What 2020 Taught the Wine Industry

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Savour the Quality

Each season in the Okanagan is special. Spring’s fresh colours and blooms are a sign of a new beginning. The air is fresh and the bounty of newly released wines is plenty. What better time to sip wine than during this season.

Introducing our Wine Club

Our wine club is made up of all of our member wineries! If you like variety this is the wine club for you. Four shipments annually of six wines from our various wineries, through our partner Martin Street Liquor.

This Spring’s shipment includes the following:

Wild Goose 2019 Reisling
Pentage 2014 Hiatus (Red blend)
Crescent Hill NV “I am Diva” (Frizzante Gewurztraminer)
Liquidity 2019 Pinot Gris
Blasted Church 2019 Viognier
Black Market 2018 Syrah

Join the Club

Women in Wine

March 8 is International Women’s Day. We celebrate all of the innovative women in our industry and in particular, in our winery association. If you follow us on Instagram @theheartofwinecountry you can read about some of these amazing women.

Lessons from 2020

Most of us would agree that 2020 was a crazy year, full of uncertainty, new standards, and new ways of doing almost everything. The wine industry didn’t escape this insanity. We went into April knowing that our in-person events would be cancelled at least until September. Would we be able to open our wineries so we could welcome guests? It looked grim.

BUT Canadians are made of stern stuff and we rallied. Alcohol was determined to be an essential service (thank Goodness!) helping ensure customers were able to maintain supplies through online sales and curbside pickup. – An aside here, how many pandemic words have become part of our everyday speech now? – With relief we were able to leave our homes. Cabin feverish British Columbians came to visit our wineries. Most wineries adopted reservation systems to maintain health and safety standards, resulting in more intimate and tailored tastings. All wineries increased cleaning, monitoring, and social distancing in order to keep visitors safe. Probably the biggest lesson we learned this year was the need to be adaptable and not rely on what worked before. With all of the awful we had to absorb in 2020, there’s room to see the good that came. The uncertainties taught us to be patient. The need to reserve has taught us the value of one-on-one visits with our guests. And we all learned that we simply didn’t spend enough time washing our hands prior to COVID-19.

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The Heart of Wine Country^™

The Okanagan Falls Skaha Winery Association brings together the valley’s premiere wineries to offer you an exceptional tour and tasting of award winning wines.

Information and images courtesy of Okanagan Falls l Skaha Lake Winery Association.