Tag Archives: Stoneboat

Sep28

Okanagan Wine Awards – 2012 Fall Results

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Okanagan Wine Awards – 2012 Fall Results

As the sunny and warm September weather looks promising as October looms (knock on wood) and the harvest is upon us, the Okanagan Wine Festivals Awards have announce the results of their Fall Competition.

Excited to see that the 2009 Cassini Syrah was awarded a Gold Medal. Remember, this was a wine we really enjoyed and touted as brandalicious due to a combination of elegant branding and great stuff inside the bottle. See our review here.

The 2011 Stoneboat Chorus and Pinot Gris came away with silvers. We were fans of the 2010 Chorus, and we thought the 2011 Pinot Gris was one of the standouts at the VQA Tasting earlier this month, so great to see this recognition.

Spierhead Winery also received recognition as Best New Winery along with a couple bronzes and a silver, though none of them was the Riesling we so highly praised at the VQA Fall Tasting. Anyhow, a great start for Spierhead, and looking forward to many fine vintages to come.

For full results, get your fill on their site. You’ll have to pop open a PDF.

Till next time…

 

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For more on wines from the Okanagan valley, these are the best books I know.

Aug28

Tasting Notes: 2008 Stoneboat Pinotage

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Tasting Notes: 2008 Stoneboat Pinotage

The 2008 Stoneboat Pinotage is an enjoyable and quite remarkable wine that doesn’t require a remarkable occasion to open a bottle.

On the nose, green peppers were followed by white pepper, and blackberry and plum fruit with raspberry undertones. Also hints of earthy sandalwood with licorice.

The palate followed along similar lines with plums, raspberries, green peppers, milk chocolate and licorice. The tannins are soft and mellow tannins but with enough structure to hold their own.

The fruit comes from the Black Sage Bench in the Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia, Canada.

Pinotage is South Africa’s signature variety – bred there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut – and not much of it is produced in the Okanagan Valley but Stoneboat’s 2008 displays plenty of potential for the variety in this northern clime.

For a more in-depth look at Stoneboat and its Pinotage, hop on over to this blog post at The Pinotage Club.

 

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For more on wines from the Okanagan valley, these are the best books I know.

Jun25

2010 Stoneboat Chorus

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2010 Stoneboat Chorus

The chorus is the catchiest, most memorable part of many songs, and true to its name, the 2010 Stoneboat Chorus is a memorable blend.

An intriguing concoction of six grapes (Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Viognier, Muller Thurgau, Kerner, Schoenburger), the perfumed nose is promising of delicious, juicy tropical fruits. On the palate, it then surprises nicely with bursts with crisp green apple, trailed by softer hints of peach. The refreshing acidity nicely dominates the alcohol (12.3%). A perfect wine for the summer BBQ and patio under the sun.

Though a unique blend, the racy acidity and nature of the 2010 Chorus are characteristic of what I think to be true Okanagan whites, which this British Columbia region is becoming to be increasingly known for.

Stoneboat Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery in the Okanagan valley, in British Columbia, Canada. The valley is a source of some whites. If you’re not familiar with the wines from the Okanagan, which can be spectacular (see our article on James Suckling’s tasting of Canadian wines), get your hands on some if you can.