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Intervention in Winemaking – What does it really mean?

The term intervention in winemaking spans a spectrum of practices. In theory, zero intervention would indicate that fruit is left on the vine and no wine is made. Maximum intervention would be…well let’s come back to that. The grapevine’s primary job, in fact its only desire, is to propagate. It wants to create the condition…

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,…

Giving Back ♥

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…

Why We Use Oak In Winemaking: Part 3

Part 3 of 3: Why do we use oak in winemaking? The red edition… The use of oak in winemaking is so much more about structure than flavour: Red wines are aged (not “fermented”) in oak. The barrels are filled after fermentation and extended skin contact are completed—this is 20-30 days post-harvest. We try to…

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 We Use Oak In Winemaking: Part 2

Part 2 of 3: Why do we use oak in winemaking? The white edition… Wooden barrels are used in winemaking for benefits that far outweigh simple flavour contribution from the oak. Wine changes by virtue of being in a small wooden vessel. These changes can be physical – the actual evaporation of small amounts ofwater/alcohol…

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: …

2023 – Year of the Rabbit 🐇

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with Hillside! This year, the Lunar New Year begins on January 22, when we will welcome the Year of the Rabbit! Read on for some of our favorite Hillside wines to pair with classic Chinese dishes. Veggie Chow Mein + Muscat Ottonel The fresh & floral flavor profile &…

All about the Naramata Bench Terroir: Part 2 of 3

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…

All about the Naramata Bench Terroir: Part 1 of 3

Part 1 of 3: My Love of the Naramata Bench Terroir When I was considering the move to Hillside from Mission Hill, I thought these people were insane, planting Malbec this far north in the valley. I knew how hard it was to ripen Bordeaux varieties, even as far south as Osoyoos. But I tasted…

Why I Hate Icewine….

Of course I don’t hate Icewine!!! It truly is nectar of the gods, with its rich aromas, concentrated flavours and unctuous texture. It’s the intense ICEWINE-ness of icewine I hate. For decades whenever a non-Canadian was told we had a wine industry in Canada, icewine was evoked, along with images of harvesting in the dead…

Preparing the Vineyard for Harvest

Now what is happening in the vineyard?(are we there yet???!!!) The vines right now are in a lag phase when they soak up sunlight and slowly create the precursor substances that will contribute to ripening. Not much change is evident until veraison occurs. This is when the berry starts to change colour, soften and sweeten,…