Wines are diverse and exciting, a lot like the early days of romance. Whether you are in the early stages of a relationship when you get to know each other, or yours is a lasting union, exploring your love of wine together adds that little bit of extra romance to your Valentine’s Day.
Romance, a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.
2021 Old Vine Brut
Tasting Notes
Defined and delicate beads sparkle up to the nose with full notes of citrus and toasty brioche. Fresh lemon zest embraces the palate with a light touch of stone fruit and a toasty mouthfeel that comes from 24 months en tirage. This is a classic wine to enjoy on milestone occasions paired with aged cheddar or smoked mussel, dill and Havarti quesadillas.
Vineyard Notes
The 2021 growing season in the South Okanagan was one for the history books as the driest on record, due in large part to the “Heat Dome” and its record-breaking high temperatures. It was also one of the warmest years, seeing the most growing degree days GDD (1758) since 2015. Following flowering, we experienced an extremely dry and hot June during fruit set. The heat led to a lighter fruit set and smaller berry size than usual. While there was less fruit per vine and the yield was light in volume, on the upside the smaller berries in the clusters resulted in more concentrated flavours and colours on the red varietals. Similarly, for the white varietals there are intense flavours and vibrant aromatics. With the warm dry season, the grapes reached phenolic ripeness earlier than usual with harvest commencing and finishing early. We began picking the whites on August 27th for our Ti Amo (Prosecco-style sparkling wine). We started picking our first reds in mid-September with our Block 10 Merlot on September 14th at our historic Golden Mile Bench estate vineyard. We finished our last estate reds pick with Cabernet Sauvignon from Block 8 of our Golden Mile Bench vineyard on October 28, 2021. Overall, the 2021 harvest produced wines of outstanding quality and varietal character. We expect to see some intense, fruit driven wines, with excellent depth of flavour.
Winemaker Notes
Our 2021 Old Vine Brut was crafted in a blanc de blanc style using 100% Pinot Blanc grapes from our historic Golden Mile Bench estate vineyard. The grapes were hand sorted and whole cluster pressed to retain the natural brightness of the fruit and to allow this wine to age gracefully over time. The primary fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and was followed by a secondary fermentation done in the traditional method with 24 months en tirage. Fermented to absolute dryness, disgorgement took place in February of 2024 with a small dosage of the current 2023 Pinot Blanc to give this elegant sparkling the Brut designation.
Once you’ve passed the early stages of a relationship, when you’ve gotten to know each other, exploring your love of wine together may add a spark to your Passion for Valentine’s Day.
2023 Chardonnay
Tasting Notes
A combination of aromas greets the nose from crisp Bartlett pear to smooth vanilla bean and zesty citrus. The palate features delicate Meyer lemon notes layered onto light toast with a rich, mouth-filling crème brûlée finish. Pair the 2023 Chardonnay alongside a smoked sable fish with lemon beurre blanc.
Vineyard Notes
The winter of 2022 set up less-than-ideal projections for 2023; however, the 2023 growing season at Hester Creek was everything that one could hope for in producing outstanding grapes for our wines. Growing Degree Days (GDD) reached 1835, making it the highest accumulation of GDDs for the months of April through August. Harvest began earlier than usual on August 25th with Pinot Noir and ended on October 1st with Cabernet Sauvignon. This compacted season became a story of quality over quantity and allowed our winemaking team to create new wines for our portfolio, craft variations of existing wines and use techniques like whole cluster pressing on 90% of our white wines and allowing for extended maceration periods on our red wines. Overall, the Hester Creek wine coming out of the 2023 season is an example of excellence rooted in the South Okanagan terroir.
Winemaker Notes
The grapes for our 2023 Chardonnay were hand harvested from two South Okanagan vineyards. Each bunch was hand sorted and whole cluster pressed to retain the best quality of the juice and showcase the terroir. The juice was cold settled for five days prior to fermentation and the resulting wine was aged for 10 months in exclusively French oak. A weekly bâtonnage took place in a combination of new and neutral oak barrels, giving the Chardonnay a layered complexity that will allow it to age over the next five years.
What can you say about love that hasn’t already been said many times over? Love is constant and nourishing, very much like wine. This Valentines share a glass of wine with someone you love.
Love, an intense feeling of deep affection.
2022 Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes
The tasting journey of this 2022 vintage begins with lifted aromas of blueberry, açai berry, thyme and clover. The palate opens with toasted chocolate praline before leading into a full mid-palate of ripe blackberry and cassis. This wine will age gracefully over time and will pair beautifully with a peppercorn steak.
Vineyard Notes
The 2022 season at Hester Creek will be remembered as one of the most challenging, yet productive years on record. With the addition of new vineyards, the 2022 harvest yielded a larger crop than average. Due to coolerthan-expected spring temperatures and more rain than is typical of the South Okanagan, the season was off to a late start. By summer, temperatures rose and lasted into the autumn, extending the season with the warmest September and October on record. Growing degree days reached 1676 on average. This longer growing season led to longer hang times for the fruit as they developed phenolic ripeness. Harvest began on September 9th with our Ti Amo and finished on December 1st with our Old Vine Cabernet Franc. For the white varietals, longer hang times resulted in delicate aromatics. The red varietals hung on the vine throughout November allowing the grapes to concentrate their colours and flavours. The 2022 vintage will be remembered as a milestone year for producing exceptional, fruit-forward and age-worthy wines.
Winemaker Notes
Our 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon was hand harvested late in the season for the grapes to achieve peak ripeness, raisin and ultimately concentrate the flavours of this already intense varietal. We hand sorted and gently destemmed the berries into our Ganimede fermentation tanks where they were whole berry soaked for three days prior to inoculation. After a 16-day maceration, the juice was gently pressed off the skins and encouraged through a malolactic fermentation. We aged the resulting wine for 16 months in exclusively French oak barrels, 35% of which were new oak. The wine was then racked and blended prior to being bottled on June 7, 2024.
Valentine’s After Hour Happy Hour at Hester Creek
Join us on Friday, February 14th from 4pm to 7pm for a sweetheart soirée to celebrate Valentine’s Day! Enjoy live music by Lewis Cardinal, a glass of the featured wine and an opportunity to gather with the community.
$25 per person with additional wine and deli items available for purchase.
Minors and pets are not permitted at this event.
Valentine’s Weekend at Terrafina
Join us for special Valentine’s menu at Terrafina on Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15.
Reservations are now available for both Terrafina and The Villa at Hester Creek.
Wine notes, bottle shots and image courtesy of the winery.
