It’s summer. It’s hot. You would like to enjoy a chilled glass of white wine on the patio. Suggestions?
I have been enjoying SpierHead Winery‘s wines for several years and writing about it. SpierHead is located on the head of Spiers Road in Kelowna and thus the name. I recently received their latest Riesling and Pinot Gris from the exceptional 2016 vintage. I wrote about the 2016 vintage previously and you may want to read it after this article. I will put that link below.
SpierHead Pinot Gris Golden Retreat Vineyard 2016 ($19++)
This wine is a medium minus pear skin colour. Upon first opening, the wine has pronounced aromas. Very fresh and fruity, with aromas of sweet fruit, in particular, peaches and pears. There is also some honey and a floral component. The wine is dry and quite flavourful. Medium plus body and mouth filling. You get a light acidic prickle on the tongue. The wine has mostly pear flavour but you also get some peach and a hint of salty minerality. It has medium plus length, finishing with mouth-watering acidity and tart flavours. You get pears to the end, along with some bitter peach/apple seed on the finish. I always taste the wines I write about twice; once upon opening the bottle, and then the next day. With decanting the aromas and flavours are less intense, so it is not recommended. Drink and enjoy!
Rating: 
A wonderful expression of fresh BC fruit.
SpierHead Riesling GFV Saddle Block 2016 ($21++)
This wine is bright medium lemon colour in the glass. It has a pronounced, youthful nose. A mix of ripe tropical fruit (some may say Juicy Fruit gum), along with sweet spice and a hint of peach behind. With some time exposed to air, you get stone fruit aromas. The wine is off-dry with medium plus acidity, body and flavour intensity. Fuller mouthfeel together with some acidic prickle on your tongue. The wine starts with tropical fruit flavours but then with a few minutes of air progresses to stone fruit and a hint of green fruit. On the stone fruit side, I detected peaches upon first tasting, but with longer decanting pear flavour also appeared. I did pick up some stony minerality with this wine. The wine has medium plus length finishing with a mix of sweet tropical fruit and some bitterness, and then tart at the very end. With longer decanting, the wine was more citrus on the finish.
Rating: 
– Very fruit forward with higher acidity which will allow this wine to age gracefully.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
SpierHead Winery does have an online store, and as well has their wines available at many restaurants including Burgoo (all 3 locations), Cin Cin, Hart House on Deer Lake, Araxi, and much more. Here is the full list of restaurants. There is also a long list of retail locations, such as Firefly, Legacy, Liberty (all locations), Village Wines plus more. Here is the full list of retail locations.
Learn more about the BC 2016 vintage here.
