Top 10 : Early BC Spring Releases

By: Anthony Gismondi

Back on the road in BC Wine Country

Top Ten

We have been travelling BC wine routes for a month now, looking for anything that would suggest we are getting back to normal.

Understaffed wineries will likely welcome a cool spring as they get just a little extra time to prepare for what we hope will be a full on post-pandemic season. One thing we should all be looking forward to is the 2020 red wines that will be released. It is a vintage considered by this writer to be one of the best since the inception of VQA, and with 2021 shortages looming, it is one you should pounce on if you a looking to stock up your cellar. In the meantime, here is a top ten of some of the most current releases we have tasted, both red and white.

91/100Clos du Soleil Capella 2020British Columbia, Canada

89/100Harper's Trail Thadd Springs Vineyard Silver Mane Block Riesling 2020Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

91/100Haywire Switchback Pinot Gris 2019Summerland, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

92/100LaStella Allegretto Merlot Pie Franco 2019Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

90/100Laughing Stock Vineyards Amphora Syrah +20/10 2020Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

92/100Le Vieux Pin Syrah Cuvée Classique 2019Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

92/100Phantom Creek Estates Kobau Vineyard Syrah 2019Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

92/100Quails' Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2019Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

91/100Rust Wine Co. South Rock Vineyard Syrah 2019Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

91/100Painted Rock Cabernet Sauvignon 2019Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Written By: ag

Anthony Gismondi

Anthony Gismondi is a Canadian wine journalist and one of North America's most influential voices in wine. For over 30 years, he has been the wine columnist for The Vancouver Sun. The twice-weekly column is distributed across Canada through Postmedia Network to millions of readers. In addition, Anthony co-hosts the BC Food & Wine Radio Show, broadcast in 18 markets across B.C. and available as a podcast on Spotify, Apple and iHeart Radio and more. He launched Gismondionwine.com in 1997, attracting one million users a month from 114 countries. It continues to be a valuable resource of full tasting notes and intelligent wine stories and videos for the trade and consumers.