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Determined to save a "beast" of a syrah crop in 2015, winemaker Michael Bartier employed a labour-intensive maceration method. We learn to appreciate how each vintage presents a different set of circumstances forcing winemakers to understand their options in a decision-making tree that could lead to failure or success.

What's important in shaping a rosé? Winemaker Michael Bartier has put a lot of thought into what he feels make a rosé a great one. While he tells us this, he also outlines three of the best-known methods of production and then makes an argument for the one he prefers.

Michael Bartier identifies two scents found in the Okanagan Valley to explain the French term "garrigue," and its effect on his vineyards and eventually his wine. There are many instances in the wine world, "matorall" in Spain, "machhia" in Italy, "boldo" in Chile and "jarilla" in Argentina. It's no surprise that in the Okanagan valley we have weather conditions and flora unique to us.

Michael Bartier is a one-of-a-kind winegrower with a strong connection to his birthplace, the Okanagan Valley. Bartier has long been curious about the connection between terroir and wine and whether winemaking enhances or hinders that relationship. We all went digging for answers.