New releases from Noble Ridge (OK Falls)
& Bella Wines (Naramata Bench)
THE SHOW
Leslie D’Andrea Co-founder of Noble Ridge and Director of Winemaking
Benoit Gauthier (Okanagan Falls)
Timing. It’s all about timing. My request for an interview and their Spring releases. The same day!!
Noble Ridge
Benoit creates and releases wonderful single reds and blends later in the year but right now it’s all about sparkling wines. Glorious Bubbles!
2019 The Pink One (clones 113, 114, 115 and 777)
100% Pinot Noir. 135 cases. 4 hours on skins, 34 months en tourage. Method Traditionale. Toasted nuts and strong berry centre. If you see it – grab it. They’ll go quickly.
Its Some Yummy!
2018 The One 72% Chardonnay 28% Pinot Noir.
Brioche on the nose. Crème Brule on the palate. Makes the biggest smile on my face. 345 cases.
2017 The One Grand Reserve 78% Chard. 22% Pinot Noir
Exceptional flavour, clean acidity, baking spices, honey, apple. All with incredible balance. Citrus and apple together forever. World class wine.
2020 The One 20th anniversary Sparkling.
Has been called the best bubble yet from Noble Ridge. Frankly, I think everyone has a special bubble here.
Fantastic mouth feel, deep long finish. Very, Very good.
Congratulations on becoming the first Biosphere Certified Winery in Canada.
And thumbs up to Benoit and the winemaking team. To Jim and Leslie – Bravo!!
Father’s Day weekend events at Noble Ridge can be found at www.nobleridge.com
Jay Drysdale – co-founder/winemaker at Bella Wines (Naramata)
Bella – Jay Drysdale Wendy Rose
As it says on their webpage – Bella is a sparkling wine house focused on single vineyard, clonal expressions of Okanagan Valley grapes.
Perhaps the key word there is “focused.” There are no more focused farmers that Jay Drysdale and his love Wendy Rose.
One of Jay’s mantras is “Gamay”, as in – “I need more Gamay”
If you go to the Bella website – www.bellawines.ca you can see that they’ve been busy on The Bench. There is nothing normal about this winery. They push the boundaries of winemaking, which is exactly why wine fans love them.
Spring releases we talk about include :
2023 Muscat Sparkling Wine (Mariani Vineyard) 40 cases of bone dry zero-zero Pet-Nat at 9.9 %. A perfect starting point!
Really liked this wine. You’ll be welcomed by immediate floral notes. Did I mention 9.9%
2022 Bella Sparkling – Blanc de Blancs. Ancestrale Method. 90 cases. 10.6% 100% chardonnay from Bella Estate.
Bella recommends this be cellared for “a few years” as the reward is well worth it. It will become a BC Chablis. If you’re an oyster fan…this one is perfect!!
2020 Bella Reserve Brut (King Family Vineyards) Method Traditional THIS IS SPECIAL. Jay explains that he and Wendy went back into the cellar and pulled out the reserve brut all the way back to 2013.
So…available at Bella the Brut 2013-16-18-19 and 2020. 900 bottles. With notes of pineapple and fresh toast.
Small, busy bubbles. Beautifully crafted.
Note: The King Family vineyard is the one shown in the classic Naramata shot we’ve included on our website.
( King Family Vineyard – Naramata )
As beautiful as it is, it was damaged by the winter freeze. May not see new Brut for a while. We’ll see.
Highly recommended – These are amazing releases. Bubble all the way back to 2013.
Please check the Bella website above for all the details.
And do enjoy the storyteller side of Jay Drysdale. Hi Wendy!!
STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:
Haywire
Garnet Valley – Two Wineries.
Township 7
Solvero
BC Cider Festival
