It's exciting, it's a sure sign of spring, it's crisp and fresh and delicious.
It's the first of the new releases of 2023 vintage wines.
The very first releases for a new vintage are always aromatic whites and roses.
The grapes for these wines were picked the fall prior, cool fermented in big stainless steel tanks to maintain freshness, crispness, vibrant fruit flavours and aromas and then bottled early in the new year for release in the spring.
These wines aren't meant to spend extra time in oak barrels or the bottle, so they appear on the market bright and early.
Aromatic whites and roses are meant to be drunk young, so it's the perfect scenario to enjoy new vintage wines right away.
There's no set calendar for the release of new vintage aromatic whites and roses -- they simply show up sporadically at wineries, stores and online anytime in the spring.
So, keep an eye out for 2023 on the label and buy them up because the vintage is spectacular and limited.
That's right, the severe cold snap in December 2022 damaged buds on grape vines resulting in only half the normal crop at harvest 2023.
Fewer grapes means less wine.
However, the grapes that fought to grow were concentrated and have resulted in wines with exceptional flavours, aromas and minerality.
Mark Hopley, the winemaker at Hester Creek in Oliver, calls it a "quality over quantity" vintage.
The first three 2023 vintage wines I've come across are two from Hester Creek Winery in Oliver -- Old Vines Pinot Blanc ($20) and Pinot Gris (also $20) and the Reserve Organic Rose ($26) from Mission Hill Family Estate in West Kelowna.
The Pinot Blanc has a profile of green apple and honey with a streak of herbaceousness, so fresh and delish.
The Pinot Gris has aromas and flavours of pear and lemon zest, the perfect spring sipper.
Hester Creek has also just released two other 2023s -- Pinot Noir Rose ($28) and Rose of Cabernet Franc ($20).
The Mission Hill Organic Rose is a stunning pale pink, indicative of the classic strawberry-and-rhubarb it delivers on the nose and in the mouth.
Eco-friendly
Haywire Winery in Summerland's never-ending quest to be ever-more eco-freindly has extended to wine in pouches and sparkling wine in lightweight glass bottles with a screw cap.
The pouches result in an 80% reduced carbon footprint compared to glass bottles, are easy to use and fully recyclable and reduces shipping weight, which means fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, the 2023 Haywire Pinot Gris ($50) (see another 2023 vintage release) and the 2022 Haywire Merlot ($53) come in 1.5-litre pouches.
Generally, because of the pressure of the bubbles, sparkling wines are put in heavy-glass bottles and topped with a big mushroom-shaped cork and covered by a metal cage and foil.
However, Narrative (another of Haywire's brands) has figured out a way to contain the bubbles in a lightweight glass bottle with a regular screw cap.
The result is the 2022 Narrative XC Sparkling ($27).
The packaging is entirely recyclable and reduces the weight of a case of 12 bottles by 12 pounds, so money and greenhouse emissions are saved on shipping.
On the sustainability front, Haywire (which also has the brands Narrative, Garnet Valley Ranch and Free Form) was the first Canadian winery to join the International Wineries for Climate Action, it uses renewable natural gas to power the winery and it has made a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
