John Skinner on his Painted Rock Wines /VJ Gandhi: making our wines available in USA.
THE SHOW
“If Painted Rock is going to compete with the best in the world we must have confidence in our terroir and allow it to express its uniqueness. That’s why we are 100% Estate.” John Skinner
John Skinner and Valeria Tait planted Painted Rock in 2006, a year before we moved to the Naramata Bench. Even though there was no Painted Rock to taste when we arrived, it was one of the first wine names I heard in my ‘walk arounds’.
John was driven to make wines that would be appreciated all over the World but first he had to create it and then convince the wine world that it was worthy.
He has done so with Painted Rock.
John’s Red Icon was named as a Decanter Wine of the Year in 2020.
Also this review from Jancis Robinson: London
Painted Rock, Red Icon 2016 17 Points: “Like a very rich red Bordeaux. Very beautifully balanced. Long and velvety. Everything fully ripe but with good acidity too. Well balanced and very bright-fruited. Still youthful but promising for the long term. (RH) 14.9%” Drink 2020 – 2027
John takes us through his new releases and brings a stack of stories.
2020 Chardonnay available for first time since 2019
2020 Merlot – dark and rich.
2020 Red Icon – classic blend
2020 Syrah – a jaw dropping gem
www.paintedrock.ca
VJ Gandhi – Founder of Kascadia Wine Merchants
“It’s time to change the narrative to – North American wine.” – VJ Gandhi
For everyone who has family and friends in the USA asking how to get their hands on wines from BC and other provinces, or Americans who discover wines North of the border that they really like, there’s someone now making our best wines available in the US.
That someone is VJ Gandhi.
Founder, VJ Gandhi is a proud Canadian citizen with epicurean taste, and her deepest passion yet has to be her love for the complexity in a glass of fine-tasting wine.
Over the course of her career in marketing and business management VJ has developed, implemented and managed several large scale projects in finance and marketing for high profile organizations such as the Government of Canada, BC Provincial Government, and 2010 Olympic Games Secretariat.
VJ was inspired to market award winning Canadian vintages globally in the United States when she’d moved to the San Francisco area in 2014. VJ and her trusted team of experts have carefully curated the Kascadia Wine portfolio over the years, which has now scaled to shipping in US states.
With the launch of the wine club, clients who are eager to savor exclusive, high quality wines from North America, including Canada and the Pacific Northwest are going to be impressed!
Today, her growing venture, Kascadia Wine Merchants, markets and sells Canadian wines across 45 US states.
STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON
Fort Berens – New Releases
Township 7 – New Releases
Van Wine Festival
Victoria Whisky Festival.