Nostalgia for the past is a theme that runs through many events at Oliver Twist Winery in Oliver. The annual “Show, Shine… and Wine?” event in July, that features classic cars, classic rock, pin-up girls, great food, and tons of fun was a great success in the hot summer sun. A fun new event is planned for this fall, the Crush Party, on September 30th. It will feature some down home cookin’ paired with Oliver Twist’s wines plus an “I Love Lucy” dress-up contest, and even a team grape stomp competition!
The Nostalgia Series of wines feature classic pin-up-style labels and have names like Rockabilly Red and Boogie Woogie White, Pink Cadillac, and the newest wine, Cherry Baby, which is a Port-style fortified wine. Though Cherry Baby is a fun wine, it took some considerable winemaking skills from owner Gina Harfman to get this wine into the bottle. Made using both grapes and cherries, it was created through careful blending over many vintages using a solera system, a type of aging process used to make high-quality Sherries in Spain. The resulting wine is full of bright cherry, plums, rose petal, and vanilla flavours with a beautifully balanced lingering finish that makes a perfect end to a great meal.
New to the Reserve Series is the 2013 Bordeaux Blend. It is a full throttle assembly of five grape varieties, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot that will age gracefully for a decade. The wine shows beautiful flavours of black cherries, currents, bell peppers, vanilla, and cloves and has smooth, ripe tannins to hold it all together. This is a complex wine that will be getting a lot of attention when it is released this fall.
Check their website for winter wine shop hours this season www.olivertwistwinery.com
Pictured: Owner/winemaker Gina Harfman with a hot rod car.