About the Wines

Huntinghawk Wines We have fewer wines this year than we had in the past, but Russ is enjoying his relatively new career as an aviation writer (Avweb.com,Canadian Aviator Magazine), and making making fewer varieties well is better than making more varieties not as well.
This is a photo taken in early June of grape plants at the historic O'Keefe Ranch, one of two vineyards operated by Hunting Hawk.

At the top of the list has to be the Marechal Foch, for which we are becoming renowned. The 2006 grapes from the Pratt Vineyard have become a smooth, opaque red wine with lots of cherry and berry flavors and a hint of vanilla with a velvety smooth finish. Foch is excellent on its own but try it paired with Italian dishes, pork or barbecued burgers.

It would probably be logical to list the next red wine we produce, but that wouldn't be me. Our next best seller is Gewurztraminer "SOLD OUT", so as far as i'm concerned it rates the next listing. (I'm Marni, by the way, the resident artist as-soon-as -there's-time and the official Hunting Hawk Aesthetics Director. )

Our 2005 Gewurztraminer is Alsation style. That means we added a little bit of Pinot Blanc to add orchard fruit and apple notes, and some Pinot Blanc that had a bit of nut like complexity for being sur lees. The end result is a Gewurstraminer with a gently muted perfume but dry with an intense spice, lots of fruit, and a soft finish that ends with no taste of bitterness. It's prominent lychee flavors give way to undertones of pineapple, mango and fresh peach. It's lovely on its own or with asian dishes or a spicy stirfry.

The Pinot Noir will be royally upset if it isn't mentioned next. We've got the 2005 in bottles now. These grapes, from a sunny hillside at the Remuda Vineyard in the south Okanagan, have been matured and cajoled into a soft, complex wine with lovely cherry and vanilla notes. It took a while, but some things just can't be rushed.

When we tasted the massive fruit and beautiful structure of this wine when it was young, we knew it must be aged in French Oak. It rested in the 225 litre casks for a year before we bottled it and let it sit a while longer in the bottles. It's best appreciated with a good steak or, if you've less of an appetite, try it with some Oka, Gouda or Monterey Jack cheese.

Huntinghawk Wines And then there's the Meritage, or "MSC". We're not certain what to call it just yet. It's an irresistible combination of Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet. This wine is tannic austere, aggressive and burgundian. Come and taste it for yourself. Maybe you could suggest a good name for it?

The 2006 Merlot isn't in bottles yet. The tannins in it are softening nicely but we'd like to give them time to reach perfection. Keep in touch, it won't be long until it's available. If it's anything like the last Merlot we made from this Vineyard, it will sell out fast.

And now for the summer wines, White Merlot "SOLD OUT" and Blanc Noir. Neither of these wines need to be paired with anything more than a good book and a chaise lounge. Both are made from free run juices collected just after the crush. The White Merlot offers raspberry and blackberry with just enough acid to balance its natural sweetness. The Blanc Noir had a mind of it's own. We don't know why it's so sweet but we know it's in a league of it's own.The fermentation of it stopped during the production process and refused to be restarted. Why argue?It's now a low alcohol wine that tastes like cherry soda. It's the only wine we make that we recommend be turned into a spritzer.

Now there's one more we'd like to mention but we can't let you taste it yet. It's a Late Harvest Gewurztraminer. It's all bottled up and ready to go. It doesn't have the necessary government documentation yet. It's in the works but it's a beaurocratic process. We will tell you though, the grapes were picked at 28.5 brix. It's naturally sweet, of course, with brix like that and we didn't add any other sweetener. Didn't need to! It's dry for a late harvest wine but so far the reaction to it has been along the lines of OMG! Stock up now on Danish Blue cheese and walnuts to serve with it. That's Supper!