EPIC 22
Celebrating an exceptional growing season with standout wines from the 2022 vintage.
Epic ‘22 to celebrate what was truly an exceptional growing season. This remarkable 2022 vintage. It will go down in history as one of the most challenging yet productive years on record. The extended growing season that year led to a longer harvest, with every grape carefully handpicked. Thanks to the addition of new vineyards, our overall yield was nearly 30% larger than we had originally anticipated. This larger fruit yield remained on the vine longer than usual, and just as we approached the end of this process, an unexpected three feet of snow fell on November 2nd. As a result of this heavy snowfall the grape skins began to raisin slightly and concentrate, enhancing the flavour intensity, structure and colour of the wines. These wines reflect the personality and uniqueness of this particularly outstanding vintage.
HESTER CREEK 2022 Syrah
WINEMAKING
Our 2022 Syrah was hand harvested late in the season at a time when the grapes reached their zenith of ripeness. This longer growing season allowed for the skins to raisin and thereby increased the concentration of flavour. They were hand sorted, destemmed and cold soaked for two days prior to inoculation. An extended maceration of 15 days took place before the wine was gently pressed off the skins and encouraged through malolactic fermentation. The resulting wine was aged for 14 months using 60% American and 40% French oak barrels and bottled on April 26, 2024.
TASTING NOTES
The emblem of a fantastic vintage, our 2022 Syrah is layered with aromas of ripe blackberry, pepper and clove with floral undertones and hints of cured meat. Savour the rounded, ripe cherry flavours on the palate with a trace of toasted anise seed and a streak of vanilla on the finish. Pair this vintage with slow braised meats, or a lentil and eggplant sauté for a vegetarian alternative.
Harvest Date: November 26 and 28, 2022
Bottling Date: April 26, 2024
Grape Variety: Syrah (includes co-fermented Viognier)
Vegan: Yes
Aging: 14 months
Oak 60% American, 40% French
Ageability: Enjoy now or cellar up to 7 years
Alcohol 14.6%
Availability Wine Shop, Bench Club, online, and wherever fine wines are sold in BC
Winery Price $29.99 (BC+tax)
HESTER CREEK 2022 Cabernet Franc
WINEMAKING
We hand harvested our Cabernet Franc grapes in late November of 2022 to bring out the full expression of the fruit. Each bunch of grapes was hand sorted before being destemmed and sending the whole berries to our Italian Ganimede fermentation tanks where they were cold soaked for two days before undergoing a 15-day fermentation. The wine was then pressed off the skins and encouraged through a malolactic fermentation. It was aged for 18 months in a combination of French and American oak and bottled on May 8, 2024.
TASTING NOTES
The South Okanagan terroir shines through on our 2022 vintage of Old Vine Cabernet Franc with a delightfully herbaceous and savoury minerality greeting the nose. The initial aromas are followed by layers of raspberry, vanilla and soft pepper notes which lead into a palate with flavours of ripe raspberry, cocoa, light toast and white pepper. This vintage will pair wonderfully with paprika and Italian-seasoned veggie kabobs and a mix of grilled meats.
Harvest Date: November 22 and 24, 2022
Bottling Date: May 8, 2024
Grape Variety: 100% Cabernet Franc
Vegan: Yes
Aging: 18 months
Oak 75% French, 25% American
Ageability: Enjoy now or cellar up to 5 years
Alcohol 14.3%
Availability Wine Shop, Bench Club, online, and wherever fine wines are sold in BC
Winery Price $29.99 (BC+tax)
HARVEST & VITICULTURE REPORT
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 cooler than-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.
Vineyard Eleven – a premium terroir for creating premium wines.
Located just south of Hester Creek on the east side of Osoyoos Lake is our Vineyard Eleven. It is an extremely warm vineyard site with south-west facing slopes allowing for a higher number of Growing Degree Days (GDD) with long afternoons, warm evenings and the additional reflection off the lake. We have given this vineyard the name, Vineyard Eleven, as it is an 11 out of 10 for quality vineyard locations in BC. Along with Grenache and Mourvèdre that go into the GSM, we also grow Sangiovese on this site for our 2022 Super Tuscan “Undici” to be released in 2026.
VINTAGE 2025 UPDATE
After some challenging growing seasons in the Okanagan, the 2025 season has started wonderfully. Vines that were damaged due to the extreme cold conditions in January of 2024 have recovered extremely well, which has resulted in a higher than anticipated crop forecast for
the 2025 vintage. Temperatures in the Southern Okanagan for April, May and the start of June have been well above average (the 5th warmest in the last 20 years) which could result in an early start to the 2025 vintage. Overall, all indications to date point to the 2025 vintage being one of high quality for the Okanagan Valley.
Wine notes and winery information courtesy of the winery. Images: MyVanCity. I received complimentsary wine to facilitate this feature.
