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.
A huge thanks to BCWAS and members for throwing a fantastic tasting evening at the Hyatt Hotel last night. The room was packed filled with wine aficionados thirsty for knowledge on Prospect Wines and the intimate details of wine making in the Okanagan Valley. Our winemaker Wade Stark led the eager participants through the tasting, speaking and taking questions for over 2 hours! Here we've included a few photos of the wine tasting mats, crowd and Wade!
Prospect Winery is lucky enough to land in the spotlight on Thursday, January 20th for The BC Wine Appreciation Society's latest portofolio tasting series!
Hosted at the gorgeous Listel Hotel Vancouver, our very own winemaker Wade Stark will be on hand to walk event participants through a wide selection of Prospect Wines, speaking to his state of the art wine making processes. You're guaranteed to taste some delicious wines, learn something new about Okanagan Valley winemaking and mingle with other local wine enthusiasts!
Designated the "Best Way to Cut the B.S. about BC Wines" by the Georgia Straight, The BC Wine Appreciation Society mandate is to provide a platform for BC wine lovers to discover, discuss, experience and enjoy all things BC Wine. To find out more or become a member, find them at BCWAS.com
Wines provided for the tasting will include:
2007 Haynes Barn Merlot-Cabernet
2008 Fat's Johnson Pinot Noir
2007 Red Willow Shiraz
2008 Census Count Chardonnay (oaked)
2009 Townsend Jack Chardonnay (unoaked)
2009 Birch Canoe Pinot Blanc
2009 Ogopogo's Lair Pinot Grigio
2009 Larch Tree Riesling
2009 Council's Punch Bowl Sauvignon Blanc
Key details:
Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011
Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Place: Listel Hotel, Robson Street
Price: $30 Members, $45 Guests
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!
