Six BC Wines for White Wine Day

Happy National White Wine Day!

To celebrate, we’ve got a list of six exciting BC wines that will be perfect for your next occasion or dinner this summer.

White wines have been around for at least 4,000 years and through those years wineries have only gotten better at creating tastier vintages. With crisper tones, white wines have a more acidic, floral, and fruity taste, giving them a lighter flavour combined with subtle overtones.

Try these:

1.     Blue Grouse 2021 Ortega - $25.99 online or in select wine stores in BC. The wine reflects the best of Cowichan Valley’s warm summers. Ortega is Vancouver Island’s signature grape, and Blue Grouse is Vancouver Island’s signature winery, so this wine is the perfect representation of the region. Whole cluster pressed, this fruit-forward wine is bright, savoury, and well-balanced.

2.     Singletree 2020 Gruner Veltliner - $19.10 online or get it while you can at Vij’s Restaurant. Only 111 cases made. The wine was fermented in stainless steel to bring out delicious aromas of nectarine, pineapple, and melon. There are also flavours of Meyer lemon, apple, and citrus. Pair this refreshing white wine with some roasted asparagus and smoked fish.  

3.     Blasted Church 2021 Unorthodox Chardonnay - $22.00 online or at the winery in Okanagan Falls, BC. Its ‘unorthodox’ name is a nod to the wine being the only one made in Canada with Chardonnay Musque. This lesser grown in BC Chardonnay offers waves of bright floral and spice, and a splash of stone fruit, all supported by a vibrant undercurrent of fresh citrus.

4.     Haywire Switchback 2018 Pinot Gris - $29.99 online, at Legacy Liquor Store or Marquis Wine Cellars. A special wine from a special place lovingly organically farmed and tended to. This wine shows the adaptability of Pinot Gris to represent the region and more importantly its site and micro-climate. Truly a wine that can only be known as “Switchback”. Harvested in two batches and whole bunch pressed, it was naturally fermented before resting on lees for 10 months. The wine itself has a creamy mouthfeel along with lively acidity that displays citrus and stone fruit characters. Critics love this wine, and you will too.

5.     Chronos 2020 Riesling - $28.99 online or at Save-On-Foods. Crafted with precision by winemaker Lynzee Schatz at TIME Family of Wines, this unrushed wine brings out the Okanagan Valley terroir exquisitely. Fermented in two different tanks with different yeast strains, blending them together brought out their sweetness and acidity. To enjoy this vibrant, bright, and juicy wine, sip it during a meal with an orange-miso halibut and a beet carpaccio.

6.     Coolshanagh 2018 Chardonnay - $30.00 online. Our premium pick, nothing brings out Okanagan terroir better than this wine. The new world Chardonnay was handled with care, it was fermented through 25% new French oak barrel, 25% concrete tank and 50% stainless steel. The Chardonnay has a classic Okanagan mineral streak and integrates flavours of popcorn, wet stone, and rich ripe fruit flavours.

The Ultimate Last-minute Thanksgiving Guide for Foodies and BC Wine Lovers

Ready or not, fall is here! That means it is time to dust off the winter coat, find the woolen socks that have moved to the back of the drawer, and prepare for Thanksgiving.

Celebrations are around the corner, so it’s time to figure out who’s doing the cooking, what is going to the served, and which wine will pair well with turkey! We’ve gathered the best Thanksgiving tips from wine writers, and food and lifestyle specialists to cure any seasonal concerns.

1.    Turkey DOs and DONT’s by Angie Quaale

There’s no Thanksgiving without a well-prepared turkey and stuffing. Angie Quaale, seasonal food expert, owner of Well-Seasoned Gourmet Food Store and turkey lover will guide home cooks through the whole process of choosing a bird, preparing, stuffing, cooking and cleaning up the mess after. According to her, it is very important to learn how to prepare the bird correctly otherwise there can be a risk of cross contamination with other things in the kitchen. 

2.    Decorating a Thanksgiving Table without breaking the bank

This is the perfect opportunity to set a beautiful table for your family and loved ones, and it does not necessarily mean spending hundreds of dollars to do it! Natalie Langston, lifestyle specialist has great ideas that will make your table IG-worthy: fresh seasonal flowers, candles, a simple and elegant printed menu, and delicious and affordable Evolve Cellars wines.

With the turkey in the oven and the table set, it’s time to think about the beverages. Pairing a tender and juicy turkey or glazed ham with wine is not as hard as it seems. There are a number of varieties that offer a flavour profile that will match well with both. From rich whites to fruit-forward reds, BC wine has so many options to choose from, and buying local has never been easier. British Columbia is also producing amazing sparkling wines and Chardonnays that will hit the mark for this year’s celebration.

3.    Thanksgiving Toast with BC Bubbly

To start the party, pop the cork of a tasty sparkling wine. If wine lovers are feeling extra confident, Tim Pawsey even gives tips on how to saber the bottle: chill it in ice and hit at the exact spot for the correct cut, but make sure to do it outside to minimize the mess. Among the great recommendations in his article, some highlights are the 2018 TIME Brut from Time Winery in Penticton, the 2017 Free Form Ancient Method and 2016 Haywire The Bub from Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, the 2016 Merryfield from Singletree in the Fraser Valley and Naramata, and the 2014 Paula Sparkling from Blue Grouse Estate Winery on Vancouver Island.

4.    Thinking about Chardonnay?

10 Chardonnays to pair with Thanksgiving Turkey

A few BC Wines to celebrate with for Thanksgiving

Perhaps the most common pairing for Thanksgiving turkey is white wine, most specifically Chardonnay. A herb crusted bird pairs well with the buttery taste of most oak aged Chards, and other more fruit-forward wines offer crisp flavours. Wineries in BC are offering high quality Chardonnay with distinct flavour profiles that can please every palate. In the two round ups above, Jennifer Schell and Karl Kliparchuk recommend a stellar line up for this weekend’s celebration. Some of the best bets include TIME Winery’s 2014 Chardonnay from Penticton and the 2016 Coolshanagh Chardonnay from Naramata.

We hope you give some of these suggestions a try, and tag @townhallbrands in social media. We’d love to see how your Thanksgiving is going!

We wish everyone a safe and joyful celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meet Pedro Parra #withTownHall

By Leeann Froese Well  its FriYAY - and a new week to bring you an amazing person #withTownHall!

If you are new to reading this blog or new to our company – we want you to know that we are proud that we have a big network, and we are continually meeting new and interesting personalities.

This week #withTownHall, we are rolling in on #featurefriday to introduce you to an international terroir specialist, Pedro Parra.

Pedro is a soil and terroir consultant from Chile.  To keep it simple, he assesses vineyard soil and determines which grape varietals will grow best based on soil type and composition. This includes digging pits and truly understanding the soil since different soil types yield different results in finished wine.

Pedro's clients are mainly located in Chile, Argentina, and Italy, but he also works in Sonoma, British Columbia, Armenia, Uruguay, and Burgundy.

In BC, Pedro works with three of Town Hall's PR clients. Beginning in 2012, he joined the Okanagan Crush Pad team as their terroir consultant and been apart of their journey ever  since helping them continue to move forward in crafting pure Okanagan wines. In 2014, Pedro assessed the soil of Coolshanagh Vineyard and noted the vineyard's soil was in the top 15% in the world. Along with the vineyards in the Okanagan, Pedro consults with the Blue Grouse Estate Winery team in Cowichan Valley on their winemaking.

In this position, he has dug over 20,000 pits around the world to help winemakers create the best wine possible, because it's not about the soil-it's all about the wine. When Pedro chooses his wine he considers soil type & region over varietal.

With all that being said will you help us say hello to Pedro?

Leave a comment below – or go give this post a like or share on Facebook or Twitter

What a year of personalities #withTownHall

  By Leeann Froese

Welcome to the #withTownHall #2015recap!

If you are a regular reader, you will know that each week we introduce a person we have encountered #withTownHall!

So as we end the year, let’s re-meet some amazing people:

Did you miss a post, or are you curious to know more about someone above? Click their posts to read about them:

Ezra Cipes, Summerhill Pyramid Winery

Crystal Kwon, Citizen Relations & Vancity Buzz

John Biehler

Alison Scholefield, Okanagan Crush Pad

Welbert Choi, Forage

James Melendez, James the Wine Guy

Mark Hicken, Vintage Law Group

Bailey Williamson, Blue Grouse Winery

Tyler Harlton, TH Wines

Hootsuite Owl, Hootsuite

Annika Reinhardt, Social Bites

Clement Chan, Torofuku Modern Asian

Degan Walters, SmokySweet

Cristina Brunner, Blue Grouse Winery

Jeff Kralik, Drunken Cyclist

Glen Korstrom, Business in Vancouver

Julie Van Rosendaal, Dinner With Julie

Darnelle Moore, Eastside Fitness

Sam Hauck, My Vancity

Blue Grouse Estate Winery, team

Jim Irving, BC Hospitality Foundation

Jeremy Schacht, Ampersand Distilling

Tori Klassen

Mijune Pak, Follow Me Foodie

Brian Webb Homoculture

Chris Pritchett, UBC Thunderbirds Baseball

Swearing Minion, Despicable Me

Christine Campbell, Girls Go Grape

Kayla Koroush, Barrel Thief

Joshua McVeity, Photographer and Fred Lee, Man About Town

Christa-Lee McWatters Bond, Local Lounge | Grille, Encore Vineyards

Kristina Manning, Monthlyclubs.com

Frank Morgan, Drink What You Like

Courtney Buryta, Vancouver Canucks

Natalie Langston, Freelance Media

Eagranie Yuh, Edible Vancouver and Wine Country

Crystal Henrickson, University of British Columbia

Madeline Puckette, Wine Folly

Steven Spurrier, Decanter Magazine

Jennifer Schell, BC Food and Wine Trails Magazine

Amy Chen, Town Hall Brands

Ann Luu, CTV Morning Live,

Jackie Gidda, Mt Boucherie Estate Winery

William Ho, Fairchild Radio

Skip & Judy Stothert, Coolshanagh

Mary Halpen, Best of Bridge

Ron Wilson, Cheap and Cheerful

Justin Darnes, Drinks Undressed

Do you know someone who we should feature #withTownHall? Introduce us. And leave a comment below – or go give this post a like or share on Facebook or Twitter

Meet Skip and Judy Stothert #withTownHall

By Leeann Froese It’s a new week to introduce you to one of the fabulous personalities in the world #withTownHall!

This does not mean they work as part of our team, or are our client (although sometimes they are).

We just interact with so many amazing people that we want to expand networks and introduce them to you, and you to them. This week #withTownHall, we introduce you to Skip and Judy Stothert.

Skip and Judy Stothert have been partners in life and love since they met on a blind date in high school and have been together ever since. Skip ran a successful highway paving business (Green Roads Recycling) while Judy taught Interior Design at BCIT while handling a select stable of clients. In 2003 Skip and Judy relocated from Deep Cove in North Vancouver to a 52-acre-site seven kilometers north of Naramata, directly above the water.

Skip and Judy named their new home Coolshanagh which means "a meeting place of friends" because it was part of Judy's family tradition.

It was on this site that Skip and Judy first cleared and planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the best suited varietals for the land after much research. Renowned global terroir specialist Pedro Parra called their site among the top 15% of key sites in the world, with some of best exposure and soil structures for grape growing he had seen in the Okanagan.

After selling their grapes for a few years, Skip and Judy decided to make their own wine in 2012 at Okanagan Crush Pad, under the Coolshanagh label, beginning with Chardonnay. Subsequent vintages have been released and the production of Coolshanagh Pinot Noir is underway.

Our team is very proud to have done the packaging and to promote this tiny producer.

With all of this shared about Skip and Judy, will you please help us give them a big hello?

Leave a comment below – or go give this post a like or share on Facebook or Twitter, Skip can be found on Instagram at Coolshanagh.

Celebrating Canadian Cuisine on Food Day Canada

By Kathleen Beveridge Saturday is Food Day Canada, which means we get to celebrate by eating delicious Canadian cuisine.

And we share it @FoodDayCanada with #CanadaISFood #FDC2015

Canada is known across the globe for a variety of things: saying “sorry” and “eh”, maple syrup, and being cold (although that idea is out the window lately), but what is often forgotten is how delicious and diverse our local food is across the country. And let’s be honest, that’s silly, considering we eat every single day.

At Town Hall we couldn’t be more proud to have clients that are a part of this movement, from Langley’s Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store’s owner and local food queen, Angie Quaale, who buys local whenever she can and uses it in her recipes; to the members of the Chefs’ Table Society who all stand behind sustainable and local foods, to our winery clients who produce wine sourced from BC grown grapes.

We also have some clients who source locally and sustainably for their restaurants, including Summerhill Pyramid Winery’s Sunset Organic Bistro, the new restaurant at Evolve Cellars, and the soon-to-open Perch Restaurant, located in the beautiful new AMS building at UBC. These restaurants support local farms and are Ocean Wise.

Top this list off with our client, the BC Hospitality Foundation, who supports those working in the Food and Beverage industry with financial support for industry workers when the need arises, keeping the Canadian food and beverage movement on its feet.

It’s more important than ever to buy local and support Canada’s economy, but more importantly the people, who put so much into growing and creating nutritious food to fuel us through each day.

Now I’ll go celebrate by picking local blackberries and raising my glass (full of BC wine) to Canadian cuisine.

How will you celebrate Food Day Canada? In Kelowna, celebrate at Summerhill Pyramid Winery's Sunset Organic Bistro, one of the 250 participating restaurants in Food Day Canada.

Try wine from one of these BC wineries this Food Day Canada:

Blue Grouse Estate Winery

Coolshanagh

Evolve Cellars

McWatters Collection

Monte Creek Ranch

Mt. Boucherie Winery

Okanagan Crush Pad

Serendipity Winery

Singletree Winery

SpierHead Winery

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

TIME Estate Winery