Here are more 2024 wines from BC Okanagan wineries that used some or all of their grapes from south of the border, due to the devastating 2024 winter wiping out almost all grapes in the Okanagan. In this case, Blasted Church Vineyards brought Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the Andrews Family Vineyard in WA state. The grapes were grown sustainably. Both bottles are under screw cap so you have no excuse for not opening a bottle on the patio this summer.
Let me tell you about these wines.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Blasted Church Vineyards Viognier 2024 (BC $28)
Winemaker’s notes, “Our 2024 Viognier brings together Viognier from Andrews Family Vineyards (64%) and the Red Brick Vineyard in Osoyoos (21%), along with Marsanne (15%), also from the Redbrick Vineyard. Each block of fruit was harvested at its ideal balance of sugar, acid, and phenolic ripeness and were handled separately until blending in the weeks following harvest…
The fruit from Red Brick Vineyard, both the Viognier and Marsanne, was whole cluster pressed directly to tank before racking to French oak barrels and puncheon for fermentation and aging. The juice from AFV was split between French oak barrels and tank, all of which gave the cellar team a complex line-up of wines to assemble the final blend. We opted for a high percentage of the barrel fermented lots to drive the richness and mouthfeel of the wine to play to the strengths of both the Viognier and Marsanne…”
Appearance: It has a clear, bright, medium-plus intensity colour; a mix of lemon and pear skin.
Nose: Medium-plus aromas of toast, pineapple, and peaches. The aromas are a little lighter after decanting. You now get an orange scent and lighter toastiness after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, full-bodied with a thick, smooth, round mouthfeel. Tropical fruits and ripe pears flavours, plus toast, and touches of stoniness, nutmeg, and bramble leaf. Light pepperiness. This wine has medium acidity that adds some liveliness to the wine. It also has an oily texture (which is a good thing). The wine is lighter bodied after decanting, but still stays smooth and soft. Nutmeg spice becomes stronger after decanting and the toastiness decreases. I also now picked up some peach flavour. Overall, the fruit flavours are lighter and more elegant after decanting.
Finish: A medium-plus to long length finishing with flavours of tropical fruits and ripe pears, with stronger pepperiness on the finish. After decanting, you can add peaches and nutmeg flavours to the finish.
Rating: 
The Blasted Church Vineyards Viognier 2024 shows a bright, medium-plus intensity mix of lemon and pear skin in the glass. Aromas of toast, pineapple, and peaches are prominent, with decanting softening the toastiness and revealing orange and peach notes. On the palate, it’s full-bodied with a thick, round, smooth mouthfeel, offering tropical fruit, ripe pear, toast, nutmeg, and bramble leaf, supported by medium acidity and an appealing oily texture; decanting brings more elegance, with lighter fruit and stronger nutmeg spice. The finish is medium-plus to long, featuring tropical fruit, ripe pear, and pepperiness, joined by peach and nutmeg after decanting.
Blasted Church Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (BC $28)
Winemaker’s notes, “The Sauvignon Blanc was grown on a gentle south-facing slope at Andrews Family Vineyards, a member of Sustainable WA…
The fruit was harvested on September 2nd, and after a three-hour cold soak, the juice was pressed to tank to settle before being racked and transferred to our cellar in a temperature-controlled truck.
Upon arrival in our cellar, a portion of the juice was racked into neutral French oak barrels for fermentation and aging while the other portion remained in stainless steel tank. The barrel and tank portions were given slightly different treatments in the hopes of preserving the fresh, herbal character of the Sauvignon Blanc while also integrating the rich, tropical side of the variety…”
Appearance: A medium intensity, clear, bright lemon colour in the glass. Teardrops visible on the sides of the glass after swirling.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity aromas of pine needles mostly along with touches of tropical fruit and grape stem. I picked up honey scent after some swirling. The aromatics bump up to medium intensity after decanting, and you get stone fruit scents which were not there without decanting. The pine needle scent was also lessened.
Palate: Dry, medium-plus body with a round, smooth, thicker (but not as thick as the Viognier) mouth feel. Pine needles and tart tropical fruit flavours, plus some grape stem on the palate. Light pepperiness from mid-palate to the finish. The medium-plus acidity provides a light prickle in your mouth and lightens the palate. After decanting, the wine was a little lighter bodied, leaner, and not as thick on the palate. I now picked up stone fruit flavours and less pine needle flavours after decanting. The acidity also softened a bit.
Finish: A medium-plus length finishing with tart fruit flavours, citrus and tropical fruit. Some grape stem bitterness and honey flavours as well. Medium pepperiness. Add stone fruit flavours and a hint of toast to the finish after decanting.
The decanted version of this wine is quite different from the wine just poured from the opened bottle. The decanted version is softer and shows stone fruit aromas and flavours which were not present upon first opening. Both are interesting ways to enjoy this wine.
Rating: 
– The Blasted Church Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2024 presents a clear, bright lemon hue with medium intensity. On the nose, pine needle aromas dominate initially, with subtle tropical fruit and grape stem, while decanting adds stone fruit notes and softens the pine needle character. The dry, medium-plus bodied palate is smooth and rounded, featuring tart tropical fruit, pine needles, and light pepperiness, which evolve into more stone fruit and less pine needle tones after decanting. A medium-plus length on the finish brings citrus and tropical fruit, grape stem bitterness, and honey, with stone fruit and a hint of toast emerging after decanting.
I was quite surprised with these two white wines. I usually prefer the undecanted version with more prominent fruit flavours and bright acidity, but these two wines, undecanted, showed another softer side, which I really enjoyed.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can order both wines online from the Blasted Church website:
The Blasted Church Vineyards Viognier 2024 is available at Everything Wine stores. Both wines are available at select Save on Foods stores, but the vintage is not listed.
