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Okanagan Crush Pad Winery has become the first Canadian winery to attain silver membership with International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), joining a prestigious list of global wineries committed to addressing climate change. Additionally, the winery has made history by converting to Fortis BC's Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) program.
The Okanagan’s Favourite Great Pyrenees have been cooking up something new in the winery
Bizou + Yukon recently released their sparkling wine cans and we’re excited to share the news with everyone.
If you follow along you will know that two Great Pyrenees guard Garnet Valley Ranch and sometimes sneak off to make their own wines. In their lineup of fun and tasty wines, they have also taken a step to be more environmentally friendly too, packaging them in 1.5-litre easy-serve bags (Pooch Pouches). Noticing that humans love to bring drinks on their adventures, Bizou + Yukon came up with the Pinkie Rosé and BEE-zoo Pink Bubbles sparkling wine in cans.
Now with summer at its peak, bring the taste of the Okanagan with you wherever you go! Bizou suggests that the wine pairs perfectly with digging a giant hole, wandering through fields of daisies, or chasing bees and butterflies. On the other hand, Yukon watches Bizou do all those things while sipping wine and lounging on a patio chair.
What’s more important than these vegan and gluten-free wines in convenient canned form? The way it tastes, of course! With bright and refreshing flavours, you’ll notice toasty and creamy notes that round out a medium-bodied mouthfeel.
You can find packages of four at select stores or you can order a pallet of 24 cans from Okanagan Crush Pad’s online store.
For a list of stores:
Okanagan Crush Pad Tasting Room
Sechelt Lighthouse Liquor Store
Thrifty Foods Liquor – Salt Sprint
Vintage Spirits (Hotel Rialto)
SEE WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY
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.
What’s Happening this Fall We have been trying to find dates to plan activities for our clients and it has become obvious to us how BUSY the schedule is and everyone's calendar is.
We find the best way for you to know about a client or project is to meet them in person, and the best way to do that is to hold an event, so everyone is hosting something.
We like to use PlanitBC which has a public face as well as an industry planning back end, so we advise anyone who both wants to plan or attend something look there. It's not expensive and helps keep everything in one spot, and then has a way to publicize the events that are public.
For whatever reason, we have found that not everyone is signing up for Planit, so we have gathered everything we know of as of the beginning of August.
Note: this is for planning purposes and will change - check back often.
September 10, Top Drop Vancouver (featuring Town Hall clients Blue Grouse and Haywire)
September 10, Design Event (Story PR)
September 11, Top Drop Vancouver (featuring Town Hall clients Blue Grouse and Haywire)
September 13, BBQ off the Bypass (hosted by Town Hall client Angie Quaale of Well Seasoned)
September 14, Chile Sommelier Challenge (Trade only)
September 15, IVSA New Product Salon (Vancouver)
September 16, Colour BC Fall VQA Tasting (Industry)
September 16, ChefmeetsBCGrape Signature Tasting
September 18, 5th Annual Fraser Valley Cork and Keg, Wine, Beer and Food Festival
September 19, Lilloet Beer and Wine Festival
September 21, Invite Only Trade Wine Event
September 22, Sparkling Wine Event (invite only featuring Town Hall clients Summerhill Pyramid Winery)
September 22, Kate Colley PR Event
September 22, IVSA New Product Salon (Victoria)
September 23, Lifestyle, Fashion, Fitness Event
September 25, Victoria Wine Festival
September 26, Victoria Wine Festival
September 27, Slow Fish Dinner (hosted by Town Hall clients The Chefs' Table Society of BC)
September 27, Victoria Wine Festival
September 30, Lifestyle Event
October 1, Discover BC VQA Tasting (Calgary)
October 1, Lifestyle and Fashion Event
October 1-11, Fall Okanagan Wine Festival (featuring Town Hall clients Summerhill, SpierHead Winery, Mt. Boucherie, TIME, and Okanagan Crush Pad.)
October 5, Town Hall media event-by invitation only
October 5-9, Tourism Vancouver Open House
October 7, Town Hall trade event - by invitation only
October 8, Home and Lifestyle Event
October 15, Town Hall wine media event- by invitation only
October 15, Abbotsford Circle Farm Tour
October 17, BC Uncorked (featuring Town Hall clients Summerhill and Mt.Boucherie)
October 18, CONNECT Food + Drink + Lodging Expo 2015
October 19, CONNECT Food + Drink + Lodging Expo 2015
October 21, Vancouver Magazine Judging
October 22, Vancouver Magazine Judging
October 22, Vancouver Home + Design Show Opening Party (invite only)
October 22, 2nd Annual Tea Sparrow Tea Festival
October 23, Vancouver Magazine Judging
October 26, A Taste of Wines from Italy (Trade)
October 28, Wine, Food & Lifestyle Tasting
October 29, Design & Lifestyle Event
November 7, 26th Annual Fraser Valley Wine Festival
