One of the oldest wineries in BC, CedarCreek was founded in 1986 when former Senator Ross Fitzpatrick bought the old Uniacke winery, which was one of the ‘original eight’ estate wineries of BC.  Now owned by von Mandl Estates, CedarCreek is able to draw from over 1100 acres of vines from different areas of the Okanagan Valley. The very special vineyard site is however the 50 acres around the winery in East Kelowna, where some of the vines are maturing into 20, 25, even 30 years old. Vines planted here are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling, all cool weather vines.

After numerous years of traditional farming, the new approach is 100% organic.  The transition to organic started in 2016 and takes a few years of hard work as no pesticides are allowed during transition so only natural methods are used. One of those methods was the introduction of honey bee hives to the Home Block Vineyard. While grape vines are self-pollinating, the bees help with the promotion of wild flowers, beneficial plants (such as crimson clover and mustard), and insects. An added feature was the salvation of the 2018 Pinot Noir.

As the harvest dates for the Pinot Noir approached, they were hit with a lot of rain. This can be devastating for Pinot Noir as the skins is extremely delicate and can split, resulting in infection and reduced quality. And this did happen with the Pinot Noir. However, something miraculous happened that they had never seen before. The fruit was covered in honey bees, thousands of them, and they were methodically cleaning the fruit which had been split, gorging on the sweet grape juice from the skins. It was a quick sugar fix for the bees but it greatly reduced the chance of infection and rot. As vineyard manager Kurt Simcic said to winemaker Taylor Whelan, “Bees, mate… they’re good like that.”

This is just one example of  putting your trust in Mother Nature. With the completion of transition to organic at the end of the 2019 harvest, all 1100 acres will be on-line as 100% organic. No easy task but the rewards can be tremendous.A fantastic patio wine, the 2018 Estate Riesling is a classic Kabinett style; low alcohol, fresh fruit driven. Fermented in french oak (only 8%), small stainless steel barrels, and stainless steel tanks. A spectacular wine, the 20.6 g/l of sugar is balanced by 10.7 g/l of clean, refreshing acidity. Crisp and clean with fresh aromas and flavours of apple, peach, poached pear, lemon-lime and honey with a hint of a slate minerality.  A perfect wine to pair with light seafood, chicken, veal or spicy dishes. $19 at the winery. 1615 cases produced in total.A new wine for CedarCreek, the 2018 Estate Rose is 100% stainless steel fermented to allow for a fresh, crisp finished wine. Specifically grown to produce their rose, it is picked earlier than the regular Pinot Noir. This earlier picking results in more finesse, elegance and lower alcohol in the wine. A beautiful salmon colour, loads of  rich maraschino cherry, strawberry, raspberry aromas with subtle hints of pineapple, pink grapefruit and spicy ginger, the palate is crisp with just a suggestion of sweetness to it.  Very clean and crisp on the finish, this is best served well chilled  with simple appetizers and maybe a BBQ’d ham. $19 at the winery. 870 cases produced. Awarded ‘Best of Rose’, 2019 Spring Okanagan Wine Festival.Another great patio wine, the 2018 Estate Gewürztraminer is thoroughly delicious. Look for hints of rose petal, lychee, peach and nectarine, honeysuckle with orange peel, green apple and citrus rind. The texture is full, rich and juicy due to extended lees contact. The orchard fruit flavour, honey, lychee and nutmeg spice finished elegant with a hint of sweetness and soft acidity. This has danger written all over it. Try with Indian curry, Thai or Sushi.  $19 at the winery. 1276 cases produced.I have found that in the past, BC Pinot Gris tend to be rather bland or taste all the same. Few gravitate towards the Alsatian style. Well, look no further than the 2018 Pinot Gris. While a small percentage is fermented in French Oak barrels with the balance in stainless steel, you can hardly detect the oak component. Full and rich on the palate from a brief contact with the lees, look for rich intoxicating aromas of crisp green apple, pear, white peach, kiwi and citrus with a soft, velvety slight viscous texture. The palate is full of rich, juicy tropical and citrus fruit flavours with spicy white pepper and a crisp, citrus finish. A wine for any occasion that calls for white wine, although my favourite pairing is grilled salmon. $19 at the winery. 7496 cases produced.

BC seems to shine when Sauvignon Blanc is produced and the 2018 CedarCreek is a great example of this. 90% fermented in stainless steel with 10% in concrete tanks then aging for 3 months on the lees in stainless steel, this is a bone dry wine with refreshing acidity. This wine has the quintessential nose of passion fruit, grapefruit, gooseberry and pineapple with hints of kiwi, guava and melon. The razor sharp acidity on the palate compliments the rich juicy fruit flavours, excellent structure and balance right through to the clean, mouth-watering finish. A perfect match for goat cheese or a shellfish medley of oysters, clams, scallops, mussels, crab, shrimp.

It is hard for us to like Chardonnay because alot seem to be unbalanced. Not this one. Reveals luscious hints of citrusy lime, pineapple, mango and papaya, the palate is rich and full with gobs of luscious tropical and orchard fruit, honeysuckle, creamery butter and crisp spicy acidity. The slight hint of nutmeg on the lush finish adds that little extra layer of complexity.  Wickedly good tasting Chard. $19 at the winery. 1391 cases produced.