Oh my goodness, where do I start? Well, let’s start at the end. How do we know when it is time to stop aging a wine? It’s a simple answer: when it is no longer improving or evolving in a positive way—ie it is “over the hill”. The problem is our severe lack of time…
Continue reading Cellaring Wine: A Winemaker’s Perspective
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…
Continue reading Harvest Recap – December 2023
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,…
Continue reading Why Does Vintage Matter?
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…
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What is happening in the vineyard? Well…so much has happened since we last talked! The vines have gone from bare trunks with 2 or 3 shoots to a lush jungle of green. Bud Break occurred in the first week of May (about a week later than “normal”) pushing tiny leaves up out of the shoot…
Continue reading Summer In The Vineyard
I recently travelled to Napa to attend the BC Wine Leader’s Forum. This is an event conceived ten years ago by UBC Okanagan, first through their School of Business and now through the Wine Research Center, as a means of connecting with the wine industry to assess how these groups can best work together. This…
Continue reading Giving Back ♥
Part 2 of 3: What is a Sub-GI and Why Does it Matter? An appellation or geographic indicator (GI) is a means of delineating “terroir” geographically. Terroir refers to the set of conditions that contribute to the character of the fruit, and therefore the wine, such that it stands apart from its neighbors. These conditions…
Continue reading All about the Naramata Bench Terroir: Part 2 of 3
Elegant and juicy, the 2019 Hillside Syrah is the perfect bottle to compliment a grilled lamb steak. The slight fattiness from the T-bone steak softens the fine tannins exposing flavours like clove and espresso. Grown naturally, stress and chemical free, the lamb we sourced for the bistro is ethically raised in Creston BC. Lamb steaks…
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The Hillside Story Grow the best quality fruit possible, pick at optimum physiological ripeness, ferment cool, and intervene with nature only when necessary…simple, elegant. Simple, elegant, yes, but easy? Definitely not. The temptation to constantly “fiddle” and “improve upon” Mother Nature is really more about manufacturing. Natural, beautiful wine is not manufactured—rather, it is carefully…
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The Bistro menu has been created with a focus on small plates so that you may indulge in and share a melody of flavours.
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Discover Naramata’s finest with a wine tasting at Hillside Step into the world of Hillside Winery, where the diverse flavours and rich heritage of the Naramata Bench come alive in each bottle. Our carefully curated tasting experiences invite you to delve into the heart of our winemaking philosophy, celebrating the rich history and vibrant character…
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Visit Hillside Winery & Bistro Wine tastings at Hillside Discover the charm of Hillside Winery, where the unique character and storied traditions of the Naramata Bench are captured in every glass. Our personalised tasting experiences are your invitation to explore the very best of Naramata winemaking, paying homage to our rich background, pioneering spirit, and…
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