Visitors to the Similkameen who are looking for a memorable tasting room experience must consider a trip to Clos du Soleil. This artisan winery offers visitors a unique view into the workings of the winery, and an exclusive opportunity to sample tastings from their small lot collector wines.
A large picture window in the tasting room provides a peek behind the scenes, while visitors taste the award-winning new releases. A surprisingly broad range of Gold medal wines is available for tasting, including their flagship red, Signature. The new release Signature 2013 was just awarded 92 points by Anthony Gismondi and their Pinot Blanc won a Gold medal at the Best of B.C. Wine Awards.
Beyond tasting, visitors are invited to stroll through the biodynamic vineyard where the air is sweet and fresh, untainted by pesticides or herbicides. And to maintain the quality terroir and bring the grapes on the vine to maturity, Clos du Soleil welcomes their new viticulturist, Michael Mauz.
Michael brings a wealth of knowledge from his education in Viticulture and Enology at the University of Wiesbaden in Germany. He combines his traditional European education with organic and biodynamic practices to maintain the unique qualities of the Similkameen terroir and produce top quality organic grapes.
Clos du Soleil is well known for their exclusive Vertical Tasting Event in October, open only to a small group of attendees. However, this year an open competition is being held where interested oenophiles can win an invitation to the event. Visit closdusoleil.ca for more details.
~ Henrietta Poirier