In September, we had the pleasure of attending Swirl Around BC 2024 Wine Expo, an event in Vancouver held by Wines of British Columbia to celebrate BC wine. Forty-five wineries participated, and the two of us managed to share small pours from 15 of them. BC wine is indeed worth celebrating. In addition, several winemakers told us the good news that they are working with Washington state vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills and Wahluke Slope AVAs to source their fruit, following an unprecedented BC crop shortage due to the area’s deep freeze earlier this year.

Swirl Around BC 2024: Blasted Church

We first stopped by Blasted Church at Swirl Around BC 2024. We’ve been fans of this BC winery for a number of years, and hope to visit them in Okanagan Falls in the spring. Meanwhile, we tasted their 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, a rich Cab with a dash of Petit Verdot. We adored it. Aromas of plums, berries, chocolate, and licorice echo on the palate. We will look for it, and other Blasted Church wines, when we next cross the border. It’s only four miles from where we live!

Corcelettes

We’ve wanted to taste wine from Corcelettes Estate Winery for a long time, and we finally had the opportunity. We also met  friendly, knowledgeable Charlie Baessler, partner, viticulturist and general manager of Corcelettes. Charlie poured two wines for us: Talus 2021 and Cabernet Franc 2022.

Talus 2021 is Corcelettes’ flagship wine, with grapes sourced from the best of their vineyards and an expression of the Similkameen Valley. Talus is a beautiful, powerful blend of Merlot (40%), Cab Sauv (35%), Cab Franc (23%) and a pinch of Malbec and Petit Verdot. Think plums, spices, dark chocolate and minerality. While drinkable now, Cabernet Franc 2022 is a big, luscious wine that should be put away for a few years to really enjoy its elegant and rich dark fruit flavors. Its full of black raspberries, dark cherries, plums and minerality.

Gold Hill

We discovered Gold Hill Winery in 2017 at an event sponsored by Wines of BC, and subsequently enjoyed their wines at similar events in 2023. At this year’s Swirl Around BC 2024, we were delighted to revisit 2022 Sauvignon Blanc with its grapefruit flavors, minerality and salinity. Ditto for the Gold Hill 2022 Cabernet Franc Rosé, with layers of red fruit flavors. We also continue to appreciate their “Gold Standard Flagship Wine,” 2018 Cabernet Franc. This vintage features a medley of aromatics and flavors of red berries, cherries, spices, coffee, herbs and minerality.

Hester Creek

Another winery along BC’s Golden Mile Bench, Hester Creek Estate offers vineyard views, luxury accommodation, fine dining and delicious wines. With a motto of “Our roots run deep,” Hester Creek creates wines from vines planted in 1968. At Swirl, we tasted The Judge 2020, which is crafted in a classic Bordeaux style from those 1968 vines and comes in a beautiful bottle. The Judge blends Merlot (35%), Cab Franc (34%), Cab Sauv (28%), Petit Verdot (2%) and Malbec (1%). Aromas of cassis, caramel and dark chocolate lead into flavors of cherries, berries, dark fruits and more chocolate. This wine is impressive.

Moon Curser

In 2022, we stopped by Moon Curser in Osoyoos, a fun winery named after moonlight-evading gold rush smugglers. This year, we tasted Moon Curser 2020 Petit Verdot and 2022 Syrah. 2020 Petit Verdot is a perfect wine to complement your Thanksgiving table. A combination of elegance and power, this dense red wine is full-bodied, with aromas of black fruit, figs, baking spices, cocoa and graphite, mirrored on the palate. 2022 Syrah displays classic BC Syrah notes of spices, dark fruits and floral notes.

Swirl Around BC 2024: Phantom Creek

Everything you’ve heard about Phantom Creek Estates is true. Their wines are as gorgeous as their estate on Black Sage Bench in BC’s Okanagan Valley. We visited the captivating estate in 2022, but we hadn’t tasted any of their wines since then. So, we were delighted to meet Phantom Creek’s Kari Lakomski at Swirl Around BC 2024. She poured us three different Cuveés, all magnificent.

2021 Becker Vineyard Cuvée is a savory, complex blend of Cabernet Franc (52%), Merlot (31%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (17%). An earthy nose leads into bold, high-intensity flavors of dark fruit and dark chocolate. 2020 Kobau Vineyard Cuvée Is also impressive. Think dark fruits, spices, cassis, chocolate, graphite and hints of cedar emerging from a luxurious combination of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc, 27% Merlot and 15% Syrah. 2020 Petite Cuvée blends Cabernet Franc (43%), Cabernet Sauvignon (33%), Merlot (16%), Petit Verdot (4%), and 2% each of Syrah and Malbec. Aromas and flavors of cherries and strawberries captured our attention.

Poplar Grove

We really enjoyed Poplar Grove signature red, 2018 The Legacy as well as 2020 Cabernet Franc. The Legacy blends 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot. As a result, textured layers of crème brûlèe, cherries, raspberries and plums follow amazing aromas of figs and caramel. We first tasted it two years ago at a similar event and it was a favorite then. With two more years on it, what a star! Meanwhile, Poplar Grove Cab Franc has been popular from the inaugural vintage in 1995, and the 2020 is not an exception. Red and dark fruits combine with black tea, vanilla and herbs in this appealing red wine. BC is known for producing excellent Cab Franc, proven by this one. Poplar Grove Winery is one of the original five wineries on BC’s Naramata Bench.

River Stone

River Stone Estate Winery is located in Oliver BC. Their estate vineyards comprise soil composed of sand, gravel and stones that were deposited by ancient glacial meltwater. River Stone General Manager Noelle Starsynksi poured 2019 Corner Stone for us. We had not experienced River Stone wines before and we are so pleased with the friendly introduction. River Stone Estate 2019 Corner Stone blends 33% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec and 6% Petit Verdot. This rich red features aromas and flavors of plums and berries, with hints of spice, chocolate and java. Not surprisingly, 2019 Corner Stone won a handful of gold medals. It is that good.

Sandhill

We also met Sandhill’s talented winemaker, Sydney Valentino, who poured Small Lot Sandhill One 2019, a single-vineyard blend of Merlot (69%), Cabernet Sauvignon (17%) and Cab Franc (14%), harvested from Vanessa Vineyard in BC’s Similkameen Valley. What a lovely red, with notes of dark fruits, dark chocolate, vanilla, cassis, spices and java.  The BC Wine Awards named Sandhill One 2019 as one of BC’s Top 50 wines. We also tasted the award-winning Sandhill 2020 Cabernet Franc, a fan favorite that is part of their Terroir-driven Series. This outstanding wine offers aromas and flavors of red and dark fruits, black tea, spice and everything nice. Bring on the steaks!

Stag’s Hollow

We met talented Winemaker Keira LeFranc of Stag’s Hollow at a BC Wine event last year, and we were delighted to see her again and meet Assistant Winemaker Libby Nixon at Swirl Around BC 2024 Wine Expo. Last year, we noted that Keira’s Albariño is the best we’ve tasted outside of Rías Baixas in Spain. This year, we were also impressed with 2022 Chardonnay from Herrera Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. We love the zesty, mineral-driven, juicy flavors of stone fruits, pears, melons, vanilla and almonds. Stag’s Hollow Chard is both creamy and bright, “something that could appeal to even the staunchest of Chardonnay haters.” We don’t hate Chardonnay but we are picky. This one is excellent, and won us over, along with a silver medal at the 2024 Chardonnay du Monde competition, showcasing the best Chardonnays worldwide – 579 wines from 33 countries.

Swirl Around BC 2024: Stoneboat

Stoneboat Vineyards’ Andrew Young (Director of Operations) and Graham Macdonald (Head of Sales) introduced us to some delicious bubbles. Stoneboat is a sledge for carrying stones that are picked off the land, which is how their vineyard was first cleared of rocks. The vineyard soil comprises sandy, gravelly loam that gives way to rounded, similarly sized stones that were deposited by ancient glacial meltwater. Stoneboat wines reflect the same minerality, but not the funk, of Washington State’s Rocks District. We tasted two stellar sparkling wines.

Our favorite, NV Reserve Piano Brut, offers aromas and flavors of citrus, peach, apple, and honey. Stoneboat crafted this refreshing sparkler in the traditional Charmat Method from old-vines Pinot Blanc. NV Bubble Boat features more tropical fruit flavors, along with notes of pineapple and grapefruit. Also made with the Charmat Method, Bubble Boat blends a medley of 42% Riesling, 25% Pinot Blanc, 13% Gewurztraminer, 9% Roussanne, 3% Schonberger, 5% Pinotage and 3% Viognier.

Tantalus

Tantalus is another of our favorite BC wineries. We’ve long been fans of Tantalus Blanc de Blancs, which we last opened on our anniversary back in April. Therefore, we decided to try a red instead. Specifically, Tantalus Syrah Further Afield Series 2022. What a beauty! Tantalus sources this Syrah from stony, granite soil in the Similkameen Valley, further afield from the winery in the Okanagan. We tasted layers of red cherries, plums, dark berries, pepper and herbs with hints of oranges, red licorice and a touch of smoked meat. Delicious.

Swirl Around BC 2024: Unsworth

In August, we opened a bottle of Unsworth Vineyards flagship Charme de L’île, which we picked up during a 2023 trip to the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Unsworth Hospitality Manager Karen Newington called Charme de L’île “casual patio bubbles at their finest.” We saw Karen again last month at Swirl Around BC 2024 Wine Expo. This time she poured its counterpart, Charme de L’île Rosé. Charme de L’île means “charm of the island.” This dry sparkler from Vancouver Island is indeed charming. Our glass sparkled with aromas of cranberries, raspberries and apples, leading into flavors of pink grapefruit, more cranberries, rhubarb, and strawberries. Made in the Charmat Method, Unsworth produces Charme de L’Ile Rosé from Pinot Noir, and it would be a wonderful wine for any holiday table. Yikes, are we talking about the holidays already?

Vanessa Vineyard

Two years ago, we took a road trip through part of BC wine country, and one of our favorite wineries along the way was Vanessa Vineyard, located in the picturesque Similkameen Valley, west of Osoyoos. We are longtime fans of Vanessa’s esteemed winemaker Howard Soon. But it was our first visit to the winery, where we met Vanessa owners Suki and Desha Sekhon, a definite highlight. Last month, we saw Desha again at Swirl. She is so warm, friendly and passionate about their wines. There’s a lot to be passionate about. As fans, we just had to taste a few of Vanessa’s latest releases: 2022 V Series, 2019 Syrah and 2019 Meritage.

V Series continues to entice, vintage after vintage. The 2022 is a blend of 57% Sémillon, 23% Marsanne, 16% Viognier and 4% Gewürztraminer, with aromas of peaches, honey, apples and citrus mirrored on the palate. This is an ideal wine to serve during your Thanksgiving feast — in Canada or the US!

We have appreciated Vanessa Meritage for years, and the 2019 is a powerful, standout blend of 41% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromas of plums, raspberries, licorice, spices, coffee and herbs echo the palate, with chocolate and cherries.

2019 Syrah is simply amazing. Aromas of violets, plums and black licorice lead into flavors of dark fruits, pepper and hints of dark chocolate, licorice and spices. This superb Syrah is balanced, complex, concentrated, dense and structured.

Vasanti

For months, we’ve been hearing the buzz about Vasanti Estate, a fairly new, family-owned winery in Oliver, in BC’s Okanagan. Vasanti, derived from the Punjabi language, “represents new beginnings and renewal—a chance to refine our craft with each passing year.” At Swirl Around BC 2024, we met Director of Operations, Davinder Sidhu, who poured Vasanti 2023 Paradise Bubbles, a limited-edition Frizzante-style sparkling wine made from Pinot Gris grown at their estate Paradise block. This lively, dry sparkler is all about the citrus, with lemon rind, lemon zest and lime, and hints of wet stone. We also tasted Vasanti 2021 Merlot, a bold, lush 100% Merlot, displaying flavors of red and black fruits, cassis, mocha and earthiness. Outstanding. And now we understand firsthand why there’s a buzz.

Summary: Swirl Around BC 2024

In conclusion, we continue to celebrate wines from my home province of British Columbia. Thank you, Wines of BC, for the opportunity to experience these wines. And thanks to these wineries for sharing their pours with us. We will stop by during our next visit to BC wine country.

Meanwhile, find us here at Write for Wine and on Instagram and Facebook.

Cheers!
Margot and Dave