After the dust settles, the new state-of-the-art wine shop will be able to welcome customers to share and experience premium, handcrafted, Bordeaux-style wines. Vineyard tours focusing on quality viticulture with biodynamic and organic practices are the big features. Windows looking into the production area will be a part of the experience, especially this coming fall when all of the production will be handled in this new facility. The grand opening is planned for the May long weekend.
Solstices are important for biodynamic viticulture and Clos du Soleil often chooses those dates to release wines. This year’s summer solstice will feature some of the 2013 vintage reds. “The reds are fantastic in quality this vintage,” says Michael Clark, Clos du Soleil’s winemaker and managing director. There is also a new Grower’s Series Red made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from a vineyard farther south in the Similkameen Valley. The Grower’s Series normally focuses on single varieties from exceptional vineyard locations so it is indeed a treat to have a blend included in this series.
Clos du Soleil has been getting a lot of attention for their blends in the off-season. In March, their 2012 Celestiale, a blend of all five Bordeaux grape varieties, won the Top Red Blend at the Northern Lands Wine Festival in Edmonton. As well, in February they personally poured Capella, the blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, in London, England at the grand re-opening of Canada House attended by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
~ Luke Whittall