Behind closed doors, a daring initiative took place over the past four years. The goal: To make new world Chardonnay and Merlot with old world elegance in North America.
We have brought together your favourite wines of 2018 so that the recipient of this 12-day advent pack is surprised with a different wine each day. Each bottle comes wrapped in paper with a bow around its neck and is numbered 1 through 12.
After a rather roundabout way of arriving in Oliver we were more than ready to enjoy a wine tasting experience at CheckMate Artisanal Winery‘s wine experience room – Installation a pop-up by Tom Kundig of Seattle based Olson Kundig a 2008 National Design Award in Architecture winner. The setting reflects the uniqueness of all that … Read moreWhirlwind Okanagan Trip Wine Tasting Experiences – CheckMate Artisanal Winery
Can you imagine the surprise when I got an invitation to sample the latest merlot releases from the prestigious CheckMate winery, only to find out the event was being held in a music store? Unusual, yes and certainly a first for me. But it didn’t take long to see how brilliant it was. Tom … Read moreCheckMate Wines at Tom Lee Music
Winemaker Phil McGahan and the CheckMate Team are well into the 2017 Harvest and Vintage. We have begun with Chardonnay from our eastern vineyards on Osoyoos Lake Bench and Black Sage Bench which will become Capture, Knight’s Challenge and Little Pawn. Our grapes are hand-picked at night, chilled, hand sorted and gently pressed to preserve the quality of the … Read moreHarvest Season at CheckMate
A month or so after having the opportunity to sample CheckMate’s Chardonnay wines, I was invited to a Gastown restaurant for the launch of their 2013 Merlot. A group of invited guests gathered in a private room at L’ Abattoir. After a bit of socializing and a brief audiovisual presentation, where (former) principal Ingo Grady … Read moreCheckMate Merlot