Okanagan Falls, BC: December 10, 2012

The Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards (CWA) have been held annually since 2001 and each year, Canada’s leading wine experts evaluate over 1000 wines from across the country, presenting awards in nearly two dozen categories. The CWA is judged by some of Canada’s most respected wine experts, journalists, sommeliers, buyers and industry professionals including Anthony Gismondi, David Lawrason, DJ Kearney, Rhys Pender and Sid Cross.

This year, Meyer Family Vineyards, in operation just since 2006 has been awarded the Number One BC Wine of 2012 for its 2010 Sonja Gaudet Tribute Series Chardonnay. This achievement is on the heals of another CWA award for the same wine in the Best Five Whites In Canada category.

Proprietors JAK and Janice Meyer had this to say: ““We are so thrilled to receive this acknowledgement solidifying our belief that we should specialize and focus on varietals such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Okanagan. Chris Carson our wine maker continues to prove his expertise as one of the best in the Country by garnering such awards and acknowledgements. His time in places like Montrachet and Central Otago have given him the tools and the ability to craft these world class wines.”

The 2010 Meyer Tribute Chardonnay is described by Treve Ring as “powerful on the nose, with cream, ripe red apple and toast aromas. Lean, juicy acidity keeps this single vineyard Naramata chardonnay from becoming overwhelming – dangerously possible amidst the buttery baked apple, clove and lemon notes. It has popped corn and bitter lemon character on the lingering finish. This will stand up to cream-based dishes and fresh crab.”

Just in time for the holidays, MFV has put together a limited edition 6 bottle collector’s set in a signed wooden case with the 2010 Meyer Tribute Chardonnay.

All Meyer Family wines can be ordered via the website (www.mfvwines.com) the wineclub (wineclub.mfvwines.com) or by calling (250) 763-9071.

And bring the kids! We’ll have 5 geocache sites hidden somewhere on the property and while Mom and Dad are enjoying some Holiday Cheer, the kids can be out in search for treasure! Geocache hunters are encouraged to bring new items to replace what they have found – anything shoe-box size is perfect. Take something, and leave something, all in the spirit of the holiday season!

December 1st and 2nd from 11am to 5pm each day.  See you there!

For the rest of the article click here.

Harvest is an extremely busy time for our very hands-on Winemaker, Chris Carson. During this period he is ever present: picking, transporting, crushing…24/7. We did manage to chase him around the vineyard though to get a few words from him on his thoughts regarding this year’s Harvest. 

“The 2012 Harvest is looking very promising, we had no rain from August until October including during the critical ripening period. Temperatures were quite high through August and this meant that the vines were struggling a bit to function with the heat which led to a delay in the start of ripening and subsequently harvest dates. September temperatures were excellent, sticking around 25 degrees, which is perfect for the ripening stage. All in all, a great year for wine grapes with very balanced fruit ripeness with respect to sugar levels, acidity and flavours. The Pinot Noir fruit looks exceptional and is some of the best Pinot fruit I’ve worked with in my career. It has beautiful flavours with lower than normal brix and lower than expected acids. This meant that this year the picking dates needed to be more precise in order to have better balance. The Mclean Creek Chardonnay also showed lower brix and acids where as the Old Main Road Chardonnay showed lower brix but higher acid levels, which has become the norm with these two sites.”

Here is the original article written by Jordan Chittley of the Daily Buzz so you can feel a whole lot better too.

“Drunk people may do some stupid things, but two studies are showing people who drink more are actually smarter.

This is according to data from the National Child Development Study in the U.K. and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the U.S. Researchers measured kids intelligence before they turned 16 and put them in one of five categories ranging from very bright to very dull.

The Americans were revisited seven years later and the Brits were followed in their 20s, 30 and 40s, reports Discovery News.

In both studies the smarter children ended up drinking more alcohol later in life. They ended up drinking more often and in greater quantities when compared to the duller kids.

Researches also controlled for such things as marital status, parents’ education, earnings, social class and other factors that may affect drinking. Regardless of these factors, the smarter kids drank more.

Psychology Today attempts to say why this is the case by explaining that drinking is a relatively novel invention and intelligent individuals are more likely to engage in evolutionary novel behaviour.

This isn’t the first study that gives drinkers a reason to smile. A few months ago sociologist Carolyn Hsu found those who binge drink more are happier. She discovered students don’t drink because they are upset or as a way to relieve anxiety, but they drink to attain a social status. And students in high-status groups are more socially satisfied.”

Previous honorees have included:

2010 – Sonja Gaudet
2009 – Kenny McLean
2008 – Steve Yzerman
2007 – Bill Reid
2006 – Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design

Of the 2010 Tribute Series Chardonnay, John Schreiner said “On the palate, the fruit is lush – citrus, ripe apple, a touch of butterscotch – without any of the heaviness one sometimes finds on oaked Chardonnay. This wine is bright and fresh and also shows a laser-like purity: 92/100”.

MFV is now looking for nominees for its 2011 and 2012 Tribute Series and is asking its supporters for their suggestions. Submit your nomination by September 1st to info@MFVwines.com or through the MFV facebook page or via twitter.

aa
“This month we are switching over to drip irrigation and the biggest advantage to that is water conservation. This will allow us to use roughly 60% less water than with overhead sprinklers. Also it is more of a precise method of watering the vines which means only watering what we want and not getting everything else including weeds as we did with overhead. This also reduces the need for weed and fungicide spraying. The wet weather during June gave good healthy growth early on and reduced the need to irrigate the vines. I think I only ran the irrigation once during the whole spring and first part of summer. With all the moisture, disease pressure may be an issue but we kept on a meticulous spray regime for powdery mildew with elemental sulphur (the only fungicide we use) which by the way is organically approved. Wet weather during spring doesn’t affect harvest unless a grower lets the vine growth get too vigorous and large which may result in disease issues near harvest. The vine growth at MFV at this stage is well balanced so I predict with good weather into September we should have a great harvest. Pinot Noir is my varietal of choice, it’s the holy grail of winemaking. It needs a dry climate to flourish and also a certain amount of hang time on the vine to hit the Pinot “sweet spot”; for both of those things, here in the valley we have the perfect climate. In addition, you can’t over crop Pinot or it becomes thin and astringent. We keep our cropping level roughly around 2-3 tonne per acre by going through and thinning out dropping fruit from the vines before they start to ripen. In the winery it needs a gentle hand throughout processing and good quality French Oak for aging to enhance the fruit without making it overbearing. Basically a hands-off approach to showcase the terroir from which it grows.”

Feast of Fields, a 4 hour wandering harvest festival – is our annual fundraising event. With a wine glass and linen napkin in hand, you can taste the very best of BC from chefs, farmers, fishers, ranchers, food artisans, vintners, brewers, distillers and other beverage producers from across the province – some think of it as a 40 course meal! Feast of Fields highlights the connections between farmer and chef, field and table, and farm folks and city folks. Feast of Fields is a gastronomic journey towards a sustainable, local food system. Come, join us in the celebration and get your tickets today.

www.feastoffields.com

Location-Kenyon Park, Okanagan Falls

Date: July 6, 2012
Time 5-9:30 pm

Tickets: $50 plus HST-tickets avaialable at www.ofwa.ca or call your favorite winery (Meyer of course!)

Wineries Pouring

Painted Rock. Blasted Church, Synchromesh, Meyer Family, Blue Mountain, Liquidity, Noble Ridge, Stag’s Hollow, Wild Goose, See Ya Later, Kraze Legz, Topshelf