The Ganton and Larsen Prospect Winery is a tribute to the Okanagan Valley’s rich and colourful history, geography and incredible wines.
The wines pay homage to the Ganton and Larsen families; original and longstanding land-owning partners of the winery. The grapes are sourced from vineyards all across the Okanagan Valley, allowing for diversity, consistency and distinctiveness. Each varietal features a gem; a historical place, figure, animal or item from the Okanagan Valley, commemorated by original artwork from local Okanagan artists.
Wow! Thanks Randy Quaid. Even though you're hiding out at the Tigh-Na-Mara resort, you still found time for some Prospect Wine! And not only that, you made sure it was in your latest Vanity Fair spread!!
Pretty amazing stuff. Check out the full feature HERE.
What a lovely Christmas treat from one of our favorite Christmas characters.. Cousin Eddie!
Traditionally Icewine harvests take place in the dead of night. Light by the glow of the moon (and perhaps a few mega watt bulbs) brave picking teams free themselves from their comfortable beds to capture the grapes at their optimal time. Why so late? Are the pickers just gluttons for punishment, looking to push an already extremely arduous task to it's very limit? Well maybe, but the real reason is that the late night temperatures are when the grapes are at their best for picking. They need to be cold, at least -8 degrees Celsius, but the colder the better. The colder the grapes, the higher the concentration of juice, creating sweet and flavourful wines.
But this year, we're capping off a truly bizarre growing season. This marks one of the shortest turn around between wine harvest and Icewine harvest at just a few short weeks! And not only is the 2010 Icewine harvest one of the earliest on record (the earliest coming in 2003) but it was so cold, the harvest happened in the light of day! So with the temperature starting out around -17 Celsius in Naramata and reaching a balmy -13 in the afternoon, our brave troops headed out to do battle with the elements.
Photos from winemaker Wade Stark have been flowing in from the fields all afternoon and we couldn't wait to share.
Riesling grapes ready to be picked:
Wade Stark's first full pail of Riesling:
Added to the growing bucket..
Wade braving the elements and bringing in the fruit:
Later that night back at the winery, a freshly filled bucket of Vidal grapes will stay outside overnight, no need for refrigeration!
On Wednesday evening, I was doing errands around the city and catching moments of my favourite evening radio program on CBC, "As it Happens". I jumped back in the car and was half listening to the radio and half thinking about what I needed at the grocery store when suddenly something caught me attention. The interview was all about The Ogopogo! It seems a Kelowna resident has announced that he recently saw Ogopogo while kayaking and in fact, has his tail!! The report said the tail was 1.2 metres long and it now resides in this man's freezer! CBC was interviewing a cryptozoologist who specializes in Ogopogo sightings and research. The tail is now off for DNA testing to discover if it is fact real. I just wonder how this kayaker pulled a 1.2 metre tail back to his home. Intriguing. I think that I will stick with the Prospect Pinot Grigio wine that celebrates the mystery of the Ogopogo and leave the study of the Ogopogo to the 'cryptozoologists!' Oh, how much I love the summer Ogopogo sightings - this is the third this year. However, it definitely makes me wonder if Ogopogo is swimming the depths of Lake Okanagan.
Last week, Prospect Winery was awarded Gold at the Dallas Morning News Wine Competition for The Lost Bars Vidal Icewine 2007. Over the course of the year, Prospect wines are entered into many prestigious wine competitions like International Wine and Spirit Competition and Decanter Wine Awards. We celebrate each result and anxiously look to the mail (or email) for the results of these competitions!
In the past few weeks, in international wine news, there has been much controversy over the reliability of wine judges and the value of medals awarded. The results of a study by Dr. Robert Hodgson published about were released and his conclusions created quite the buzz. He charted lots of results, but failed to draw any firm conclusions - only that results don't necessarily reflect the skills of the judges. However, he definitely created quite the stir in the community.
There are hundreds of responses to his study from around the world - it's interesting to read some web discussions, and definitely makes one question competition results. Prospect will continue to enter several of the wine competitions held across the globe and despite any controversy, it will loudly celebrate its wins and taking pride in the many awards we will hopefully receive over the coming year!
