Wines come at all price points, from the cheap & cheerful, up to the ultra-premium or cult wines. In BC it is hard to come across many wines that are in the cheap category because we have such limited areas for growing grapes. One way for BC wineries to get more grapes is to source the grapes or wine from outside of the province. Although you may not know it, many countries, like Australia and Chile do export bulk wine, which could end up being a house wine for a restaurant here for example. But these external sources of wine can be blended with our BC wine to produce a product that is at a lower price point, and hopefully provides us with a tasty glass of wine. You may see the term “Cellared in Canada” or some variation of that term on some wine labels. This is an indication that all the wine that is in the bottle is not 100% from BC, but from a variety of sources.
One such wine label in BC is “It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere“. I was provided with a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot. All wines are non-vintage, i.e. does not have a year stated on the label, so the wines in the bottle could come from 2 or more different years. While not Cult status wines, they do offer a wine that could be enjoyed in a casual situation like an outdoor bbq. All these wines are best drunk as soon as they are opened. Decanting does not add anything to these wines.
It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere Sauvignon Blanc ($8.59)- has a youthful aroma, starting with tropical fruit and adding melon, peach and citrus. With some decanting the aromas change to pears and apples. It is a dry wine, with medium acidity. Round, almost silky with medium to heavy mouthfeel. Starting with green apples, and then adding peaches and tropical fruit. A bit of greenness and citrus toward the finish. Also quite peppery.
Rating: 
An easy sipper that has nice tropical fruit, apple and peach aromas and flavours.
It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere Merlot ($8.59) – Medium intensity aromas of ripe black berries, raspberries, cassis and plums, together with some meatiness, followed by a hint of capsicum, vanilla, dark fruit and oak. Quite a fruity nose. It is between dry and off-dry, and has medium levels of acidity and tannins. Light mouth feel; not quite round but still has some softness. Cassis, red cherries and raspberry flavours, along with light minerality. Mid-palate to finish you get some leafiness. It finishes peppery, together with dark chocolate and ripe cassis flavours. If this wine had more tannic backbone for structure, I’d rate it a bit higher.
Rating: Lots of mixed berry fruits on the nose, which leads to the palate, and gives you pepper and dark chocolate on the finish.
It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere Cabernet Sauvignon ($8.59) – Light, youthful nose, a bit sweet with aromas of candied cherries and baby powder, followed by cassis. Off-dry, medium body, with a fairly heavy mouth feel. Black cherry, plum and other dark fruit flavours. Sweet dark cherries and pepperiness on the finish. Light tannins.
Rating: 
A straight forward wine, but does not show too much of the Cabernet Sauvignon character.
