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Hillside Estate Winemaker Kathy Malone presents 2025 Un-0aked Whites

What a wonderful wine gift Kathy Malone brings.   For those of you looking for less or no oak in your white  wines.

2025 Un-Oaked Pinot Gris 

Since it’s introduction in 2008 , the Hillside  unoaked Pinot Gris has been an over-the-top favourite!

Joining the series this year are

2025 Un-Oaked Pinot Gris – grown in vineyards around Naramata Bench. Some of the vineyards share slopes with tree fruit orchards.

Kathy believes that the Pinot Gris picks up aromatics from the peaches, apricots and apples close by. Once harvest begins, Kathy and team gives the yield 2-4 hours of skin contact to bring all the  flavours to the mid-palate. As Kathy says

” the 2025  un-oaked Pinot Gris makes a triumphant return to our portfolio”

2025 Un-oaked Chardonnay (All we are saying is  – give yeast a chance)

In our interview Kathy admits that she and Hillside were very much ABC people  – Anything But Chardonnay!

Not this year..

Grown in the “Wildwood” vineyard, right at the start of Naramata Road, this wine is true to it’s origin as the fermentation kicked off on wild yeasts.

“while I generally prefer carefully selected commercial yeast for whites, I decided to embrace this renegade, and it paid off in spades. A  reslly 

Interesting citrus nose is followed by amazing weight and flavour mid-palate!

2025 Un-oaked Sauvignon Blanc 

Unlike the  popular Heritage Sauvignon Blanc from 2018 and 2021, this version is Kiwi in style, with lots of grass and boxwood on the nose and palate.

Kathy also gives us the dates for opening, when the bistro kicks in – with new Chef Brandon Frederick (co-founder of  the fabulous Row 14 Restaurant in  Cawston)  With Chef Brandon leading the kitchen,  Hillside dining  promises to be  a fine new experience this year.

We also  get a date for the Naramata Bench  annual Vancouver  “new releases” pour and a list of events to expect this year.

And congratulations to Kathy. After more than 50 years in Canada, she has now become a Canadian Citizen.

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Van Wine fest

Fort Berens

Hester Creek

Wine BC

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Harry Hertscheg  2025 Van Wine Fest and Daenna van Mulligen New Reviews from Wine Diva

THE SHOW

Both of this weeks guests have become a  part of the fabric of Tasting Room Radio.

Harry Hertscheg is the Executive Director of the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  This is Year 46.

Harry Hertscheg (sip mag)

Harry brings with him background on  multiple seminars and wine pours on California Wines.

There are 50 wineries attending as the feature region.

VanWineFest also has seminars on West Coast Wine All-stars, California comes to The Cowichan, Engaging Future Wine Consumers, Notes on the  Bacchanalia Gala, cruising California at Earle’s in Yaletown and  a taste of sustainability with DJ Kearney.

Harry covers the wines from BC, Washington, Oregon, Argentina, Greece, Italy and many more.

Harry also suggests that if you wish to attend any of the winemaker’s dinners – Book Early!!!

The 2025 Festival runs Feb 22 to March 2 

All your details at www.vanwinefest.ca

Daenna van Mulligen – The Wine Diva

Daenna and Terry

As The Wine Diva, Daenna van Mulligen has been blessing us at Tasting Room Radio  with her wine smarts for at least 15 years.

Normally at this time of year, she’s posted her Top 50’s lists. (Under $20, Over $20 & Over  $50.)

This year is different in that she’s compiling wine reviews from all of her travels and tastings.

Because there are so many wines to choose from, we decided to focus on 5 or 6 of each from the

Rose, White, Red and Bubble.

Rose

Sandhill, Clos du Soleil,  Bartier Bros,  Township 7,  Joie Farms etc

White 

Wild Grouse, Burrowing Owl, Sandhill, Wente,

Red

Luke, Valparaiso, Yalumba, Prisoner, Blue Mtn, Chat. Haut-Mezieres

Bubble

Township 7 Rigel, Terravista, Taittinger, Blue Mtn Brut, Janz

And a  bunch that I gladly added when she had to take a breath.

Www.winediva.ca    www.winescores.ca

Thank you Daenna. A wonderful Christmas to you and yours.

And Harry….gets some naps between bike rides. Its all training for the new year and Thank You.

Merry Christmas and Memorable Holidays from “The Team” at Tasting Room Radio.

Meg, Corey, John and TDM

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON 

Hester Creek

Fort Berens

Canada Whisky Awards

The Hatch 

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Our Guest is Kerri Wyse-McNolty  VP Burrowing Owl Vineyards and co-creator of their fine Cookbook.

(with Author and Wine Writer Jennifer Schell Lirag)

THE SHOW

The Question they most often hear in their tasting room is …..”what should I pair with this wine?”

So Kerri Wyse and her team collaborated with award winning cookbook author, wine writer Jennifer Schell Lirag and her team  and wrote a cookbook to answer that question.

Unlike most books of this nature, Kerri and Jennifer organized the pages by varietals that they produce at Burrowing Owl.

So you’ll find – page by page – three recipes that pair with each of  the award winning  wines they create. (Pinot Gris is an example)

You’ll also find suggested music to go with meal prep and dining.  I am very impressed and  I’ve included some below.

Pinot Gris    (Baba Ghanoush/Chicken Marbella/Okanagan Apple Crisp)

Sauvignon Blanc

Chardonnay  (La Traviata  Giuseppe Verdi)

Viognier  (Come away with me – Norah Jones)

Pinot Noir

Malbec  (Doo Bop Miles Davis)

Merlot

Cab Franc  (Stand in the Joy William Prince)

Rose  (Arriba  Bruce Becvar)

Syrah  (Harvest – Neil Young)

Athene (Dans Ma Main  Jean-Michel Blais)

Cab Sauvignon

Meritage  (Oscar Peterson plays Count Basie)

Coruja (fortified)  (Duke Ellington and John Coltrane)

The recipes were a collaboration between Jennifer and the Wyse Family. Some were inspired by Wyse family favourites. The book also provides Wyse Family history and stories.  I also loved the fact that Jennifer and Kerri suggested music that would pair with the meal prep and dinner.

In his foreword,  Master of Wine Rhys Pender wrote…

“In this cookbook, I like to think of 30 years captured of Wyse Family meals.

That’s 3 decades of family working, cooking and eating together. – their hard work, tough decisions and deep family conversations as they shared wines, shared recipes and helped pioneer the BC wine industry. That is what it takes to become an iconic winery”

Available now at www.burrowingowlwine.ca

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

New FALL Releases

A catch up with The Hatch

Zanatta – Cowichan original

Pluvio  and Ucluelet

Sons of Vancouver

Fort Berens

Ron Kubek – Lightening Rock

Best Coast Distilling

Hester Creek

Hillside new releases

Winemaker’s Cut

Q&A Winemakers Dinners