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Wine column: Garnet Valley Ranch wines finally make their debut

This winery was more than a decade in the making.

In 2012, Okanagan Crush Pad founders Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie discovered the unspoiled, 320-acre Garnet Valley Ranch in Summerland and fell in love with it.

They vowed to 'under-develop' the property and planted only 60 acres of certified-organic vineyard and some vegetable and lavender fields so the rest of the paradise could be left natural.

The first results of this gentle development are three magnificent new-release wines that reflect the pristine site.

</who>Garnet Valley Ranch's first three wines are the 2021 Chardonnay ($37), 2016 Traditional Method Sparkling ($50) and 2021 Pinot Noir ($45).

The 2016 Garnet Valley Ranch Traditional Method Sparkling ($50) was made in the Champagne-style with second fermentation in the bottle for a complex and delicious bubbly with a fresh-apple-and-lemon profile backed by aromas and flavours of dried herbs.

The 2021 Chardonnay was fermented in the signature concrete tanks that the family of wineries also uses for its Haywire, Narrative, Free Form and Bizou+Yukon brands.

Concrete helps give the wine a fascinating texture and in the case of the Garnet Valley Chard, a mouth-watering minerality in addition to aromas and flavours of grapefruit and grilled pineapple.

The 2021 Pinot Noir also received concrete treatment and is fresh and light and bright and interesting with a contrasting raspberry-and-dark-chocolate profile.

A small winery has been built at Garnet Valley Ranch (accessed by low-impact road) and the visitor centre there is called The Outlook, a tribute to its perch overlooking vineyards and fields.

The winery is now ready to host small groups of guests for one-and-a-half hours tours and tastings by reservation.

Reserve at www.okanagancrushpad.com.

That's also the website where you can order wine for delivery to your home or office.

Otherwise, Garnet Valley Ranch wines are available exclusively at only two stores -- Vessel Liquor in Victoria and Legacy Liquor in Vancouver.

The newly renovated and muralled main winery, visitor centre and shop at Haywire at 16576 Fosbery Rd. in Summerland is now open daily.

</who>The Gourmet Blessings box ($99) from Blasted Church Vineyards in Okanagan Falls includes two bottles of wine -- 2022 Syrah Rose and 2021 Skaha Bench Pinot Noir -- and ingredients to make a panko-crusted Chevre goat cheese fresh green salad and morel mushroom risotto.

Gourmet Blessings

Now, this is the kind of homework assignment I look forward to.

Blasted Church Vineyards in Okanagan Falls has curated a Gourmet Blessings box for $99 that includes a bottle of each 2022 Syrah Rose and 2021 Skaha Bench Pinot Noir and ingredients to make a panko-crusted Chevre goat cheese fresh green salad and morel-mushroom risotto.

The kit comes with recipies developed by Blasted Church's chef John Burke and online access to a video cooking tutorial with the chef.

The salad pairs with the Rose and the risotto is the perfect match for the Pinot Noir.

The box comes with the panko to crust the cheese, honey and mustard for the salad dressing and dried mushrooms for the risotto.

That means you have to come up with the cheese, salad greens, risotto and some of the other basic ingredients to assemble, cook and enjoy the food.

Gourmet Blessings is touted as the ideal launch pad for a delicious dinner at home, sunny picnic or hostess gift.

To order your own Gourmet Blessings go to www.blastedchurch.com.

Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.



Send your comments, news tips, typos, letter to the editor, photos and videos to [email protected].



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