The Hillside Blog

Burn Baby, Burn

Nope, not referring to oil discovery, but to biochar… Biochar is the end product of a process used to reduce organic waste. In our case, the waste is the dead vines that we had to pull out this year as a result of a one-in-50-year event in January 2024 which saw temperatures plunge to below…

Duncan’s “Monday to Thursday” Wine

Merlot has been a staple in Hillside’s portfolio since 2000 when Hidden Valley Vineyard was planted to include 2 blocks of Merlot comprising over 5 acres of the 15 acres managed by Hillside. This fruit was used along with a substantial amount of contracted Naramata Bench fruit to produce roughly 1500 cases of Hillside Merlot…

Seeing Red at Hillside

For decades now it has generally been accepted that the Naramata Bench produces premium quality white wines and excellent Pinot Noir. Bigger, Bordeaux and Rhone style reds were thought to do best when grown further south, with some exceptions from the Naramata Bench, which consistently score top marks in international competitions (such as the gold…

Sweet Eyes – Occhi Dolci Vineyard Merlot

What’s new at Hillside? I’ll tell you what’s new! Last month we released our first vintage of the newest addition to our Single Vineyard Series, the Occhi Dolci Vineyard Merlot. This merlot was planted and grown on a beautiful vineyard site (come on they’re all beautiful) just below the Penticton sign at the south end of…

Rosé, Two Ways

August is BC Rosé Month, so let’s talk about rosé! We have made our Hillside Rosé since 2005 with sales being slow for the first few years. In 2008 we had a rockstar salesman in our wineshop who was able to double sales by convincing the male contingent that rosé is a very manly wine: …

Chef’s Whites – A Brand New Collaborative Wine

“I came to Hillside for the Syrah…” This is one of the first things Chef Evan told me when he came to Hillside in 2021. “I had it at a tasting at Fairmont Hot Springs years ago and couldn’t get it out of my mind. We even served it at a recent family reunion.” This…

2023 Harvest Recap

snpinktn a place to stay forever… Hillside winery is located on the Naramata Bench, in Penticton. Our fruit is all grown on the Naramata Bench, vines planted on the traditional lands of the Syilx people, who named this area snpinktn which means “a place to stay forever” or “the place where people live year-round”. This…

Fermentation Vessels

As we prepare for our favourite time of year—grape harvest, affectionately referred to as “crush” not for what it does to the crew and winemaker, but what we do to the grapes—we plan and strategize our use of fermentation vessels for each block of grapes. Because red and white wines are made very differently, we…

Best of the Bench—has sub-GI designation made a difference?

The Naramata Bench wineries were the first in BC to join and pool their marketing efforts through a regional association when the Naramata Bench Wineries Association formed in 2003 as a marketing organization promoting awareness of Naramata Bench wineries throughout BC and Alberta. This vibrant group became well known for “taking it on the road”…

All About Mosaic

Winemaker, Winemaker Blend me a Wine… “Start with Merlot, make it taste fine, we want it to win awards when tasted blind, tell me what will Mosaic be?” What goes into blending a wine like Mosaic? “…for Mama add Cab Franc and Malbec, for Papa–Cabernet Sauvignon” Vineyard skill, careful barrel selection and cellar craftsmanship come…

Sustainability and Resilience

As we celebrate budbreak, that magical period when the grapevine buds come out of dormancy, reconnect with the vine’s vascular system to draw up the nutrients stored in the root system through the winter, and unfurl two tiny leaves and a teeny pre-grape cluster, we wonder what the season will bring us. Each growing season…

Why Does Vintage Matter?

To be truthful, it doesn’t always. Some wines are made specifically to be the same year on year as variation is not considered desirable. What I call “factory wines” are vinted and then blended with a view to give the consumer the same experience year on year. Hence, warmer vintages may be blended with cooler,…