Spring is here, and this April is officially declared BC Wine Month!  Given the current political situation, we have all been doing our best to support local BC (and other Canadian) products as much as possible, and our BC Wineries need all of our support more than ever.  There is a lot of inventory of BC wine from the stellar 2022 vintage (reds mostly) and a bit of delicious 2023 as well.  Now is the time to stock up and enjoy these wines.

The start of April is also the official release date of wines ‘Crafted in BC’ from the 2024 vintage.  What does this mean?  Well, as many of you know, there was almost no BC wine made, other than Vancouver Island, in the 2024 vintage due to severe winter damage.  The cold winter temps killed many vines and destroyed buds on those vines that survived.  Wineries, already struggling from killing frosts the previous winter affecting the 2023 vintage (among other challenges) are having to replant vineyards at a huge expense, also knowing that it is going to be several years before those vineyards come back into production.  Provisions were made for wineries to bring in grapes from elsewhere, and given our close proximity to Washington, Oregon and northern California, and our previously awesome relationship with our closest neighbour, most of the grapes came from the States.

So, you may be saying something like ‘but I’m not buying any American wines!’.  Let me be clear.  These wines, ‘Crafted in BC’ as they’ve been coined, may come from American grapes, but were made by the BC winemakers and wineries that you love.  If you want our local BC wine industry to survive, PLEASE support them by giving these excellent wines a try.  The provisions were made to keep these dedicated producers afloat, to bridge the gap until when their vineyards are able to produce again, and insure their long term survival.  I’ve tasted several already and they are really great.

In a few days you’ll be seeing ‘Crafted in BC’ hitting BC Liquor Store shelves.  Because government and producers had to move quickly to make this possible, the labelling will vary, but you WILL be able to find where the grapes come from somewhere on the label.  You won’t see BC VQA on any of these bottlings, as that needs to be 100% BC, and always will.  Still, look for some fun new labels from your favourite  BC wineries and give these wines a try.  It’s a way you can continue to show your support and Canadian pride.

Harvest time is upon us. Summer’s final days are here and the bounty to fill the Cornucopia is rolling in. As we know, for our BC vintners, this year’s harvest season is bittersweet, with some lucky wineries reporting 25-30% of their usual crop, with so many others not so lucky. I’m pulling in a strong crop of tomatoes, peppers, and tons of other vegetables in my backyard garden (farm), as are my farmer neighbours up in Pemberton. Our Whistler restaurants are starting up their fall specials and celebrating the bounty of this local harvest and delicious BC and global wines to go with these menus.

While working on this year’s Cornucopia drink seminars, and picking buckets of tomatoes, I reminded myself that I didn’t drink enough rose this summer. The great news is it is never too late to enjoy rose – it just may be time for a style shift. Those glorious, scorching hot summer days called for a pale, bone dry ‘provencal’ style of rose, very cold, for pure refreshment, perhaps with a cool salad for afternoon lunch. Now that the sun has lowered, and menus are heartier, it’s time to open some slightly richer roses. Darker colour comes from longer skin contact, and adds flavour and some tannin even to match with richer food. There is something pink to pair with almost any harvest food and any occasion.

Though we don’t have a rose specific seminar on schedule, you can be sure that many of our presenters will be including this versatile wine in their seminars, including my own. You will also see many at our Signature events, including the West Coast House Party, Crush Gala, and more. I’ll be opening a great bottle of BC rose this week to inspire me, perhaps from Quails’ Gate, Fort Berens, or Unsworth, and hope that you will be inspired too to join us in discovering a world of fantastic wine and other beverages in our seminars this year. There is truly something for everyone! And please don’t delay in getting your tickets, several have limited seats remaining.

Summer is in full swing in Whistler after a typically variable-weathered June for our spring programming, Nourish. I am four months out of my previous position working with an outstanding wine agency for 5 and a half years, and starting with the health and wellness events of Nourish Event Series in June was just what I needed. We hosted brunches and BBQ’s, fitness classes, nature walks, sound baths, and more, and shared a lot of great healthy food and delicious drinks mostly of the alcohol-free variety.

Now this lady formerly known as the Wine Fairy is here to get you stoked for our main event this November! I’m energized for this new stage in my life and am now focusing on my backyard food farm, lots of mountain biking, and my expanded role with Whistler Cornucopia. Our team has been working away since last year’s edition wrapped up and things are coming together. We have many of our individual winery slots filled for our Signature event, CRUSH, with some expanded regional areas which I can’t wait to tell you about as it all comes together. I’m working through an exciting list of seminar submissions so we can taste and learn together about a diverse range of wines and other tasty beverages. Plus, we will have your favourite Signature events and some fun new ones too!

We are working extra hard to support our BC winery partners this year as it has been a challenging couple of years for them. This year’s extreme cold weather event led to severe bud damage and killed numerous grape vines. As a result, many wineries won’t have much, if any, crop for 2024. So, now that summer is rolling, please get out and support the BC wineries. You can tack on a scenic drive to your Whistler visit and head over to Lillooet to see our friends at Fort Berens, or rock into the Okanagan and stock up on delicious wines to support our cherished industry partners and add to your summer enjoyment.

If you need some non-alcoholic wine or beverage recommendations, or insider Whistler tips, please drop me an email at samantha@watermarkinc.ca. Otherwise, see you on the trails or at the lake, if I’m not busy farming in my Pemberton backyard!