#FavouriteThings Holiday Gift Suggestions | Meyer Family Vineyards 🍷 🎅

“In this series we bring you our #FavouriteThings Holiday Gift Suggestions which we personally recommend”

Producing consistently high quality wines Meyer Family Vineyards have been a part of #FavouriteThings Holiday Gift Suggestion since the beginning and we proudly welcome them back again this year. Purveyors of fine wines from Okanagan Falls. A favourite of wine lovers who know what to expect from this Okanagan Falls winery specializing in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Here are our recommendations:

Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir 2019

The fruit is sourced from six different vineyards in the Okanagan Valley. The combination of these different vineyards each having their own unique aspect, elevation and soils has produced a well-rounded Pinot Noir that showcases the Okanagan as a whole.

Winemaker Notes
At the winery the fruit was gently de-stemmed via gravity into small open top fermenters and allowed to cold soak. After cold soaking, an indigenous ferment began lasting 18-28 days peaking at 30C; gentle hand plunging of the must was done throughout. After a post maceration period the wine was gently pressed and then spent eight months in 100% older seasoned French oak barrels and Puncheons.

Vineyard Notes
Throughout the Okanagan Valley, the cold snap in February led to winter bud damage and a poor budburst in the spring, especially in our chardonnay and gewurztraminer blocks which were down roughly 50% in yields. On the positive side, there was no smoke from wildfires and an excellent dry warm summer prevailed. The growing season finished with a cooler wetter September then we normally have in the valley. The white varieties, which we pick earlier than most producers, were harvested not too far off normal picking dates with little to no bunch rot, but like the 2 previous vintages; the pinot noir had to hang much longer than normal to achieve our harvest flavour and tannin goals. due to excellent fruit and canopy management we had very little bunch rot in the pinot noir blocks.

$22.71 available online

McLean Creek Rd Chardonnay 2019

We produced 680 cases of single vineyard Chardonnay from our estate vineyard on McLean Creek Road in Okanagan Falls.

Winemaker Notes
At the winery the fruit was fed directly into the press with an ensuing long gentle pressing employed. Only the finest, purest juice from the early stages of the pressing was used for this wine with the more astringent so called “hard press” kept separate. A long cool fermentation began in stainless steel vessels, employing indigenous and cultured yeast where it remained for most of the ferment. The must was then transferred to 100% French oak (18% new) to complete fermentation. The wine was left “sur lees” for 11 months without battonage. A natural malolactic fermentation occurred in late spring. In keeping with our philosophy to maintain as much as possible a hands-off approach in the cellar to allow the true expression of the terroir this wine is unfined and unfiltered.

Vineyard Notes
Originally planted in 1994, our family owned “McLean Creek Road Vineyard” is located in Okanagan Falls, BC. The vineyard has a predominantly steep southerly aspect with the soil comprised of alluvial and glacial deposits making up a mix of gravel and sandy loams. The Chardonnay is planted in two separate blocks, one on the far east side of the south facing slope and the other on the west end of the slope. The variation of east and west leads to differences in flavour development and in turn more complexity in the finished wine. We operate both of our vineyards using organic/sustainable farming practices.

$30.52 available online

McLean Creek Rd Pinot Noir 2019

We produced 1,000 cases of this single vineyard Pinot Noir from our estate vineyard on McLean Creek Road in Okanagan Falls.

Winemaker Notes
At the winery the fruit was gently de-stemmed via gravity into small open top fermenters and allowed to cold soak. After cold soaking, an indigenous yeast fermentation began lasting two weeks and peaking at 32 degrees Celsius, with gentle hand plunging of the must done throughout. After a post-maceration period the wine was transferred to 100% French oak barrels (25% new) where it remained for 11 months. A natural malolactic fermentation occurred in late spring. In keeping with our philosophy to maintain, as much as possible, a hands-off approach in the cellar to allow the true expression of terroir, this wine is unfined and unfiltered.

Vineyard Notes
Our family owned “McLean Creek Road Vineyard” is in Okanagan Falls, British Columbia. The vineyard has a predominantly steep southerly aspect with the soil comprised of alluvial and glacial deposits making up a mix of gravelly and sandy loams. The Pinot Noir blocks are planted with a Pommard clone (91) and 4 Dijon clones (114, 115, 667, 777) and are planted in three distinct blocks on the 20-acre property (16-acres planted). The largest of these blocks has a steep southerly aspect to capture the full range of the sun, the second block has a gently sloping westerly aspect giving a slightly higher temperature from the afternoon sun, and the third and coolest of the blocks has a gentle northwest aspect. Our philosophy is to manage each block separately and treat each vine individually. Although we are not certified organic, we practice organic/sustainable farming principles.

$34.87 available online

In traditional French Burgundian style we focus on small case lots of varietals best suited and expressive of their unique place of origin with an emphasis on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. We produce about 8,000 cases and strive to produce the finest wines possible. Our wines are hand harvested and hand crafted and we take great pride in each bottle of wine with great attention to detail. We hope that you enjoy our wines as much as we enjoy making them!

Notes and descriptions courtesy of the winery. Images MyVanCity.ca I received complimentary wine to facilitate this feature.