It may have been a secret that Dirty Laundry Vineyard’s location was once a Chinese laundry turned favourite haunt for railway workers looking for, shall we say, more entertaining ways to pass the time while their clothes dried in the Summerland sunshine. But, this iconic Bottleneck Drive winery has held another secret in plain sight— until now.
Produced from some of the oldest and most mature vines in the Okanagan Valley is Dirty Laundry’s newest Gewürztraminer, The Grande Dame. This exquisite dry white captures the essence of a BC style Gewürztraminer.
“The Grande Dame is a perfect expression of vineyard to bottle and the true terroir of Summerland,” says Mason Spink, Dirty Laundry’s winemaker. “This wine had very limited winemaking involved so we could display the unique and exceptional qualities of the grapes.”
In true Grande Dame form, this bottle comes packaged in a smooth olive green box highlighted by 24K gold embossments. Only 300 cases have been produced, so buy now and a buy a few; unlike other whites, this exclusive wine is well made for the cellar, and is only available at Dirty Laundry’s wine shop or online.
While The Grande Dame is a showstopper, there are a few other wines at Dirty Laundry that deserve to be in the headlines too. Both the 2013 Say Yes Pinot Gris and the 2014 Woo Woo Vines Gewürztraminer won Gold Medals at the 35th Annual San Francisco International Wine Competition in June. These previously awarded wines are now certified as Gold in both the US and Canada.
If you’re itching to try these three wines, check out Dirty Laundry’s revamped Bordello Wine Club online. With five levels of membership, this is the best way to fill your wine rack with varietals to satisfy everyone’s palates and have a great bottle of wine on hand at all times. You’ll be able to try other award-winners too such as the Double Gold at the 2015 All Canadian Wine Championships 2013 Pinot Noir, and the Gold 2013 Not so Knotty Chardonnay, 2013 Naughty Chardonnay, plus 2013 Syrah.
For all the details on The Grande Dame and the new Bordello Wine Club, visit www.dirtylaundry.ca
PS – Dirty Laundry also now has a charging station for electric cars. So don’t fret about taking a last minute trip up the scenic Summerland hills to the winery to pick up a bottle of The Grande Dame!
~ Laura Lushington