black olive and floral violet. The palate is dry and full-bodied, with firm ripe tannins and high acidity. Blackberry, paprika, espresso, mint and dark chocolate are also present. Deep ruby colour and a structured profile accompany these fruit and savoury elements.
Lariana Cellars 2022 Twenty Two Okanagan Valley Red
Canadian Red
$66.99
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for sixty-four percent of the blend, with Syrah and Carménère each at eighteen percent. Cabernet and Carménère are estate grown, while Syrah comes from Red Brick Vineyard. Fruit is destemmed and hand sorted before crushing. Maturation lasts sixteen months in oak. Blackcurrant, dark fruit, baker’s chocolate and vanilla are present. The tannins are pleasant and approachable.
Echo Bay 2022 Petit Verdot Carménère
Canadian Red
$64.99
Petit Verdot and Carménère each account for half of the blend. Wild-yeast fermentation is used, maturation lasts eighteen months in neutral French oak, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. The fruit comes from a five-acre southwest-facing slope in Okanagan Falls. The property has served as a gathering place for the family and its friends for more than five generations.