The Golden Glow of the East Kelowna Slopes
Hi Sperling friends,
The afternoon sunshine creates a picturesque golden glow in the vineyards at this time of year. It’s truly stunning to take a walk through the vines. The leaves are putting on a show, the mornings and nights are cool with the threat of frost. We have been carefully harvesting each variety on the dry days. Earlier pickings for Pet Nat are nearing the end of fermentation and will be bottled next week. These go to bottle while fermenting to capture the natural CO2 bubbles along with the purity and freshness of the vintage. All other wines are actively fermenting and will make their way to barrels and vats for aging. Each wine is tasted daily to gain an understanding of the unique properties of this growing year, and decisions to stir or cool or allow malolactic fermentation to begin are taken. We want our wines to tell the story of their place and the year.
Watch the Labyrinth Grow
Our organic Labyrinth Vineyard was harvested this week under the stunning moody skies of fall. This vineyard is planted with Vidal grapes and grown organically. Developed in the late 1930’s, Vidal (aka Vidal Blanc) is a white hybrid grape produced from a crossing of the vitis vinifera variety Ugni Blanc and Rayon d'Or. It was brought to Canada in the late 1940s because it is winter-hardy and disease tolerant. Combined with a tough outer skin, this grape is ideal for Late Harvest and Icewines; and more recently for skin fermented/orange wines and Pet Nats. As a result, you’ll find Vidal becoming the trendy darling grape.
Starting in 1986, winemaker Ann Sperling has had a fascination with Late Harvest and botrytis affected wines. The concentration and texture of late harvested wine sets an exciting challenge to make a harmonious and refreshing wine in spite of the obvious intensity. Ideally, mature grapes are harvested at ~30 brix. Acidity is key to balance in sweet wines, so harvest parameters include target acidity of 10 g/L.
Check out our current offering of Organic 2018 Late Harvest Vidal. This wine pairs deliciously with nuts, dried fruit, firm aged cheeses, and creme brulée. We also offer limited bottles of past vintages of Late Harvest and Icewines. Contact the tasting room for availability.
Amber Pinot Gris Pre-Order Now Open
It’s here! The Natural Amber Pinot Gris pre-sale is now open. A minimum purchase of 3 bottles/pre-order is required. We have 75 cases set aside for the pre-sale and they are selling very fast already! The price is $32/bottle and will ship in April 2022.
Order now to avoid disappointment when this wine sells out.
If you’re interested in learning more about Orange wines, like our Amber Pinot Gris, have a listen to the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast with our Winemaker, Ann Sperling.
Visit Us
We keep the fun going all year long! On the weekend we hosted our first Silk Scarf SIP & DIP workshop. If you missed it, don’t worry, there are two more dates to choose from on November 21 and December 18. We invite you to make your own water marbled silk scarf. Each artist chooses their colours and floats the paint one drop at a time on the surface of the water, then uses marbling combs, rakes, or stylus to create the design of their liking. Tickets are $49 and include all supplies to make your 14” x 72” silk scarf and wine tasting. Tickets are booked by 2 hour time slots, with 3 time slots offered per event: 10:30am-2:30pm, 1pm - 3pm, and 3:30pm-5:30pm. During the workshop, you will see a demonstration, and then you will create your masterpiece! Up to 8 tickets per time slot available. All current COVID-19 safe rules apply for each workshop. Book your tickets now by visiting our Sperling Facebook page and checking out our events.
With fall comes new tasting room hours. We are currently open for tastings from Thursday to Monday from 10am to 6pm. Reservations are required, book your tasting now. We'd love to see you all dressed up in your Halloween cosumtes this weekend.
If you can’t visit us in person, you can always order online or join one of our wine clubs. Enjoy having our wines shipped directly to your door.