hello

Meet the Makers – In Victoria!!

The Show:

It’s the Fifth annual Meet the Makers In Victoria – presented by Sara Park
at Costal Craft Beverages.

Sara has worked all over BC, and in 2003 she and her husband made a decision
to relocate to Vancouver Island from the Okanagan. They’ve never looked
back.

“I have a real passion for working with local, BC, Craft Producers, and
helping them grow their businesses. We have some of the most talented
Winemakers, Distillers, Craft Brewers & Cider makers in North America –
right here! I’ve met and work with incredibly knowledgeable and passionate
people in this business. I feel very lucky to do what I do, and work on the
west coast.”

coastalcraftbeverages.com <http://coastalcraftbeverages.com/>

Penelope Roche – Co-Owner and Co-Winemaker Roche Wines

Dylan and Penelope Roche are very much the future of Okanagan Wines. They
bring smarts, skill and character to everything they do.

Roche Wines Dylan and Penelope Roche

Pénélope counts six generations of viticulture and winemaking at Château Les
Carmes Haut-Brion, the small family estate whose elegant wines rival the
Crus Classés of Bordeaux.

From oenology and viticulture studies in Bordeaux to winemaking in Spain,
New Zealand and Australia, Pénélope brings to the Okanagan a profound and
holistic understanding of the grapevine’s relationship with its environment,
from a winemaker’s perspective.

Pénélope is also a winegrowing consultant, and teaches viticulture at
Okanagan College.

“We consider ourselves as ‘vignerons’ in the truest meaning of the word,
committed to crafting our wines from start to finish.

Our priority is hands-on organic farming, with traditional French
‘savoir-faire’, to make exceptional wines which express unique Okanagan
terroirs.” Dylan and PenelopeRoche

https://www.rterroir.ca <https://www.rterroir.ca/>

Kristen Needham – Founder Sea Cider Farm and Cider House

“I am a sixth generation farmer, having inherited the family orchard in 1986.
At the time, I wanted nothing to do with farming.

“That changed in 2002 when Sea Cider was conceived. I replanted the family
orchard in traditional English bittersweets and bitter sharps, planted a
second orchard on my mother’s farm, then bought a third orchard where our
cider house now stands. I went back to school, but this time it was cider
school. In between cider courses, I made cider, planted apple trees and
built a Ciderhouse. Finally, in 2007, after five years of preparation, I
sold cider to my first customer.

Nowadays I spend much of my time working on future plans for Sea Cider. We
have grown a lot, learned a lot and made more than a few mistakes. Through
it all, our aim has always been to build a family-owned, community-minded
business rooted in farming.”

We think that cider is for celebrating, and cider is WORTH celebrating.

These words still ring true today.

Pouring Sea Cider

You can find Kristen and Sea Cider right in the middle of BC Cider Week.
Sunday at the Pipe Shop foot of Lonsdale North Vancouver, 30 plus cideries
will be pouring.

https://www.seacider.ca <https://www.seacider.ca/>

Jason MacIsaac – Co-Founder/Distiller

Prior to becoming the Distiller, Jason was a chef who achieved high
accolades cooking both locally and internationally.

Sheringham Distillery is nestled in the heart of Shirley, B.C. overlooking
the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Southern Vancouver Island. To the East is
Sheringham Pt. Lighthouse, built in 1912 to protect sailors from the
treacherous waters of the Graveyard of the Pacific. To the West is French
Beach Provincial Park. Sheringham Distillery is an homage to the name given
to the area in 1846. In 1893, after the first post office was built,
Sheringham was shortened to Shirley so the name would fit on the postage
stamp.

In becoming a successful chef, Jason MacIsaac experienced the importance of
strong ties with local producers in order to obtain the best quality
ingredients and outcome. Applying these same principals, Sheringham
Distillery sources local agricultural products from B.C. & Vancouver Island.
The by-product of our spent grains is distributed to local farmers as a
healthy source of high protein livestock feed.

Early this year Sheringham Distillery took top honours at the World Gin
Awards in London.

Seaside Gin was named the best contemporary gin in the world!

Many think that it’s the kelp included in the blend that makes it truly
distinctive in the Gin World.

https://www.sheringhamdistillery.com/

Keira LeFranc Winemaker at Stag’s Hollow

Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger started their wine journey in 1992 with the
purchase of a 10 acre vineyard in Okanagan Falls, establishing Stag’s Hollow
Winery in 1995 on the property which now grows Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet
Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Tempranillo, Muscat and Vidal.
Most vines are now over 30 years old.

They just recently sold their winery
to another Okanagan winery owner however they will stay on to oversee the
making of the wines.

Keira LeFranc grew up in the Okanagan, and got her start at Stag’s Hollow
in the tasting room in 2012. Keira spent 2 years training and working as a
Sommelier in Australia. After returning and completing vintage in 2015, she
left to complete Postgraduate Diploma of Wine Science in New Zealand. In
2017, Keira returned to Stag’s Hollow and spent 15 months working in the
cellar before being given the opportunity to become the winemaker in July
2018. Keira’s philosophy on winemaking mirror those that owners, Larry and
Linda have embraced throughout the growth of Stag’s Hollow, concentrating on
sustainable vineyard practices combined with minimal winemaking intervention
and principles.

https://stagshollowwinery.com/

Gordon Fitzpatrick – Founder Fitzpatrick Family Wines

Fitzpatrick Family Estate Vineyard features 40 acres of vines separated into
12 smaller, carefully-tended blocks. Fitzpatrick grows seven varietals in
their vineyard: Chardonnay, Ehrenfelser, Gewürztraminer, Meunier, Pinot
Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Riesling,- and not by accident. They arrived at the
decision to focus on traditional method sparkling wine, crisp whites, and
elegant, focused reds over the course of twenty years of listening carefully
to the story the land has to tell, and it’s a special one.

Gordon Fitzpatrick and TDM

The Fitzpatrick family had a hunch about what was right for their site when
they planted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay twenty years ago, and they were
right. But they also planted Merlot, and that wasn’t quite right, so they
pulled it up and planted Riesling. They also had it right with aromatic
whites like Gewürztraminer and Ehrenfelser: those wines thrive at Greata
Ranch.

Gordon grew up in Vancouver. Transplanted Okanagan-ian. Worked for Jean
Chretien . Spent 10 years in mining (gold!). Came to the Okanagan in 1996 to
run Cedar Creek Estate Winery. Sold to Von Mandl Family in January 2014.

Headed for Greata Ranch in Summerland.

Gordon and his team have created a bubble house. Brut, Blanc de Blanc.
Coming Soon Reserve Blanc de Blanc, Pink Mile Rose and Lookout Riesling.

Great work by winemaker Sarah Bain

www.fitzwine.com <http://www.fitzwine.com%0d>

Jenny Garlini – GM/Maven of Everything Blue Grouse Estate Winery

Blue Grouse Estate is comprised of 65 acres tucked away on a sunny Vancouver
Island slope in the Cowichan Valley, named from a Salishan First Nations
word meaning “the warm land”.

The warm, dry summers and mild, moist winters make the Cowichan Valley
Canada’s only “cool” maritime Mediterranean climate. The Valley records
sufficient growing ‘degree days’ during the Spring and Summer which provides
good conditions for many vitis vinifera grape varietals that bud late and
ripen early.

The influence of global warming appears to be influencing the
ripening prospects for grape growing, but varietal and site selection,
combined with our vineyard management practices, remain critical to their
success.

Check out the varietals –

Bacchus, Black Muscat, Gamay Noir, Muller Thurgau, Ortega, Pinot Gris, Pinot
Noir and Siegerrebe. Recent plantings are Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

We will visit with winemaker Bailey Williamson at Blue Grouse next week!!

https://www.bluegrouse.ca <https://www.bluegrouse.ca/>

Sebastien Hotte – Head Winemaker Ricco Bambino

Sebastian Hotte

Ricco Bambino is a low intervention boutique winery, producing expressive,
small batch, single varietal offerings without the additions of commercial
yeasts or filtering agents and minimal to zero additions of SO2 in downtown
Kelowna and at their Oliver Vineyard under the watchful eye of Isabel Amaro
and Head Winemaker Sebastien Hotte.

Ricco Bambino

Ricco Bambino is proud to be one of the very few wineries that solely uses
unlined concrete tanks to age a majority of our wines. This process plays an
important role in crafting the natural wine. Concrete aging allows the
wines to breath and develop a rounder mouth, textural feel without the
addition of any unwanted flavors imparted by the use of oak or additives.

The purchase of a new vineyard in the south Okanagan will give wine fans
another location to taste Ricco Bambino.

“Ricco Bambino is more than a winery, it’s a platform to launch this passion
and craft living wine that is known around the world and express our
dedication to this belief. I hope you enjoy our wine as much as we do.”

Jason Alton – Founder

https://riccobambino.com

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

Vintage 2019 Preview

featuring:

Senka Tennant Terra Vista

Grant Stanley Spearhead

Howard Soon Vanessa

Bailey Williamson Blue Grouse

A visit to Blue Grouse

22 Naramata Bench Wineries pour

Spring releases in Victoria

hello

Ben Bryant Hosts Mission Hill Winemakers Dinner – at Deane House Calgary

THE SHOW

Ben Bryant Chief Winemaker Mission Hill

Ben Bryant, an Australian winemaker with an exceptional resumé, has joined
Mission Hill Family Estates as chief winemaker.

Joining the Mission Hill Family Estate <https://www.missionhillwinery.com/>
last summer, Ben Bryant is looking to make his mark on the Okanagan wine
scene.

Ben Bryant Sal Howell and TDM

After growing up and gaining a masterful wine knowledge in New South Wales,
Australia, Bryant refined his skills working throughout Asia before
returning home to Australia where he served as chief winemaker for Jacob
<http://www.jacobscreek.com/> ‘s Creek, St. Hugo <https://www.sthugo.com/> ,
and Wyndham Estate <https://www.georgewyndham.com/> .

On his LinkedIn profile, Ben writes: “Pernod Ricard Winemakers is the global
brand owner and distributor of premium wines from multiple countries of
origin, including Jacob’s Creek, Wyndham Estate and St Hugo (Australia),
Brancott Estate and Stoneleigh (New Zealand), Campo Viejo (Spain) and
Graffigna (Argentina).”

Ben succeeds another Australian, Darryl Brooker, now Mission Hill’s
President , who in turn succeeded John Simes who retired in 2014 after
running Mission Hill’s cellar since 1992.

“I found Ben through contacts in Australia,” Darryl says. “It took me a year
to convince him to come.” He succeeded after flying Ben and his wife to the
Okanagan. Here, Ben was swept away by the Okanagan’s beauty, the winemaking
opportunities and the passion of Mission Hill’s owner, Anthony von Mandl.

“To me, it is endless opportunity that is untapped,” Ben says in an
interview. “There is a fair element of personal challenge to come and put
the place on the map. It is about the wine. You never find a region where
you have two regions in one. You have the classic Bordeaux varieties in the
south and then you have the Burgundian varieties in the north.”

As well, the Bryant’s “have a young family and we want to expose them to
international places. They lived in Asia with us. Canada is a country that
is very similar to Australia in terms of societal values.”

The 2018 vintage in the Okanagan got him off on the right foot. “Super
impressed,” Ben says. “It was such a mild growing season that everything was
able to ripen naturally. The Cabernet Sauvignon is an example: there is no
green, there is no herbaceousness. There is a leafiness. Everything has
amazingly fresh acid structure. There is a brightness and a purity to the
fruit. It is the perfect vintage to start.”

Mission Hill has landed a chief winemaker who, through the winery and its
vineyards, will change winemaking in The Okanagan.

Sal Howell – Owner Deane House and River Café Calgary

Wonderful host and a true culinary visionary.

Sal Howell is a successful restaurateur who has helped shape the culinary
landscape in Western Canada. She is the founder and proprietor of River Café
and Deane House in Calgary and is deeply committed to local seasonal food,
sustainable agriculture and exploring the local ‘terroir’ and ‘taste of
place’ of the Prairies, and Canada. Sal has fostered the hospitality and
pioneered the culinary ‘farm to table’ philosophy at River Café since its
inception in 1991.

Deane House

River Café has numerous accolades including, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants,
Best Overall Restaurant, Avenue Magazine and Where Magazine, WHERE Magazine
Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood Award for dedicated effort in supporting the
Ocean conservation, and inclusion in the international publication ‘The 1001
restaurants you must experience before you die’.

Deane House Chef de Cuisine Galasa Aden

His whole bio is contained in our interview..great guy.

His parents are proud of him – it only took five years.

www.deanehouse.com

www.missionhillwinery.com

Colin Linden – Musician, singer/songwriter AND serious wine fan.

Colin Linden is a genuine renaissance man of roots music. He’s a member of
the highly successful trio, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a singer and
songwriter, an in-demand and prolific record producer, musical director on
the hit TV show Nashville and sideman to the stars as guitarist for the
likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Cockburn, Emmy Lou Harris, Robert Plant and Alison
Krause.

Colin Linden

Played a gospel concert with T Bone Burnett at the Obama White House.

We find Colin sitting outside the back door of his studio in Nashville.

He’s just wrapped up producing Keb Mo, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Lucinda
Williams, Bruce Cockburn and many others.

And we talk about his newest album Amour with friend and partner Luther
Dickinson.

Amour features vocals by the cast members of Nashville TV series.

Best of all Colin can talk wine for hours..and he buys wines on both sides
of the border.

<http://www.colinlinden.com/> http://www.colinlinden.com/

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

Vintage 2019 – featuring

Senka Tennant Terra Vista

Grant Stanley Spearhead

Howard Soon Vanessa

Bailey Williamson Blue Grouse

Meet the Makers – Victoria

Kristen Needham – Sea Cider

Jenny Garlini – Blue Grouse

Stags Hollow – Keira Le Franc

Roche Wine – Penelope Roche

Fitzpatrick Family Wines – Gordon Fitzpatrick

Ricco Bambino – Sebastien Hotte

Sheringham Distillery – Jason MacIsaac

A visit to Blue Grouse