John Schreiner on wine

Photo: Pinot Blanc booster Anthony Buchanan
When vinifera varietals were being trialed in British Columbia in the 1980s, Pinot Blanc came through with flying colours.
The reliable vine was planted widely. It was, I suspect, also overcropped because a fair number of nonmemorable wines were made. I took to calling it the Holiday Inn of varietals because there were no surprises....

 Photo: Stag's Hollow Winery owners (photo courtesy winery)
Stag’s Hollow Winery has always had a fairly large portfolio of wines- and that is the way the owners like it.
“You know us,” laughs Linda Pruegger, who owns Stag’s Hollow Winery with husband Larry Gerelus. “We can never go a vintage without making a new wine.”...

Photo: Noble Ridge's Leslie and Jim D'Andrea
Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery has two remarkable vineyards in Okanagan Falls. The one at the winery’s tasting room is a rounded peak, with grape vines on all four exposures.
The result: fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon on one slope, fabulous Pinot Noir on another, and terrific fruit for sparkling wine on a third....

Photo: Moon Curser's Chris Tolley
There is a view that far too many grape varietals are grown in the Okanagan Valley. Chris Tolley, the co-proprietor of Moon Curser Vineyard in Osoyoos, would differ.
“I love the diversity,” he says. “I love the affirmation that this valley is capable of doing a wide variety of wines. I have not been the champion of that but it is turning out that way. Maybe we do one of these varieties better than anywhere else in...