It's billed as the awards for wine brands founded by millennials for millennials.
But, as you'll see by the list of fun and quality winners of the Millennial Wine Beer & Spirits Competition, these wines are going to thrill drinkers of all ages.
Millennials were born 1981 to 1996, making them age 26 to 41 right now.
They are a huge, emerging demographic and economic force that appreciates wine and wineries are targeting them as a result.
Millennials tend to drink differently than other demos.
Those younger than millennials (hello, Gen Z) may want sweeter drinks and beer, wine and spirits in volume with higher alcohol to get a buzz.
Those older than millennials (we're talking about you Gen Xers and Boomers) tend to like those 'this Merlot has a beautiful plummy bouquet with hints of dark chocolate' descriptors.
Millennials want to be inspired by wine, rather than be lectured about it.
Thus, they gravitate to wines with friends on a patio, at the beach or in front of a fire that remind them of what they drank on the trip to California or the ski hill.
The annual Millennial Wine Beer & Spirits Competition in Los Angeles is the brainchild of sommelier Amanda Greenbaum of California's AJA Vineyards and Olivera Markovic, who helped organize past New York World Wine & Spirits and San Francisco International Wine competitions.
The pair rounded up a band of millennial wine pros, everyday wine drinkers and celebrities to taste, judge and award 11 gold medals at the Marina Del Rey Hotel.
By the way, some of the celeb judges were Harry Jowsey from Too Hot to Handle, chef Gianluca Conte, 13 Reasons Why's Austin Aaron and influential baker Irene Walton.
Unfortunately, the list of winners doesn't include any Okanagan wines, but does include an exceptional line up of California wines and a few others from points across the globe, some of which are available at BC government liquor stores and private liquor stores.
I've put the price with any of the wines for sale locally.
- Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand ($17.50) (this is my favourite wine from the winners' list for its quintessential NZ Sauv Blanc profile of zippy passionfruit and grapefruit with a herbaceous backbone)
- J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, California ($25)
- Belle Glos Pinot Noir, California ($63)
- Albert Bichot Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Reserve, France (sparkling)
- Barefoot Peach, California
- Barefoot Spritzer Moscato, California
- Rodney Strong Signature Red Blend, California
- Zilzie Barossa Shiraz, Australia
- Anarchist Piquette, California (sparkling)
- Belle Glos Quilt Cabernet Sauvignon, California
- Knotty Vines Chardonnay, California
Wine growler
We've all heard of growlers for beer.
Now, Niche Wine Company in West Kelowna is the first Okanagan winery to introduce a wine growler program.
The program is not just a way for you to pick up fresh, small-batch wines in 500ml and one litre growlers, but it's also part of a larger sustainability and community-building project.
"Using a refillable bottle means we can reduce our carbon footprint, cut our packaging costs and, in turn, pass on those savings to the local community," says Joanna Scholsser, who owns and operates Niche with her winemaker and farmer husband, James.
To get started you need to buy a growler ($5 for the 500ml and-or $7 for the one litre) and then you can fill and refill as many times as you want from Niche's three rotating wines on tap.
You can only fill and refill at the winery at 1895 Bartley Rd, Tuesdays through Thursdays, 4-7 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays, 11 am to 5 pm.
Until recently, growlers were only legally allowed to be filled with beer or cider.
With regulation changes, there's now the opportunity for wine growler fills.
"Italy and France have been dispensing wine into reusable containers for centuries," said Scholsser.
"We could not be more excited about making it happen here in the Okanagan Valley."
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
