We are back to estate grown BC grapes for the 2025 vintage. It was a great year for our wine grapes, producing a bumper crop for all vineyards. I have two white wines from Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery; their Hester Creek Estate Winery Character White 2025, a white blend containing Gewürztraminer, Viognier, and Pinot Gris, and Hester Creek Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2025. Here are my tasting notes for these two wines. Enjoy these wines over the spring and summer.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Hester Creek Estate Winery Character White 2025 (BC $19.99)
Winemaker’s notes, “In 2023, our winemaking team created a new iteration of our traditional Character White by shifting the blend to a majority of Gewürztraminer and a portion of Pinot Gris. The grapes were hand harvested on the 28th and 31st of August before being whole cluster pressed and co-fermented to enhance the complexity of the wine. Once fermented, the wine was aged for four months in stainless steel tanks and bottled on January 18, 2024.”
Appearance: A pale, clear straw mixed with Bosc pear skin colour.
Nose: Light aromas of stone fruit and spearmint. No change after decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium to medium-plus body, with a thicker, smooth, round mouthfeel. Medium acidity leaves a very light acidic prickle in your mouth. The wine starts with light tropical fruit and stone fruit flavours, then as the wine breathes, you get rose and lychee flavours. The acidity bumps up to medium plus and you get more lychee and rose flavours on the palate after decanting. The tropical fruit flavour drops off.
Finish: Medium length, finishing with tropical fruits, rose and lychee with air, and some bitter grape stem. Medium mouth watering acidity on the finish. After decanting the only change is that the tropical fruit flavours go away.
The lychee and rose flavours for this wine really come out with a bit of swirl time in the glass. No need to decant this wine.
Rating: 
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The Hester Creek Estate Winery Character White 2025 shows a pale straw colour with a hint of Bosc pear skin and opens with light aromas of stone fruit and spearmint. The palate is dry with a medium to medium-plus body and a smooth, round texture, starting with light tropical and stone fruit flavours that evolve toward rose and lychee as the wine opens, alongside fresh acidity. It finishes medium in length with rose, lychee, and a touch of bitter grape stem, while tropical fruit fades with air.
Hester Creek Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2025 (BC $21.99)
Winemaker’s notes, “The 2025 Sauvignon Blanc was hand harvested on September 6 and 7 from well respected growers in the South Okanagan Valley. The grapes were destemmed, gently pressed for optimal juice extraction, cold settled for two days and racked into stainless steel tanks. The Aromaloc was utilized during a slow cool fermentation to help preserve the lush aromatics and flavours of this outstanding vintage. It was then aged a further three months in stainless steel tanks. The wine was cross blended, filtered and bottled on January 22, 2026.”
Appearance: A clear, bright pale lemon green colour in the glass.
Nose: Medium-plus intensity aromas of green fruits, citrus, and a touch of peach. After decanting, you get the same fruit aromas, with lime becoming more evident.
Palate: This wine is dry, medium-plus body, with high acidity. A full, round mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidic prickle in your mouth. Tart citrus and green fruit flavours with orange on the mid palate and a touch of leafiness. With swirling your get blossoms or honeysuckle. After decanting the wine has a bit lighter body and lighter mouthfeel. The floral or honeysuckle flavours have also gone away.
Finish: A medium-plus to long length, finishing with a mixture of tart citrus and green fruits, plus honeysuckle flavours. After decanting, the honeysuckle flavour is gone and you get some grape stem bitterness.
This wine has a blast of green and citrus fruit flavours and bracing acidity. A little bit of swirl time in the glass opens the wine up a bit, but no decanting needed as that lessens flavours and lightens the wine’s body.
Rating: – The Hester Creek Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2025 shows a bright pale lemon green colour with medium-plus aromas of green fruits, citrus, and a hint of peach, with lime becoming more evident after decanting. The palate is dry and medium-plus in body with high acidity and a round texture, delivering tart citrus and green fruit flavours with a touch of orange on the mid-palate, light leafiness, and delicate floral notes that fade with air. It finishes medium-plus to long length, with a mix of citrus and green fruit. Decanting softens the body and replaces the floral note with a slight grape stem bitterness.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
Both wines are available for purchase online via the Hester Creek Estate Winery website:
The Hester Creek Character White 2025 is listed at BC Liquor stores, but not the current vintage. This wine is also listed at Everything Wine stores and at select Save on Foods stores, although they do not mention vintage.
