We first met Erica Orr in 2018 while doing a story on Washington’s Baer Winery located in Woodinville’s warehouse district. She was (and still is) their consulting winemaker and has also consulted for Mark Ryan Winery, Sparkman Cellars, and Guardian Cellars. At the time, she was producing one wine under her own label which was a Chenin Blanc. We tasted the 2017 together with several Baer Wines and the entire lineup was terrific. Her Chenin was a particular standout being such a rare variety found in Washington, and the quality with every one of the wines we tasted was indisputable. We knew immediately that she was a winemaker to watch.
A recent trip to Woodinville, Washington gave us the opportunity to catch up with Chris Peterson, winemaker and co-founder at Avennia Wine. Joining Chris was Thomas Woodley, Avennia’s National Sales Director. It was a great opportunity to hear first-hand what is going on within the Washington wine scene from two people who have been an important part of that scene for the past two decades. It was also a chance to taste the current vintages of Avennia’s terrific line up of wines.
Though still relatively young as a wine region, British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley has come into its own and firmly established itself on the world wine stage. We recently visited the region for the third time in two years and we continue to be surprised and delighted by both new finds and old favourites. On this trip, we explored Mission Hill Estate winery, Checkmate Artisanal winery, Martin’s Lane and CedarCreek Estate winery, along with the new District Wine Village – all of which provide fantastic wine tasting experiences. Here’s a taste of what we experienced:
We first visited CheckMate in September 2020 while the new tasting room was under construction. The wines were brilliant and we made sure that a repeat visit was in order to taste through the current releases, and, almost as important, see how the finished tasting room turned out.
Once you visit a couple of Anthony von Mandl’s half dozen wineries, your expectations rise quickly in anticipation of the next. His portfolio includes Flagship Mission Hill Family Estate, Checkmate Artisanal Winery (producer of Canada’s first 100-pt wine) and the ultra-premium Martin’s Lane. Right next door to the latter is CedarCreek Estate Winery, one of the Okanagan Valley’s ‘original 8’, and an excellent stop in its own right for any wine enthusiast.
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