I'm not complaining though! I consider myself lucky to be able to combine my passion, hobby and lifestyle into a job; I am lucky to rarely feel the need to have a day off. My work is so multi-faceted and so challenging that I feel even in 10 years I will have the same thirst and enthusiasm I had when I embarked on this journey a few years back. Being part of a close knit family and small winery means multi-tasking. One day in the vineyard observing the plants - tucking vines and pulling weeds, the next day lending a hand in the cellar and perhaps flying to export markets sharing our story on a third day. Back with jet-lag means putting a foot up, brewing some da hung pao tea, crunching numbers and writing reports. Sound good? Wait for the best part: it is the people I get to work with and interact with on a daily basis that make it the most rewarding job in the world. I get to work with sommeliers and retailers around town to bring great wines to their patrons and customers. I get to spend time with the down to earth, humble and passionate vineyard workers, purveyors of the land, who teach you to slow down and enjoy life. We enter the busiest part of the year at the winery as harvest hits full stride, and every day I'm eager to wake up and get to work. 

My sincerest thank you to all of you who show interest in our craft, support us and allow us to continue making the wines we dream of making.

Rasoul Salehi
 

James' Notes on the 2008 Allegretto! 

2008 Allegretto Merlot Release 

Our favourite single vineyard Merlot, true to its roots

This Merlot is what we call a true Merlot. It is planted on its own rootstock (no grafting). The results are stunning - there is a trueness and politeness in the flavour that has not been seen elsewhere. We also believe the white silica sandy (Stuff you make glass our of) soil of this vineyard further contributes to the transparency of this wine.

The 2008 growing season was unusually cool but with a perfect September and October. We saw a level of physiological ripeness that wasn't seen in recent years. The finished wine shows a beautiful, balanced level of acidity and a great level of phenolic maturity while keeping the alcohol levels under check. The nose bursts with black forest cake and the palate has great weight and depth, rich with currants, plum and dark berries. The finish, which lasts for well over 45 seconds, has hints of toastiness and soft tannins.

Food Pairing:
To soften the tannins and enhance the complexity of flavours look to items like braised pork belly or beef short ribs with savoury and aromatic components.

2008 Allegretto Remember we offer 10% off on case (12 bottle) purchases on our website. You can mix and match with other wines on offer and still receive your 10% off.

 

 

90 Points - John Schreiner
"...This is a Merlot from grapes grown near Osoyoos. The wine begins with jammy blueberry aromas and has flavours of plums, black currants; with sage notes on the finish."

Orders are best placed on our website. If you want you can also contact us by email or phone (604-697-0989).

How can there be this many wasps??

I find myself at 7am standing at a sorting table on the crush pad behind the winery. As I furiously paw through Muscat grapes, applying James's

rigorous standards for which grapes are "in" and which are "out" I immediately have a couple thoughts: 1) "Why am I out here at 7am?" 2) "I will never be clean again" and 3) "How can there be this many wasps?"

The answer to each question makes sense. The early start has everything to do with temperature, if we waited till a civilized hour to start work, the temperatures would be high and the grapes would risk losing some of their aromatic freshness.
As for the wasps and the sticky hands, well they go hand in hand. The wonderful warm sunny late summer resulted in beautiful even ripe fruit. Ripe fruit means sugar content and as a result I stand here in the morning freezing cold, fingers glued together and surrounded by wasps - thank goodness for the surgical latex gloves we're all wearing.

I'm encouraged to taste a grape from a bunch regularly, both to help sort the best ripest clusters and to gain a sense of the final wine. The lovely floral flavours jump from the muscat grapes just as they do the final wine.

As the sun rises and the temperatures creep up, I'm desperately hoping it's time for lunch. Alas, it's not even 10am yet so the head goes down and I continue to sort.

By Aron, a desk-bound marketing guy.