Aug
26
Written by:
John Gerum
8/26/2009 10:43 AM
The newest winery in this area is called
Vista D'Oro Farms & WineryFortified
Walnut Wine. They are located on 10 acres in South Langley and
feature artisanal preserves, orchard fruits and fresh baking in their shop and
tasting room.
The next winery to visit would be
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery, where
you can enjoy on-going summer events among their vineyards. When you visit
their tasting room, make sure to try their VQA Merlot, VQA Un-Oaked Chardonnay,
or the VQA Rose. The
Merlot displays a rich Okanagan
character which includes plum, black currant and hints of oak and dark
chocolate. The
Un-Oaked Chardonnay is fresh and has a
nice medium bodied mouth-feel, it's primarily orchard fruit driven but has some
hints of tropical fruit. Their off-dry
Rose is ideal to
walk through the vineyards with, and its refreshing strawberry and raspberry
notes burst from the glass and end in a perfect acid and sugar balance.
A
mere five minute drive from Township 7 is
Domaine de
Chaberton Estate Winery, by far the largest winery in the area
and you may be interested to know it's actually one of the largest producing
wineries in BC. Their strength is their white wines, especially the ones that
are produced from their own grapes grown in the Langley vineyard. They have
removed all of their Chardonnay vines and replaced them with mainly Germanic
varietals that suit the local climate. One of the best wines that I tasted on
my recent tour was the
2008 Bacchus, which is created
from the Bacchus vines that are now over 30 years old and are producing some
excellent fruit. Unike other Bacchus wines in the province, which seem to be
quite high in sharp acid flavours, this Bacchus is more mature and displays
softer acid balance. You will note apples and pears on the nose and a lime,
lemon citrus flavour on the palate. Another wine to try would be their
Madeleine Sylvaner which is a lighter style wine with a
crisper entry where the nose and palate are predominantly pear and lemon with
hints of green apple. In my opinion, the star wine in their lineup is the
1998 Ortega Late Harvest Dessert Wine, which shows
exotic spice with apricot, orange and light ginger tones. It's a fairly sweet
wine, but not as sweet as your typical ice wine so it pares well with a larger
variety of desserts including a creamy chocolate cheesecake.
So make sure
to enjoy the sunshine and take some time to explore our wineries and locally
made wines. Or if you prefer you could join us on one of our guided VIP Wine
Tours leaving from the Port Moody Arts Centre on August 9th and 23rd.