Hello from Kelowna (Okanagan) BC Canada

[RMT]

I've made wines for years, all sort of country wines from fresh fruit, and many from various concentrates to imported juice, all this done in Alberta. burrr!
But now that I'm in the Okanagan (the up and coming major wine (vine) growing area in North Amerca) (it seems to be a secret still around the world)
I planted my own little vinyard of Merlot last year on a bench of a mountain's south-southeast slope. Currently using newly learned viticulture techniques, still an on going proccess (Do we ever stop learning? - no) so I'm here to share and to gather more information.

 

[NSwiner]

Welcome aboard my brother lives in the Kelowna area . I haven't been out there yet plan to in the next couple of years though .Sounds like you're a serious wine maker .As far as BC wines go and any Canadian wines I think the world is missing out on soem very good wine .

 

[rodo]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Runningwolf]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Wade E]

Welcome to our site! The only time we stop learning is when we are 6' under!

 

[mmadmikes1]

Welcome to our little corner of the internet

 

[Thunter]

I grew up in Kelowna and my Parents are still out there. I would Love to move Back but at least I am luck to be able to go back every couple of years. The wine there is AMAZING So of the best I have had. The Wine Bars are great, Go to the Rotten Grape down town you will love it.

 

[RMT]

Thanks for the welcome, yes Kelowna is a great place to sample wines,
but currently I'm only there on my days off, so I'm still exploring and I'll have to check out the Rotten Grape.

 

[St Allie]

hello and welcome to the forum..

good to have you here

Allie

 

[Maestro]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Leanne]

Hello and welcome. Tell us about your wines. What have you made and what have you got going now?

 

[Dugger]

Welcome, RMT, this is a great forum.
The Okanagan is a place I've driven past a few times driving from Kimberly to Vancouver but never dropped in, though I hope to some day. I have a bottle of Minus9 Ice Wine from there made from the Ehrenfelser grape - never even heard of that grape until RJS came out with an Ehrenfelser RQ this year - is that a common grape out there?

 

[cbw]

Jeese, what a wonderful place to live .. in the Okanagan Valley. Not only a great winery area ... but a place that welcomes "Snow Birds" because of the mild winters.

My wife and I spent 10 days there last year and hit every winery from Elephant Island to Nk'Mip, Ok, maybe not every winery, but a bunch of them.

One of our favorites was Gehringer Brothers ... we brought back several cases ... and I think I only have one bottle left ... plus one Ice wine.

Also make sure you eat on the terrace overlooking the vineyard at Nk'Mip ... better than anything Napa Valley has to offer.

Gotta go back sometime.

Are your vines on the east or west slopes?

 

[RMT]

Ehrenfelser in the Okanagan

Welcome, RMT, this is a great forum.
The Okanagan is a place I've driven past a few times driving from Kimberly to Vancouver but never dropped in, though I hope to some day. I have a bottle of Minus9 Ice Wine from there made from the Ehrenfelser grape - never even heard of that grape until RJS came out with an Ehrenfelser RQ this year - is that a common grape out there?

Yes, Ehrenfelser is a fairly common grape, it makes a tasty white wine, sort of between a Gerwurztraminer and a Riesling. Summerhill Winery makes a good one. As you are aware, the grape also makes a great drinkable candy (Icewine) that is becoming quite predominant in the Okanagan.

 

[RMT]

Slope of Vinyard

Jeese, what a wonderful place to live .. in the Okanagan Valley. Not only a great winery area ... but a place that welcomes "Snow Birds" because of the mild winters.

My wife and I spent 10 days there last year and hit every winery from Elephant Island to Nk'Mip, Ok, maybe not every winery, but a bunch of them.

One of our favorites was Gehringer Brothers ... we brought back several cases ... and I think I only have one bottle left ... plus one Ice wine.

Also make sure you eat on the terrace overlooking the vineyard at Nk'Mip ... better than anything Napa Valley has to offer.

Gotta go back sometime.

Are your vines on the east or west slopes?

Nk'Mp is very fortunate to have their vineyards in the only desert in Canada
(Lots of sun days so they get great sugar & balance of acids, tanins & colour) they can grow all the Bordeaux style garpes there. Possably they may have to compensate for being a little too hot.

Gehringer Brothers are another great winery & location being in the Golden Mile of the Okanagan Valley

As for my Vines my place is situated on the south-south east slope of Dilworth Mountain, the vines are running south-north on a small slope facing south. I may be pushing it, trying to grow Merlot there being in Kelowna, (not as many sun degree days as South Okanagan, but last summer I was recording 50 degress C (that's 122 degrees F) in the vine yard, so my mesoclimate might work in my favor. I might even have to protect my vines. The fact that I get shade in the late afternoon from part of the mountain, might actually be a relief for the vines. My fingers are crossed! :>

 

[RMT]

Some of what I've made

Hello and welcome. Tell us about your wines. What have you made and what have you got going now?

Just off hand, thinking of some of the wines I've done are
Various grape kits
such as:
Riesling
liebfraumilch
Chardonnay
Entre Duex Mers (Bordeaux still white)
Many Merlots
Danish Port - in which some bottles were kept for 14 yrs then made into Maderia (and yes I lucked out with the corks for that long)
Country wines (from fresh or frozen fruit) such as:
Blackberry pick from Vancouver Island the wine was great but my jeans lost the battle against the 15 ft vines, ouch!
Macintosh apple from Kelowna (skinned & cored)
Crab Apple
Rhubarb
Red Currant
Orange - dessert wine
Raspberry (golden) & also (red)
Chokecherry
Saskatoon
Blueberry
Strawberry (Sparkling)
Cherry from Okanagan
Dandelion
Attempted to make Sake (Failed - didn't use correct method)
and brewed some beers from kits
plus if it was legal in my area I'd admit to some stove top distilery,
but it's not so I didn't.
Right now I have some raspberry that should be bottled.