Okanagan wines from Canada and Oxford!

You don’t often come across wines from Canada, but a recent dinner with Canadian friends introduced us to the wines of the Okanagan Valley in British Coluumbia - specifically the wines of Mission Hill. The only merchant I can find who stocks their still wines is the Oxford Wine Company who include, amongst others, the Mission Hill Five Vineyards Pinot Gris Réserve, Okanagan Valley 2004 (£11.50) “Fresh clean and aromatic wine with a citrus and fresh peach overtones. Tangy flavours of green apple, pear and almond with a lemony finish.”

The Oxford Wine Company looks to have an interesting and varied list (online and shop) - wines from most parts of the world - a southern French favourite in the shape of Chateau Ricardelle’s Coteaux du Languedoc la Clape “Rated as one of the best value reds by Decanter Magazine, this beautifully crafted Rhone Ranger delivers complex flavours of tar and leather together with sweet briary fruits and a dry savoury finish. “ (£8.40); an interesting Priorato red from Spain with Legitim De Muller Crianza 2002 “A real discovery! Loads of soft,berry fruit flavours with warm spicy overtones. A really complex wine and a bargain to boot! “(£10.99); and a Te Mata Elston Chardonnay from New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay “A complex, rich barrel-fermented style with a Meursault feel. Top class New World winemaking.” (£16.75)
The website has tons of informative comment and news and details of tastings etc.

The Oxford Wine Company is one of the largest independent wine retail and wholesale companies in the U.K. with a stunning range of wine from just over £3.00 to over £500 a bottle. Over 1500 wines and spirits are stocked and the company also specialises in vintage Armagnac, as well as listing in excess of 150 Malt Whiskys.

Oxford Wine Company, Standlake, Witney OX29 7PR
Tel: 01865 30 11 44 Fax: 01865 30 11 55 Email: info@oxfordwine.co.uk

According to our Canadian friends, Mission Hill rather dominates the Okanagan wine scene with its impressive visitor centre (top picture):

“This impressive architectural achievement has it all, from a fine resident chef, to a collection of antique drinking vessels, to a breathtaking view of Lake Okanagan - and, not least, a wide range of excellent wines, including a superb Merlot and a distinguished Bordeaux blend named Oculus.

What we do not get to see or taste in the UK is the production from any of the small independent winemakers, whose production is too small to warrant export (and local demand so high they do not need to!). One such is the Blasted Church Winery which has some of the most original wine bottle labels I’ve seen, and who, by all accounts, make superb wines. (The winery is so named, because they moved an old clapboard church into Okanagan Falls by blasting the building to loosen the nails - and it worked (apparently). Whatever the truth it has given them a unique name and theme on which to build.

For more on Okanagan Falls wines see the Wines of British Columbia website