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John and Virginia Weber took a chance on the wild Similkameen Valley two decades ago, and ever since, they have been exploring its unique meso-climates and micro-terroirs in search of authenticity and wines that celebrate their place of origin. We speak with John on a sunny, cool, windy morning as their loyal crew readied to pick the cabernet sauvignon at Passion Pit Vineyard.

We catch up with Howling Bluff winemaker Luke Smith in his favourite pinot noir vineyard, 'Century Block,' an old orchard that once sported over 100 different varieties of apples. Luke updates us on a 2020 vintage that has been challenging, but that looks as if it will have a rewarding ending.

We follow the grapes to Vancouver Island where a cadre of producers are impacting the BC wine map as the region closes in on two decades of production. The Cowichan Valley is 45 minutes north of the provincial capital Victoria. The sheltered east coast of the island owes its existence to mountains that cast a rain shadow, curbing the rainfall headed for Vancouver a two hour ferry ride across the Salish Sea.

We stop at Checkmate Artisanal Winery on the Golden Mile Bench, just south of Oliver in the Okanagan Valley. We visit with winemaker and general manager Phil McGahan on the crush pad, where he takes us on a tour of the historic site, inside and out. The winery has undergone a complex renovation, begun not long after it was purchased in 2012 by Anthony von Mandl from the founding Combret family.

Fort Berens Estate Winery is the first of eight stops to "follow the grapes," a series covering the 2020 grape harvest's excitement across British Columbia. In the series, we hope you will feel the energy and immediacy of the harvest in the vineyards and on the crush pads, as winegrowers scramble to pick, crush and process their grapes in a rush against time and Mother Nature.

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.