If you're drinking wine this Easter long weekend (and we know you are!), then it might as well be bottles from BC's new 'Winery of the Year.'
Hester Creek snagged the honour from Kennewick, Washington state-based Great Northwest Wine magazine last month after the Oliver winery's wines scored exceptionally well in three contests -- Cascadia International Wine Competition, Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition and The Platinum Awards.
Let's start with the Hester Creek 2019 Old Vines Brut ($35) -- a fresh and complex sparkling made of Pinot Blanc grapes, some from vines dating back to 1968 (thus the 'Old Vines' moniker).
It's the bubbly that won a gold medal at the Great Northwest Invitational and a platinum medal at The Platinum Awards.
The sparkler's alluring lemon-honey-and-fresh-baked-
Or, try sparkling with Easter dinner for a change.
It's an inspired pairing with either salty-and-sweet ham or roast turkey.
Speaking of ham and turkey, they are two of the traditional Easter dinner meals along with lamb.
For lamb, one of the best wine matches is a medium-bodied Syrah with good acidity and aromas and flavours of blackberry and black pepper.
Two such Okanagan vintages are the 2020 Hester Creek Syrah ($30) and the 2020 Covert Farms Grand Reserve Syrah ($52) from Oliver.
Back to ham.
Most people will bake it with a sweet glaze and that combined with the ham's natural saltiness calls out for an aromatic white or rose with nice acidity and a kiss of sweetness along with some orchard fruit, tropical fruit and citrus aromas and flavours.
Five such Okanagan wines are the Hester Creek 2021 Pinot Bianco ($22 and the Italian name for Pinot Blanc), Maverick 2022 Rose ($27) from Oliver, Sandhill 2022 Sauvignon Blanc ($22) from Kelowna and the 2022 Pink Mountain Rose ($27) and 2022 Riesling ($23) from Naramata Bench winery Moraine.
If you're going the turkey route, a fruit-forward and lightly oaked Chardonnay is often the top choice.
Fitting that bill is the 2021 Tinhorn Creek Chardonnay ($24) from Oliver because it was fermented and aged in a combination of big, stainless steel tanks and oak barrels and as result has a delightful apple-lime-and-caramel profile.
Roast turkey also pairs beautifully with a Riesling, sparkling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc from any appellation in BC.
Rose Soiree at CedarCreek
CedarCreek Winery in Kelowna certainly knows how to throw a rose release party.
Talented winemaker Taylor Whelan was on hand to greet guests and pour and explain the 2022 Estate Pinot Noir Rose ($26).
"This wine is brand spanking new, fresh with fruit intensity, but also bone dry with a perception of sweetness," he said.
In other words, a perfect Easter-and-beyond wine.
The 2022 rose is an alluring pink.
"It's hard to get the colour just right," admitted Whelan.
"For this vintage, just two hours of skin contact (of the Pinot Noir grape skins with the just pressed-out juice) is all it took."
Guests at the Rose Soiree could also wander around the winery to sample other pink wines -- 2021 Platinum Simes Vineyard Rose ($35), 2021 Platinum Home Block Vineyard Rose ($35) and Platinum Jagged Rock Vineyard Sparkling Rose ($35).
Easter openings
Easter is traditionally the time BC wineries start opening more for the busy spring, summer and fall seasons of wine touring and tasting.
Some wineries are only open weekends for now, while others are extending hours to three, four, five, six or seven day a week.
Check with any winery before you head out to visit.
With this being the Easter long weekend, many wineries also have special holiday events.
One such is Phantom Creek Estates in Oliver, which, on Sunday, is hosting an all-day, estate-wide Easter egg hunt starting at 10 am.
Family-style meals will be on offer in the restaurant for lunch.
And if you'd like have a Phantom Easter dinner at home, order online for $50 per person at www.phantomcreekestates.com for pick up on Sunday or free delivery anywhere from Kelowna to Osoyoos.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears in this space every Friday afternoon.
