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Can’t you just hear the festive clink of bottles and the merry swipe of credit cards as party season approaches?
This year I’ve asked a trio of wise industry professionals for their advice on which BC wines you should be adding to your basket for the holidays. From the best bubbles and turkey-pairing wines to goes-with-everything bottles, now you never need to show up with palate-stripping, hangover-induing *ellow*ail ever again.
Black Hills is known, of course, for their iconic red blend Nota Bene (something that will always be the star of any lineup) and I had no idea that they now make sparkling too. This beauty had 40 months on its lees, which has created some heavenly brioche-y and crisp lemon zest notes. It’s currently on sale over at their site, so splash out!
I love that Township7 has their own small sparkling label, Seven Stars, where genius winemaker Mary McDermott experiments with different varieties and methods. Rigel is a zippy, apple-y 100% riesling made in the traditional method; try this with briny fresh-shucked oysters or creamy French cheeses and fall in love.
This wine is so intriguing. There is something herbaceous about the nose that’s just lovely. Pears, lemon zest and brioche-and-cream. I’d pop this Christmas morning and not be mad if it was all I was drinking till New Year’s!
I know I’ve said this before but wow, I really, really mean it now. The BC wine industry is in dire straits after a catastrophic winter destroyed up to 90% of vines, so if you want to keep enjoying wines from small producers, now is the time to support them. Put some income their way, and look forward to cool wines next year that maybe weren’t grown in BC, but were made right here with an incredible amount of love, care and skill. This ‘crisis vintage’ offers some interesting options of varieties and styles that we don’t usually try, so support the wineries who took a risk by getting fruit from elsewhere so they had something to sell to keep the cellar doors open.
In short: treat yourself to a wine club membership from a small winery now!
Wine Professional Tania Tomaszewska leads private wine tasting experiences and is the creator and host of the TT Wine Explorer Podcast.
Sparkling wine is a slam-dunk winner for holiday parties: bubbles are fantastic on their own and dance beautifully with brekkie, lunch, dinner AND dessert. Plus, they just feel special.
Try Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards Fitz Cremant Sparkling (White). This traditional method 100% estate grown pinot blanc has fine delicate bubbles and a fantastic creamy mousse. Hello, smoked salmon canapés! Haywire’s 2017 “The Bub” Sparkling is a bold, clean traditional method pinot noir-chardonnay blend. Crisp lemon and apple tones with toasty notes, slicked with chalky minerality, think oysters, prawns, soft cheeses, apple crumble with cream.
Pinot Gris is your ‘everything’ wine: bright with fresh citrus and honeyed stone fruit tones, this go-to dry white pairs with almost every food and palate. A newcomer to the BC wine scene, Solvero is kicking goals with this floral and nuanced textured drop. Try their 2022 Happy Valley Pinot Gris or Blue Mountain Vineyard 2022 Pinot Gris / 2022 Estate Cuvée Pinot Gris—these two stellar labels from iconic Blue Mountain bring rounded elegance to any table.
For red wine lovers (and your wine nerd friends) think Pinot Noir. Whether it’s light and earthy, or more fruit-forward, this low-tannin red loves everything from cheese and charcuterie to wild mushrooms, turkey, prime rib and rich chocolate brownies. Unsworth Vineyards 2022 Pinot Noir is a beautiful Vancouver Island expression. Light with dark cherry tones and soft, silky tannins. Bullseye! Or try Tantalus Vineyards 2022 Maija Pinot Noir Fresh and juicy with rich layers of red cherry, earth and spice. Heft in all the right places.
I absolutely love this silky wine from the Similkameen. With delicious crisp green apples on the palate, this is your best friend for a crunchy Boxing Day noodle salad or traditional turkey dinner. I just checked and they have a case sale on right now. Get in!
Slide into day-drinking with this bright peachy aromatic blend of Viognier and Roussanne. It’s only available to their wine club so consider this your notice to sign up immediately.
Want to try something a little out of the ordinary? I love this wine as an afternoon-into-evening easy sipper with an intriguing orange-zest-and-tea note. Yum.
Nick Canteenwalla is assistant general manager at Vancouver’s The Victor restaurant.
I wanted to highlight a white and red from the Okanagan that I think will pair best with a classic Christmas turkey dinner and still be delicious on their own. An off-dry riesling hits the mark overall. Splurge on Martin’s Lane ‘Naramata Ranch’ Riesling 2021; the tropical fruit-forward notes work really well with the numerous flavours of a turkey dinner. This wine also has a bit of boldness which will help it stand up to gravy—crucial for Christmas dinner!
Meyer Family ‘Mclean Creek’ Pinot Noir 2022 is a personal favorite of mine whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving or a random Tuesday night in April! With a relatively low ABV you may end up finishing the first bottle before dinner is prepped… and I’m ok with that. The earthiness of this wine is one of its best features and will pair well with both turkey and stuffing. I would always prefer a lighter-bodied red with soft tannins when it comes to turkey, and this beautiful pinot noir is the perfect match!
I did want to give a shout out to a sparkling that I believe is a crowd-pleaser to all, which is important when the big family get-togethers happen. Blue Mountain Gold Label Brut NV is, in my opinion, is one of the most elegant sparkling wines across Canada. Made in the traditional methods used in Champagne, it’s refreshing, creamy and zesty with notes of green apple and brioche. To me, this needs no pairing; it’s fantastic on its own, a perfect way to start the afternoon with a toast to friends and family!
Oh yes! Glorious silky, spicy, peppery, dark cherries. Splurge on this delicious wine for any “main event” dinner, it’s absolutely delicious.
This was my first taste of wines from Carter Wine Co. I could happily spend days with my nose jammed in the glass with this blend of Cab Franc and Cab Sauvignon. What would I serve this with? Nights in by the fire, charcuterie, a great steak or a meaty pasta dish. Swirl, let it open up and enjoy that wonderful whoosh of violets, blackberries and Italian plums.
I was so shocked to discover that this was their very first vintage of Pinot Noir. How?! HOW?! This is just delightful; satin-y smooth with bags of cherries and raspberries. Delicious.
This Is Wine School is both a school and a full-service wine consultant agency. Their classes are fun approachable and relevant to how wine can be a more natural part of life.
We love the versatility of sparkling wine, and find that it gets slept-on as a dinner wine all too often. You can drink LST Projects Traditional Method Chardonnay with all kinds of dishes from roast turkey to mushroom risotto. It has freshness to cut through rich dishes and enough flavour intensity to not get lost underneath a dish.
Winter white wines also occupy our dinner selections this month in a big way. Think fuller-bodied varieties like Semillon or Viognier. Lock and Worth makes the coolest Semillon of them all; we can never get enough of the Kelowna vineyard’s winery releases with a touch of age, so the flavours are more savoury and ideal for the many creamy dishes that appear in winter.
For a dessert option, we love the LaStella Moscato d’Osoyoos because it’s lightly bubbly and not a super-sweet style, so it’ll appeal to everyone, even the sweet wine naysayers. It comes in a smaller bottle format, too, it’s a little treat at the end of the meal and a small glass can hit the spot.
