Moraine grows great grapes and sweats the small stuff to make outstanding wines at an affordable price.
From vine to the bottle, every step in the art and science of making great wine at Moraine Estate Winery is as hands-on as it gets. The end game is always quality.
The award-winning wines start with fruit produced in a special place. The family-owned winery and vineyards are perched on a shelf above a striking clay cliff overlooking Okanagan Lake. This terroir is responsible for the exceptional grapes grown on their two glacially formed vineyards, Anastasia and Sophia, named after the daughter’s of proprietors Oleg and Svetlana Aristarkhov. Trapping the Okanagan sun, tempered by the lake, the carefully thinned vineyards’ grapes get maximum hang time to fully develop their sugars and flavours.
With premium grapes to work with, Moraine then controls every step of the process carefully using a light and respectful touch to make their fresh, elegant, fruit-driven wines. “An example of our attention to quality is our German de-stemmer which gently removes the grapes from the stems like a human hand would without breaking the skins,” says Oleg. “We are only one of four wineries in Canada to use this special machine.”
Recent awards, to add a growing collection, include best Pinot Noir in the British Columbia Wine Best of Varietals Awards for their 2014 vintage and a Platinum at the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition for their 2015 Riesling described by judges as, “A glorious take on Riesling not only for its up-front peachy fruit but also its persistence in the finish. It also has an underlying complexity rare for the breed.”
The family-run business means wine shop visitors have a warm customer experience, Oleg says. “Even our employees are like family to us and we treat our customers as guests.” The icing on the cake, Moraine’s outstanding wines are affordably priced.
~ Elaine Davidson