Taking the road less travelled to BC Wine Country’s Monte Creek Ranch Winery. In an area steeped in history, just not the vineyard kind you find some award winning wines. Always worth a visit we look forward to a time when we will again be touring for wine.
“The Thompson Valley is steeped in history. Frontiersmen and prospectors – even infamous train robbers like Billy Miner – sought their fortunes in this area as the West was being built. The site of the Monte Creek Ranch winery echoes with the whispers of the past.”
We welcome Monte Creek to our #ShiptoSip campaign with their free shipping with an order of 6+ bottles of wine. Here are the wines we are featuring for your sipping pleasure.
2017 Pinot Noir
Certain wines don’t really like to adhere to schedules, and our job is just to sit back and patiently wait until they tell us they are ready. This Pinot was a labour of love and we think the result of that care shows in the bottle. We kept this bright and lively Pinot Noir in barrel for 9 months. For aromas and flavours, you will pick up on bright juicy red berry fruit, rose petals, dried herbs, and white pepper. This medium body polished Pinot pairs well with risotto, roasted root vegetables and braised pork with wild rice.
2017 was a pretty normal year until sometime in July, when the first of the wildfires broke out. Every year has its challenges, in 2017, it was the smoke. Our brave vineyard workers donned their particulate masks day in and day out and worked through the difficult conditions. Meanwhile, our vines were hard at work producing beautiful fruit under smoky skies. Yes, there is a risk that smoky flavours can find their way into the wine, but here at Monte Creek we took absolutely every effort to mitigate those effects. We pick in the early dawn to keep the fruit cold, hand sort absolutely every cluster of fruit, press lightly, and a myriad of other strategies. It’s a ton of effort, but the results are wines that are fresh, flavourful, and exactly what you would expect from a quality British Columbia wine.
Awards & Accolades
Gold – 2019 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada
2018 Chardonnay
Always a crowd favourite, this Chardonnay was fermented for nine months in French oak to build texture and complexity. We wanted to let the fruit express itself rather than use a heavier-handed approach that may hide the terroir. The aromatics are lively in this dry, medium bodied Chardonnay. Pear, citrus and a little bit of oak catch you on the nose. The mouthfeel is plush and viscous, with wet stone, subtle caramel and lemon zest on the palate.
The 2018 vintage was memorable for some wild weather. A blazing hot May got us off to a roaring start, but a wet August and September resulted in our coolest vintage at Monte Creek Ranch yet. The result was a lengthy growing season, as, in many cases, we had to let the fruit hang nearly a month longer than normal in order to optimize ripeness. Longer hang time created greater complexity, as the flavours and aromas had time to develop before the sugar got too high.
Awards & Accolades
Silver – 2019 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards
2018 Sparkling Rosé
100% Marquette is used in our Sparkling Rosé. This red wine grape with the French name is a new world creation that ripens early and is well suited to cooler climates. The grandchild of Pinot Noir, it is noted for red berry and spice characteristics as well as its adaptability to colder winter climates. Pronounced red berry fruit – ripe strawberry, red currant on the nose, accented by strawberry leaf, strawberry jam and a hint of spice.
Ripe strawberry with fruit juice, jam and leaf comes through clearly on the palate, alongside some citrus and spice notes. Refreshing exuberant bubbles and juicy acidity keep the wine in balance.
Perfect alongside a salad with strawberry and goat cheese. Also a great foil to quiche and other hard-to-pair brunch dishes with both sweet and savoury components.
The 2018 vintage was memorable for some wild weather. A blazing hot May got us off to a roaring start, but a wet August and September resulted in our coolest vintage at Monte Creek Ranch yet. The result was a lengthy growing season, as, in many cases, we had to let the fruit hang nearly a month longer than normal in order to optimize ripeness. Longer hang time created greater complexity, as the flavours and aromas had time to develop before the sugar got too high.
We are offering free shipping with the purchase of 6+ bottles until further notice. Automatically applied at checkout – no code required.
A quick update, we are opening the winery starting May 1 for retail sales only. 11am -5pm, daily. Social distancing rules in effect. Our Sparkling wines are also on special for the month of May!
Readers can also use the following link to find a liquor near them that carry our wines: https://www.montecreekranch.com/finder/
Monte Creek Ranch sits at the frontier of cool climate viticulture. Our ultimate focus is to produce premium wines that are representative of our unique terroir.
Monte Creek has two vineyards in the South Thompson valley – Lion’s Head vineyard on the north side of the valley and Monte Creek Ranch vineyard on the south side where the winery resides. We also receive some fruit from the Central and South Okanagan – consisting of varieties that are not well suited to our region, or are varieties that are currently planted in our vineyards but are not yet in production.
“Where there’s a wine, there’s a way and there’s certainly no better time to taste what BC has to offer!” Megan Charlebois, Wine Club, Tours and Events Coordinator.
Monte Creek Ranch Winery
Box 11 – 2420 Miner’s Bluff Road, Monte Creek, BC V0E 2M0
Ph: 250.573.5399
https://www.montecreekranchwinery.com/
Tasting notes, bottle shots and winery information courtesy of the winery. Feature image courtesy of BC Wine Institute.
