- April 27, 2007
Winery Construction Progress
We have just started excavation of the site for our new winery, wine shop and barrel room. Except for the wine shop this new structure will be completely underground thus being energy efficient from a heating and cooling perspective. The roof will be covered in natural vegetation to restore the hillside appearance and earth not used for backfilling has allowed us to create another acre of land which will allow for more new plantings.
- April 27, 2007
In the Vineyard
Like many vineyards throughout the Okanagan Valley, Hester Creek has just completed pruning and now we are busy tying the vines which will be a process that will be ongoing for a couple more weeks.
In mid May we will begin planting Pinot Gris on approximately 4.8 acres. These plants were acquired from the Loire Valley in France.
- April 27, 2007
In the Cellar
In the cellar in April the sweet smell of fermented juice from our Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot was very evident as it was pumped from tank to barrel for maturation.
We have already released our 2006 Pinot Gris and 2006 Pinot Blanc to great reviews. and in May we will be releasing our 2006 Chardonnay Semillon. This particular vintage is a blend of 51% Chardonnay and 49% Semillon. The wine has a crisp and tangy taste accompanied by mouthfuls of tropical fruit and a long lingering finish on the palate. - April 13, 2007
JOHN SCHRIENER WINE REVIEW
Wine Recommendation
Hester Creek Estate Winery
2004 Cabernet-Merlot
(Okanagan Valley)Here’s a twist: a back label quoting Goethe, the great German poet. “Plunge boldly into the thick of life and seize it where you will, it is always interesting.” The winery has taken to putting such erudition on many of its back labels, as tangential as that is with wine.
The Goethe aphorism might have been inspired by the winery’s recent tumultuous history. When the 2004 vintage was being made, Hester Creek was on its way to receivership. In 2005, the winery was acquired by Prince George businessman Curtis Garland, who has begun to restore Hester Creek’s image and the potential of the vineyard.
Last summer, Garland hired a seasoned winemaker from Ontario. Robert Summers has almost 20 vintages under his belt and recently had been the national winemaker for Andrew Peller Ltd. In addition to make his first Hester Creek vintage last fall, Summers has put his hand to finishing the wines he found in the cellar when he arrived.
This wine was aged in both French and American oak barrels and, judging from the vanilla aromas and the round texture, the wine got a reasonably long aging. But not to the point of overwhelming the fruit with wood. The fruit still tastes sweetly of black cherries. An easy-drinking red. 85 points.Reviewed April 6, 2007 by John Schreiner.
Hester Creek Estate Winery
2006 Pinot Gris
(Okanagan Valley)
Finnish photographer and wine lover Hannu Lehmusvuori has contributed the back label quote for this wine, sending this reviewer to the Internet to learn something about the author. Lehmusvuori’s website includes a wine of the week, along with some creative commentaries and offers to sell his intriguing wine photographs over the net. It is worth googling him.
This wine has just been released. One assumes that a bottle or two are winging their way to the photographer’s studio in Finland at this very moment. What Lehmusvuori will find is a very refreshing luncheon wine. It has lovely greenish glints, with aromas of pears and quince. On the palate it is bursting with fruit – flavours of pears and tangerines. The finish is clean and crisp.
This wine also is a harbinger of the Okanagan’s vintage in 2006. Early releases from several wineries indicate that the wines are as balanced and delicious as the superlative 2005s. 87-88 points.Reviewed April 10, 2007 by John Schreiner.
http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-reviews/1324/Hester-Creek-Estate-Winery-2006-Pinot-Gris.html
