There’s no question that the Okanagan wine industry has faced some tough years of late.
Winemaker Evan Saunders.
Beginning with the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, the region has weathered a heat dome and forest fires in 2021, a major cold snap in late 2022, and now an even harsher cold event to start 2024. For Blasted Church winemaker Evan Saunders, it certainly feels like the Valley is being put to the test, but if anyone is up for the challenge, it’s him.
Evan became the head winemaker at Blasted Church in 2017 after working there for 4 years, following several years as a cellar hand at Osoyoos Larose in the Okanagan, along with working a harvest at Kosta Browne in Sonoma Valley, California. Throughout our conversations with people at the winery and in the industry, it is clear that Evan is highly regarded, with many expressing enthusiasm for the direction he is taking the wines at Blasted Church.
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The Bell Tower at Mission Hill.
The Bell Tower in the distance is unmistakable. As soon as you turn onto Boucherie Road in West Kelowna and drive alongside Okanagan Lake, you see it perched atop a ridge, beckoning you to come have a taste. Head straight for that wine beacon and you’ll arrive at Mission Hill Family Estate, one of the most renown wineries in BC’s Okanagan Valley, and a five-time Canadian winery of the year.
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Okanagan Crush Pad [source: Okanagan Crush Pad]
For many people 2021 won’t be remembered as a particularly auspicious year as the world continues to grapple with a global pandemic. But for Okanagan Crush Pad it is a year to celebrate. 2021 represents the winery’s 10th anniversary, and after a decade of challenges, change and growth, the irony of having it fall this particular year is not lost on owner Christine Coletta.
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This month the #Winophiles are taking a look at French varieties made into wines around the world. While we could think of many examples from various regions we have visited, we want to shine a spotlight on our own backyard where the Okanagan Valley is making some truly world-class Chardonnay. (To read the other articles related to this month’s topic, please refer to the links at the end).
The beautiful vineyards at BC’s Blasted Church Winery.
Chardonnay has an association with Burgundy that is an unbreakable bond. That is simply because so many of the world’s most profound Chardonnay wines come from that region. The great wines of Puligny Montrachet, Chassagne Montrachet, Meursault and Chablis, among other Burgundy sub-regions, make the reference-point wines from the Chardonnay grape. But Chardonnay is a chameleon-like grape that has been successfully planted all over the world and shown its ability to adapt to new terroirs with the potential to make great wine outside of Burgundy as well as within. One of those regions that is rapidly gaining notice is the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada.
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BC grapes almost ready for Harvest.
The Okanagan Wine Initiative (OWI) is a collaboration of some of the top wineries in BC, who got together with the purpose of promoting the region’s wines to the international marketplace. Their purpose statement on their website states it well: “The Okanagan Wine Initiative was formalized in 2018 by a group of winery owners seeking to elevate the region’s rich and diverse narrative through business excellence and the promotion of quality Okanagan wines outside of British Columbia, Canada.” This summer we met with three of the 5 wineries that currently make up the OWI and asked them to tell us more about their project.
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