Who is CedarCreek?
CedarCreek Estate Winery was one of the first eight pioneering wineries in British Columbia. Right from the early onset, CedarCreek’s pioneering has been tempered by patience and perseverance. Our ideals matured into our philosophy: “Respect the land, honour tradition, pursue perfection.” For over 30 years now, we have pursued perfection and produced some of the valley’s best wines resulting in CedarCreek being twice recognized as “Canada’s Winery of the Year”. Passion, tenacity, care and hard work are vital but above all we seek truth in wine. And the results show in every bottle. On that, you have our word.
Our Land
CedarCreek has three distinct vineyard sites.
CedarCreek Home Vineyard
Located in historic Mission in Kelowna, where father Pandosy first planted grapes in the late 1850’s. We have 50 acres overlooking the stunning lake Okanagan. Situated to the North of the Valley, the vineyard consists of clay, loam and some sandy soil. The CedarCreek vineyard is ideally suited for Pinot Noir and the white aromatics that are planted here. CedarCreek is also home to the winery, Wineshop, open daily all year round, and Vineyard Terrace Restaurant during the summer months.
Desert Ridge
Near Osoyoos, is adjacent to a property where the first table grapes were grown in the late 1930s. The fine, sandy soil of the Southern Okanagan around Osoyoos is well known around the valley. It runs as deep as 300 feet in places. But our vineyard at Desert Ridge is a little bit different. There are stones. Lots and lots of medium-sized, roundish rocks shaped by the flow of some long vanished creek. In winemaking, stones are good. They provide an underpinning of minerality you’ll hear experts describe as ‘complexity’ – a much sought-after commodity. We’re not sure if the complexity was used to full advantage when this land was planted to gargantuan Zucca melons during WWII. Zuccas are flavour neutral and were processed as filler for jams. Today, we’re giving Desert Ridge’s stones their day in the hot southern Okanagan sun. We’re capturing their earthy essence in the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot we grow at Desert Ridge.
Haynes Creek
Overlooking Osoyoos Lake, this property was once grazing land that was converted to soft fruit in the 1940s. Senator Fitzpatrick’s father worked with these early growers who delivered extremely ripe fruit destined for the Zenith label at the “Mac & Fitz” packing house. When you’ve tasted fruit from nearly every orchard in the Okanagan Valley, you know when you taste something special. Back in the late 40s, the orchards at Haynes Creek grew peaches for the Mac & Fitz fruit-packing house owned by Senator Ross Fitzpatrick’s father. And not just any peaches, they were the tastiest, juiciest and most luscious ones reserved for a premium brand called Zenith. They were peaches to remember. So when we had the opportunity to acquire Haynes Creek, we didn’t think twice. These are going to be wines to remember. The proof was already in the peaches.
The Wines We Will Be Pouring at the International Festival Tasting Room
2015 Platinum Block 3 Riesling
Each year, there are single blocks of vineyard that show us something unique — where vine maturity, soil and climate combine to create something distinctly CedarCreek. The 2015 vintage was a warm one where sugars developed rapidly, and we made our picking decision based on preserving the characteristic Block 3 acidity. We tasted, tasted and tasted in the vineyard until the moment was right. And then we picked. Quickly. You can taste the result of that picking decision in every glass.
A Not-So-Little, Little Thing: We pressed it slowly over the course of six hours to preserve the aromatic purity of the juice.
What We Smell: A crate of ripe peaches.
What We Taste: Elderflower.
Note: Our 2014 Platinum Block 3 Riesling was named Best Canadian White Wine over £15 at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards in 2016.
2014 Platinum Block 5 Chardonnay
From its cool site, high up in the vineyard (directly beneath our winemaker’s front porch), Block 5 gave us rich, ripe fruit in 2014. It deserved to shine, so we let it. We used no malolactic fermentation to round it out, and chose 500-litre puncheons for aging to keep the oak influence gentle. We wanted this wine to be as pure as the grapes when we tasted them at harvest. You can taste the unique character of Block 5 in every glass.
A Not-So-Little, Little Thing: Coming from one of our highest altitude vineyards this Chardonnay has razor sharp acidity. This will also allow it to age for another 8+ years.
What We Smell: Apple tarte tatin.
What We Taste: Zesty acidity and complex minerality
Notes:
- Platinum Award winner at the National Awards of Canada – WineAlign 2016
- Gold Medal (95 Points) winner at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London, June 2016
- 93 Points, Michelle Bouffard, July 2016
- 93 Points, John Szabo, July 2016
2014 Platinum Block 2 Pinot Noir
Our Block 2 Pinot Noir vines, at 23 years old, are just entering their prime – their root depth beginning to tap the true character of our soil. The Block 2 Pinot Noir is floral, pretty and almost feminine. We crop to just one cluster per shoot to intensify its personality – leaving as much fruit on the ground as we harvest each year. You can taste the unique character of Block 2 in every glass.
A Not-So-Little, Little Thing: At 24 years old, Block 2 is likely the oldest Pinot Noir vineyard in BC. It also has 7 more years of experience than it’s winemaker.
What We Smell: Floral notes, mostly violets.
What We Taste: Red fruits, raspberry with a hint of strawberry.
2014 Platinum Block 4 Pinot Noir
Planted in 1995, our Block 4 Pinot Noir marches to the beat of its own drummer. Structured. Rich. Deeply flavoured and masculine. We further enhanced the Block 4 Pinot’s iconoclastic nature by choosing to use wild yeast in its fermentation, letting the yeast that occurs naturally at CedarCreek further develop this Pinot’s sense of place. You can taste the unique character of Block 4 in every glass.
A Not-So-Little, Little Thing: Whole clusters add a beautiful floral note to the wine. It has to be the perfect year to use the whole clusters to ensure that the stems do not impart a bitter taste on the wine. 2014 was that perfect year and we used 25% whole clusters in making this amazing wine.
What We Smell: Plums, not the red plums, the really dark plums.
What We Taste: Big dark fruit and well-structured tannin, all Block 4.
Where Else To Find Us
CedarCreek will also be present at the Okanagan Estate Collection Trade Seminar on February 17, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. The Seminar will have CedarCreek’s 2015 Platinum Block 5 Chardonnay and 2013 Platinum Desert Ridge Meritage.
CedarCreek wines will also be featured at the Soil & Sea dinner on February 15, 2017 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Taking place at the Four Seasons with the YEW seafood + bar. The wines being poured are the 2013 Platinum Block 3 Riesling and 2012 Platinum Block 2
Pinot Noir.
CedarCreek will also be present at the Okanagan Estate Collection Trade Seminar on February 17, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. The Seminar will have CedarCreek’s 2015 Platinum Block 5 Chardonnay and 2013 Platinum Desert Ridge Meritage.
