Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 91/100

Oh what elegance and finesse on this Pinot Noir from Township 7 Vineyards and Winery on the Naramata Bench. This is a happy Pinot Noir, fragrant with baked cherry pie, candy stripe, earthy and minty aromas on the nose. Dry, medium-bodied, elegant and ethereal on the palate with cherry compote, dried red fruits, fresh mushroom, dried herb, minty flavours lingering on and a very smooth, satisfying finish. Delish with roast duck and cherry compote.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

It’s all about the strawberries on Monte Creek Ranch Winery’s Sparkling Rosé Reserve 2018. Made from the Marquette hybrid grape, this sparkler is vibrant deep pink in the glass. Fragrant with ripe strawberry, citrus, dried herb aromas on the nose. Off-dry with concentrated strawberry, raspberry, soft citrus, dried herbs and nutmeg spice flavours on the palate. Chill and enjoy on its own, with brunch dishes and green salads topped with herbed goat cheese. A very versatile well-priced rosé bubble and so moreish. The Marquette grape was so named after 17th Century Jesuit missionary and explorer Père or James Marquette and is an inter-specific hybrid red wine grape, meaning there are more than two grape species in its lineage. In fact, Marquette has eight different Vitis species in its lineage. In addition to Vitis vinifera, there is also Vitis riparia, labrusca, aestivalis, lincecumii, rupestris, cinera, and berlandieri. Created by Peter Hemstad and James Luby at the University of Minnesota for a cold-hardy red wine grape, the original cross was produced from MN 1094 and Ravat 262, the latter being a direct offspring of Pinot Noir.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

The 2018 Reserve Riesling from Monte Creek Ranch Winery is a real sniffer with bright apple, lime zest and orange blossom aromas on the nose. The wine is off-dry, but seems less so because of its amazing balance of fruit to acidity. Juicy, mouth-filling and weighty (medium-plus-bodied) with ripe apple, key-lime, lemon curd and stony mineral flavours on the palate finishing long and mouth-watering. This vintage is the winery's first qualified Thompson Valley, British Columbia, V.Q.A. wine. Chill and enjoy with mussels Provencal, smoked salmon and pan-fried trout. The vintage – 2018 started off hot in May, wet in August and cool in September -- a veritable grape growing roller coaster ride, but the longer hang time allowed the wine grapes to ripen evenly and completely. So, the juicy layers on this reserve are just beginning to show. It will be interesting to see how the wine develops its complexity in the next year or two.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 89/100

Love this dry, medium-plus-bodied Pinot Noir from Monte Creek Ranch. Dark and rich with ripe blueberry compote, dried red berry and rose petals delivered on a smooth palate. Great acidity for roast duck and meat-stuffed, baked Portobello mushrooms. We paired it with a venison stir fry and grilled Mediterranean vegetables. Smoke from the 2017 forest fires in the Okanagan Valley was the challenge for this vintage, both for working conditions and the harvest. While staff wore particle masks as they worked in the vineyard, wine grapes were hand-harvested in the cool of the early morning, hand-sorted to ensure quality fruit and lightly pressed to avoid bitter phenolics in the wine. Well done, the 2017 vintage was awarded Gold in the 2019 Pacific Rim Wine Competition.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

Summer is still alive and well, and Township 7 Vineyards & Winery 2018, 7 Blanc is here to remind us of that! A zesty, off-dry 56% Gewurztraminer, 22% Pinot Gris, 9% Viognier, 9% Riesling, 4% Muscat white wine blend, fragrant with spring florals, rose petals, lychee, fresh pear and spicy aromas on the nose. Fresher still with ripe pear, rose petals, lychee and ginger spice on the palate and a well-crafted balance of acidity to fruit sweetness. A higher residual sugar content than in previous vintages was allowed to match and balance the vibrant acidity of the 2018 vintage. This is a delicious white blend and a great pairing to mildly-spiced curries and Asian dishes. We paired it with pan-fried steelhead filets and it was a perfect match for this rich dish. From a moderate vintage yo-yoing between heat, cold and smoke, but finally finishing with a warmer year than average. Winemaker’s comments: “The 2018 vintage is one of freshness and elegance with slightly cooler temperatures resulting in wines with vibrant acidity, lower alcohol and intense fruit character.”