Last weekend, like every Thanksgiving long weekend, I was given the opportunity to assist my parents at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. Truly a great experience, I think that everyone should make an attempt to check out the fall wine festival at least once in their lives. Over 65 wineries in the same location, free taxi rides back home or to your hotel, why not?
One of the great things about working at the event is that we, as vendors, are also given the opportunity to try the wines at the event. I wasn’t able to try all of the wineries, but did try quite a few. One of the benefits of it being a two-day event is that I was able to cover a fair amount of ground throughout the two days.
Now, I would like to mention that I am in no way a wine connaisseur, but I am a wine lover. I have always admired the knowledge that some people have about great wines. Although I may not be as knowledgeable as those people, I thought that I would share some of my favourite wines from the weekend with you all. The notes below are completely my observations and I hope that you enjoy reading them as I did writing about them. I have added many new favourite wines to my list from this weekend, but for simplicity sake, I have decided on a top 5 (in no particular order) for each of white and red wines.
I will begin with white wines. I don’t normally drink white wine, unless it is a hot summer day or I want to enjoy wine with a light dinner, but recently I have been reintroduced to how great white wine really is.
Top 5 Whites
1. Road 13 Vineyards 2008 Riesling
This wine is crisp and clean and thoroughly exhilerating. It has a refreshing little bite to it that would prove to be good to drink with friends or pair with a great dinner.
2. Rustic Roots Winery 2008 Apple Pear
I am truly a fan of Rustic Roots Winery. This Apple Pear wine is reminiscent of a Chardonnay and was really refreshing. The apple mixes really well with the pear and as I drank it, I could picture myself enjoying it with cheese or a nice chicken dinner.
3. Hester Creek 2008 Semillon Chardonnay
Hester Creek’s Semillon Chardonnay proved to me that there really are great Chardonnay wines out there. This wine really is great!!
4. Hillside Estate Winery 2008 Muscat Ottonel
Half way through Saturday’s event, my dad sent my mom and I on a quest to try a few select wines. This was first on his list. And I am glad that he did. This wine truly is amazing; so amazing that I felt the need to purchase it at the wine store (and currently have it chilling in my fridge). It definitely is a sweeter wine, and as such my mom did not enjoy it all that much, but I think that with the right dinner (I’d opt for something spicy) or the right moment, it is a great pick.
5. Tinhorn Creek 2008 Oldfield Series 2 Bench White
So good and great with seafood. In fact, I stopped by the Tinhorn booth twice to get a taste of this wine (it helps that a friend of mine was working that booth). I also bought a bottle of this at the festival and already have my meal planned out that will be enjoyed with this wine.
I had a harder time narrowing my red wine selections to just 5, but I feel like the wines listed below are great picks. I will admit that I am more partial to red wines. Even though red wine loves to turn my teeth an embarrassing purple shade, 9 times out of 10 I will opt for a red varietal.
Top 5 Reds
1. Tinhorn Creek 2007 Cabernet Franc
When my friend poured this for me at the event, she was excited to see my reaction. This wine had been bottled only a short while ago (I believe she said August), so it is still quite young. But that didn’t matter. For a wine that had only been in the bottle a short time, this wine is already so smooth. Truly delightful! Had they not been sold out at the wine store, I would have definitely picked up a bottle to bring home. I definitely recommend giving this wine a try if you get a chance.
2. Orofino Vineyards 2007 Beleza
Another wine that sadly was sold out when I went to the wine store, it was so amazingly great. A meritage of Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv and Petit Verdot, this wine is so smooth and would be great on a cold winter evening sitting by the fireplace, or with some steak.
3. Quail’s Gate Winery 2007 Pinot Noir
On Friday night I went on a short mission with another winery owner in search of a great Pinot Noir. Quails Gate was the winner in my mind. Other wineries presented Pinot Noirs and although good, none came close to comparing to what Quails Gate had to offer in this one.
4. Seven Stones Winery 2006 Meritage
I was first introduced to Seven Stones Winery at last year’s event. I fell in love with their Meritage last year, so my first stop of the weekend was to see what they had to offer this time around. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were pouring the Meritage once again (same vintage). It is a great blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc, and is so very good!
5. Inniskillin Okanagan 2007 Discovery Series Malbec
I’m a huge fan of Malbec. Each year, I make it fully known to my parents that I want at least 3 bottles of their Malbec put aside for me so that they don’t sell out of it before I get a chance to buy it. When I noticed that Inniskillin was pouring their Malbec at the event, I was happy to run over and give it a try. And they didn’t disappoint! It is great to know that if and when I have finished the bottles of Malbec that I have in my wine rack, I have options!!
There we go – 10 new wines for you to try!! You will notice that I did not mention any wines from my parents’ winery in this post. I decided that since I was focusing on only 10 wines, I would leave out Quinta Ferreira wines and instead create a post later this week which is completely dedicated to that one winery. Please ensure to come back for that one, as (although I’m slightly biased) there are some really amazing wines produced by them!!
I would also like to leave you with the list of the award winners from the Wine Festival Judging. If I haven’t enticed you enough with my picks, I am sure that you will be able to find quite a few new favourite wines from this one. Check it out here.
