BC Day is celebrated to honour the history, culture, and achievements of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It falls on the first Monday in August each year and is a statutory holiday in the province.
This day commemorates the creation of the colony of British Columbia, which was formed on August 2, 1858. This was a significant event in Canadian history, as it marked the establishment of a British colony on the west coast of North America, which later joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871.
BC Day allows residents to celebrate our province’s unique cultural heritage, natural beauty, and achievements. It’s a time for community events, festivals, and family gatherings, reflecting on the diverse history and contributions of British Columbia’s people.
That said, we should also be celebrating and enjoying BC wines, especially since the wine industry has been hit hard by cold winter weather the past two years. Here are two white and two red wines that you can purchase at a BC Liquor store or a private wine shop that show the quality of our wines. Enjoy!
Four Shadows Dry Riesling 2022 (BC $24.99)
Their 2021 Dry Riesling is a gold winner from the 2023 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards as well as their 2022 Classic Riesling. Their 2023 Dry Riesling won a bronze medal from the National Wine Awards of Canada. I don’t see an award for this wine, but it is very good quality and easily could win an award.
From the winery, “After successfully growing grapes in their Naramata Bench vineyard for other wine producers for 7 years, Wilbert and Joka Borren felt it was time to produce their own wines. Retaining a portion of their 2017 harvest, they made their first vintage of pinot noir and merlot with assistance from Tightrope’s Lindsay O’Rourke. Working with consulting winemaker Pascal Madevon, the 2018 harvest added chardonnay, riesling and a rosé to round out their portfolio.”
Appearance: Clear, bright medium-minus intensity straw colour with a green tint.
Nose: Medium-plus intensity aromas of ripe stone fruits and petrol along with a hint of green fruit and capsicum with swirling. With decanting you can add a floral hint and remove the capsicum aroma.
Palate: Dryish with light body, and a lean, linear mouthfeel. Medium-plus flavour intensity. Tart citrus, crisp green apple and not quite ripe stone fruit flavours. A hint of lime skin. Vibrant acidity, laser focused. Medium-intensity petrol flavour. The wine tastes drier, bumps up to medium body, and keeps the same flavours.
Finish: A medium-plus length finishing with puckering acidity. Citrus and stone fruit flavours, light petrol, green apple, lime skin and green chile. No change to the finish after decanting.
This wine reminds me of Tantalus’ Riesling wines with their bracing acidity and tart citrus flavours. Both wines benefit from aging, letting the acidity smooth out a bit. I think that you can give this wine 3-5 years of bottle aging for it to reach its full potential.
Rating: –
A light-bodied Riesling wine that has high acidity and bright crisp citrus and apple, plus ripe stone fruit flavours. There is the “classic” petrol on the nose that you get with many Riesling wines. It has a medium-plus length.

Chronos McWatters Collection Chardonnay 2021 (BC $29.99 at BCL on sale till Aug 31/24. Regular price $29.99 at private stores.)
This wine is a Bronze Medal Winner at the 2022 All Canadian Wine Championships. The grapes were hand-sorted then whole bunch pressed from two different vineyards in Osoyoos. 100% barrel fermented with 20% new French oak. Lees stirring post ferment and full malolactic conversion.
Appearance: A deep, clear gold colour in the glass.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity aromas of ripe pineapple, butterscotch, and touches of vanilla and sweet spices. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, velvety smooth, soft and round. Not mouthfilling. Ripe pineapple, roasted apples and pear flavours. Integrated oak. Low acidity. A light touch of sweet spices. A buttery mouthfeel. More mouth-filling after decanting. You can add butterscotch to the list of flavours.
Finish: Long-length finishing with lingering ripe pineapple, butterscotch, and sweet spices flavours. Medium pepperiness on the finish. Velvety smooth to the end. The only change I detected after decanting is some oak bitterness.
A seductive, silky smooth oaked Chardonnay. Understated pineapple, apple and oak on the palate. A quality wine with 5-10 year aging potential.
Rating: –
This oaked Chardonnay has a deep golden colour. Lighter aromas of ripe pineapple and butterscotch plus sweet spices. Dry, but velvety smooth, soft and round mouthfeel. Ripe pineapple, roasted apples and pear flavours. Lower acidity. Buttery mouthfeel. A long length with lingering fruit flavours.
Hester Creek Estate Winery Old Vine Merlot 2021 (BC $29.99)
Hester Creek Estate Winery has been named the British Columbia Winery of the Year for 2023 by Great Northwest Wine Magazine. 2021 was a hot vintage in the Okanagan with a heat dome that caused a lighter fruit set and smaller berry size than usual. While there was less fruit per vine and the yield was light in volume, on the upside the smaller berries in the clusters resulted in more concentrated flavours and colours on the red varietals.
Winemaker’s notes, “Handpicked on November 25th and 26th from our 1968 plantings of Merlot, this rich and supple wine comes exclusively from Block 2 of our Golden Mile Bench estate property. The fruit was hand sorted, destemmed and whole berry fermented. Following a two-day cold soak on the skins for optimal aroma and flavour extraction, the tank was inoculated to undergo an extended maceration for over 15 days in our Italian Ganimede fermentation tanks. These tanks use the natural CO2 energy for mixing cycles and provide ideal extraction of colour and tannin in the wine. Following maceration, the wine was gently pressed and encouraged through malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged for 18 months in predominantly French oak barrels for seamless integration of fruit and oak.”
Appearance: It has a medium-plus dull garnet colour. About 80% opaque with consistent colour to the core. Teardrops were visible after swirling.
Nose: Medium-plus intensity deep aromas; meaty, black fruit, blackberries, along with touches of black cherry, black plum and spiciness. Add sweet dark berry aromas and less meatiness after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry with a lighter body, but medium-plus flavour intensity. It has a lightly round, smooth mouthfeel. Not mouthfilling. Subtle dark fruit, ripe berries, and black cherries flavours, plus a touch of chocolate, and a mix of light pepperiness and earthiness. Medium tannins and acidity. Fruit flavours, acidity and tannins are nicely integrated. Super smooth after decanting and rounder mouthfeel. More berry fruit and chocolate flavours.
Finish: A medium-plus length finishing with medium-drying chalky tannins. Dark fruit, blackberries, meatiness and light pepperiness. More sweet berries and medium pepperiness after decanting.
Understated quality. Subtle fruit flavours. 4-6 years aging potential. I think the decanted wine is slightly nicer as it is rounder plus you get the sweet berry aroma and flavour.
Rating: This Merlot has a medium-plus dull garnet colour. Meaty, black fruit, blackberries, along with touches of black cherry, black plum and spiciness on the nose. A dry wine with lighter body. Smooth and round mouthfeel. Subtle dark fruit, ripe berries, and black cherries flavours, plus a touch of chocolate, and a mix of light pepperiness and earthiness. Medium-plus length.

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2019 (BC $59.99)
The Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2019, a blend of all five Bordeaux red grapes from the estate’s 80-acre vineyard overlooking Lake Osoyoos in the south Okanagan Valley. It was named Top Red Wine at the Stampede Cellar Showdown, adjudicated over three days by an international panel of judges in Calgary this year. This wine is a blend of 65% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 7% Malbec.
Appearance: An opaque to the rim, dull garnet colour. Teardrops are visible after swirling.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity aromas of meat, tomato, dark fruit, and touches of black pepper and oak. Aromas of plums and cocoa with some swirl time. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry with a thicker, round, velvety smooth mouthfeel. Red cherries, dark fruit, black plums, plus touches of floral, meat, and oak. Add cocoa with swirling. Medium tannins that get stronger toward the finish. Medium acidity. More prominent oak and nutmeg spice after decanting. I also picked up some vanilla and tomato. The pepperiness in the wine showed mid-palate.
Finish: A long, dry finish with firm tannins. Plums, black cherries and black fruit flavours. Some bitterness and pepperiness at the very end. No change on the finish after decanting.
A wine with great structure. A harmonious arrangement of fruit, tannins and acidity. It can age another 5 – 7 years. Decant or not, there was not much change, so enjoy it at your leisure.
Rating: –
A quality Bordeaux blend that is an opaque dull garnet colour. Medium-minus intensity aromas covering meatiness, tomatoes, dark fruit, plums, pepper and oak. Dry with a thick, round, smooth mouthfeel. The aromas carry to the palate, plus some red cherries, floral and cocoa. Medium tannins. A long, dry finish.
As a bonus bit of information. I tasted this vintage last year at an Osoyoos Larose dinner. Here are my brief tasting notes from that dinner. My recent notes I think show that the wine has indeed opened up over the past year.
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2019 – A warm, dry vintage. Opaque garnet colour. Light sweet dark berry nose. Medium-minus body, round with firmer tannins. Sweet black fruit flavours with floral and vanilla toward the finish. This wine is just starting to show its character. –
Reviewed April 2023.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
Four Shadows Dry Riesling 2022 (BC $24.99)
- https://www.bcliquorstores.com/product/301331
- https://fourshadowsvineyard.com/product/2022-riesling-dry/
Chronos McWatters Collection Chardonnay 2021 (BC $29.99 at BCL on sale till Aug 31/24. Regular price $29.99 at private stores.)
- https://www.everythingwine.ca/mcwatters-chardonnay
- https://www.saveonfoods.com/sm/pickup/rsid/969/product/mcwatters-collection-chardonnay-id-00626990122159
- https://www.bcliquorstores.com/product/616102
- https://www.timewines.ca/product/mcwatters-collection-2020-chardonnay-duplicate
Hester Creek Estate Winery Old Vine Merlot 2021 (BC $29.99)
Other Hester Creek wines are available at Save On Foods and Everything Wine stores. As this is a new vintage, I assume it will be in these stores soon. For the moment, you need to purchase this wine from Hester Creek.
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2019 (BC $59.99)
- https://www.bcliquorstores.com/product/129999
- https://www.everythingwine.ca/osoyoos-larose-le-grand-vin
- https://www.saveonfoods.com/sm/pickup/rsid/969/product/osoyoos-larose-le-grand-vin-id-00871610001554
Happy BC Day everyone!