Looking Forward
Osoyoos Larose continues to evolve in the Okanagan Valley
Twenty-five years after the release of its first red wine, Osoyoos Larose is embarking on a fresh start. New labels and packaging will be introduced in the fall, with the release of the 2022 vintage of Le Grand Vin.
The new look comes after several years and countless revisions, according to Raphaël Merlaut, Osoyoos Larose’s president and commercial director.
The vision for Osoyoos Larose began in 1998 with the planting of a vineyard on a former orchard site northwest of Osoyoos in the southern Okanagan. This visionary project was a joint venture between Canada’s Vincor International and France’s Group Taillan, a major producer of wine in Bordeaux owned by the Merlaut family whose holdings include Château Gruaud Larose.
The release of the first Le Grand Vin in 2004 showcased the magic that could be achieved with Bordeaux expertise and the Okanagan climate. This stately and intriguing red wine was made from merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes, grown in 2001, when the vines were only two years old. Typically a grape vine doesn’t produce grapes good enough for winemaking until its third crop.
The blend for future vintages would also include malbec and petit verdot. However, due to the deep freeze that occurred across the Okanagan in January 2024, malbec has been removed from the vineyard.
Osoyoos Larose quickly became one of the most celebrated producers in the Okanagan region due to the quality of its red wine portfolio, which expanded to include the Pétales d’Osoyoos label in 2005. In 2013, Groupe Taillan assumed sole ownership of the property and brands.
The new-look bottles are expected to be released in the fall. I’m planning a report for the Globe and Mail to coincide with the launch.
Saturday’s Sip
Fielding Estate Winery Lowrey Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula $39.95 (fieldingwines.com)
Picked Oct. 5, one of the latest harvest dates to date, according to winemaker Richie Roberts. Aged for 12 months in older French oak barrels. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Characteristically fragrant, fresh and fragile, with a savoury and earthy perfume and a core of bright red fruit (cherry, redcurrant) that showcases Lowrey pinot noir character through and through. This wine is youthful and refreshing, with (just) enough fruit to balance the delicate style. This has 12 per cent ABV. Drink now to 2033. (91/100)
If I Had Your Number…
These are the article links I would send you.
Visibility Matters
Messages like “proudly made by a woman winemaker” increased women’s intentions of purchasing wines, particularly when the label’s artwork reinforced the point with feminine gender cues such as flowers. Women were also willing to pay higher prices for those wines, according to the research from Washington State University and Auburn University.
Unwanted Wine
Zero Buzz
Hope Floats
I’m currently reading Cameron Crowe’s memoir The Uncool, which, perhaps not surprisingly, reads like a novelization of his coming-of-age film Almost Famous. Both are funny and touching stories that revolve around Crowe’s teenage experience as a writer for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s. a time when rock music was at its peak of creativity.
His mother Alice Crowe is a central figure in his life. She is a college professor celebrated for her character and her fondness of aphorisms such as “Put some goodness in the world before it blows up” and “Doubt is the devil.” With his mother as a guiding light, Crowe injects a significant amount of optimism into his tales. While they do not shy away from heartbreak or challenges, they still manage to cling to hope.
This week’s playlist features eight songs with a similar feel, and it finishes with Wheat’s “Don’t I Hold You.” I first heard this song in another one of Crowe’s feel-good movies, the unfairly overlooked Elizabethtown.
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