Our Wines
Blanc de Noir Brut - BC VQA Fraser Valley “Estate Bottled”
Here it is: the Fraser Valley’s one and only estate-bottled bubble; a beautifully balanced sparkling wine that suits any occasion-or creates one on the spot; hand made from 100% Pinot Noir (one of the three noble grape varieties that go into true French Champagne) grown in our vineyard in Langley, BC.
See the tiny bubbles cascade to the top; sniff the rich aromas of lime and lemon, a burst of apple, a whiff of pear, a hint of peach. Take the first taste and follow it with another – here’s big and rich fruit, a lovely little tingle of acidity all over the palate a creamy finish that simply says “more!” All the good things that bubble promises our Brut delivers; versatility, richness, festivity, crisp, clean, bright liveliness.
Sparkling wine with food? And why not? Bubble goes with anything and everything, from the classics – oysters, caviar, sweet conclusions – to the new and adventurous – sushi, sashimi, olive oil – poached chicken with green peppercorns and lemon, coquilles St. Jacques, curries – to off the wall Cheesecake, crème brulee and popcorn. Yes, popcorn, especially when drizzled with truffle oil and sprinkled with Parmesan. Try it! You’ll keep it!
Price: $19.99
2008 Zweigelt – BC VQA Fraser Valley
Don’t know Zweigelt? Here’s your chance to make a terrific discovery. First of all, say it like this: Ts-WHY-gelt, hard g. Named for the German grape scientist who first came up with the cross. It’s a hardy red grape, well suited to B.C.’s vineyard conditions and coming to fabulous fruition in the Paradiso Vineyards we source it from. All Fraser Valley grown and coddled, every step of the way.
This is a wine with spirited, bright fresh fruit; lots of nice spice and you’ll certainly find hints of cherry and raspberry all the way from nose to tip of the tongue to the rich and tingly finish. Sniff some more, you might encounter something sweet-spicy, like vanilla or mocha, even chocolate.
That’s a little agreeable astringency following your first sip all the way back and down which makes the wine great company for smoked meats, tenderloin with a spicy red-wine sauce (always a good kitchen trick to use the same wine in the sauce you’re going to be serving for dinner!). Then, keep it handy for aged Cheddar or spiced Gouda cheese before you get to dessert—and if that’s something with dark chocolate—open another bottle, see how it goes.
Price: $12.99
2008 Rose – BC VQA Fraser Valley
From Canada’s wonderful westernmost fruit basket comes our inspired blend of Zweigelt and Schoenberger harvested at the peak of perfection from our own vineyards. These are great grapes, originally from Germany, one red, one white, making a major name for themselves in B.C., full of rich fruit, expressive and vibrant with a serious zing-factor.
Take a deep sniff before you sip, there’s so much fruit here—raspberries and strawberries, cherries and even something lemony. As some winemaking colleagues of ours like to say about rosé: “it’s time to rethink pink”. Forget the candy floss aromas of white Zin, come here and taste real, fresh fruit with an appealing edge of good acidity.
Rosé has to be the perfect picnic wine when it’s time for the great outdoors. And then, come the cold weather, it makes a killer glühwein”, chockablock with spices and slices of fruit, maybe “fortified” with a good glug of brandy. Chilled or warm, it’s a great companion to light and casual meals, salads and omlettes and, of course, all and any desserts.
Price: $14.99
2006 Merlot – BC VQA Okanagan Valley
Full, rich and fabulous, Merlot has become a mainstay in the Okanagan Valley and that’s where the grapes for this one came from. It has the characteristic pillowy softness of fine Merlot but also retains a good bite of acidity so it “cuts the grease” as our grandmothers used to say, or to put it a bit more classy—it sure goes down good with dinner.
Start with a little tasters’ sip (you remember the 4xS formula? swirl, sniff, sip, spit; here, in our tasting room, you can ignore number 4, or use one of our bar-top spit buckets!) and let it roll ‘round the mouth, slide along the tongue, picking up all the different taste receptor areas (one of our pourers will be glad to point out the different spots for sweet, tart, bitter, salty, etc.) Lots of variety (we like the term complexity) to be explored.
Now, on to the table. Friends of ours have found this wine to be a dinner winner with the spicy Italian dish of pasta putta-nesca, with black olives and chili and tomatoes and fresh herbs. You’ll have your own favourites, but any hearty pasta sauce will do the trick; hearty pizza, too; slow-cooked meats (osso buco), even old favourites (or not!) like liver ‘n’ onions.
Price: $13.99
2006 Gamay Noir – BC VQA Okanagan Valley
Another one, red this time that our accountants keep saying we’ve priced too cheap. Oh well, enjoy. Gamay Noir was one of the previous winery’s signature wines; people simply keep asking for it. So what we’ve got left of it is going out the door, and fast. The Burgundy grape can reach some fancy heights of flavour in the Okanagan; it manages to be both soft and spicy, making it a great solo-sipper and after-dinner treat as well as a fine food wine.
There’s lots of earthiness here, typical of certain Gamays. You might find a hint of fresh shiitake mushrooms, or even truffles in the aroma mix. You will for sure find plenty of fruit with a nice edge of tartness. People tell us they get black pepper some times and the taste of first-of-the-season prune plums.
How about a little bowl of kalamata olives, sprinkled with orange zest? You’ll be surprised how well it goes with our Gamay. Saltimbocca will jump right on to the palate - those little “birds” of veal, rolled with sage and cooked in lemon juice really work with the fruitiness of the wine. And for dramatic contrast, try it with your mom’s raisin pie. We’re talking versatility here.
Price: $11.99
2007 Cabernet Merlot – BC VQA Okanagan Valley
Two of the world’s favourite red grapes come together (alright, there’s a little bit of something else in the mix, too) to achieve a big, bold red that wants to come home with you for dinner—a big, bold red meat dinner especially. If you feel like making your own here’s or recipe, all solid Okanagan VQA varieties: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc.
First on the nose is a delicate hint of eucalyptus, recalling some of the big Australians that sometimes show the same aromas. Then comes the spice of Cabernet and the mellow-ness of Merlot. That indefinable “something extra” would probably be the Cab Franc talking, with its plummy and sometimes butterscotch-y edge. Here’s one you’ll enjoy inhaling before you get it onto the tongue.
Ever cook a deep, rich chili, augmented with some chocolate? It’s a treat—you can likely find a few dozen different versions of the recipe online—and this is the perfect wine for it. The tang of the two Cabs gives it a nice back-bite, while the roundness of the Merlot smoothes the way for dinner. Beans or no beans, that’s your call. And this is your wine.
Price: $19.99
2006 Chardonnay – BC VQA Okanagan Valley
Is it any wonder Chardonnay is still the world’s favourite white wine? There’s so much to it—rich, buttery aromas, full, ripe flavours that mingle in the mouth; you never know where it will take your taste buds. Consider this one: first impressions hint at a little Christmas spice—cloves in particular but also meadow-clover aromas and there’s a spicy, bold finish. But the best part, many people tell us, has to be the price we’ve put on it: we’re betting you will agree: for twelve bucks that’s some kinda Chardonnay!
So many Chardonnays from all over the world, so many different styles, the fun part of drinking Chard is that you can taste dozens—hundreds—of different ones and you don’t have to like just one, you can match them to your Mood, as well as to your meals. There are two basic Chardonnay camps: those who like it with oak, those who don’t. We’ve put ours right in the middle: there’s a little bit of soft French oak for the finish, to enhance the vanilla and floral aspects.
Chardonnay remains one of the food-friendliest wines going. Poached lobster with fresh tarragon in the butter? Heavenly. Fresh halibut grilled with herbs and lemon? Dim sum? Pork tenderloin wrapped in Savoy cabbage leaves and slow-braised in chicken stock. Prawns and asparagus, wrapped in prosciutto on the barbecue. Chicken, Poached in olive oil with green peppercorns. The possibilities are endless.
Price: $11.99
2007 Meritage - BC VQA Okanagan Valley
Meritage has become a North American phenomenon; Canada has taken a proud role in its popularity. Here’s how to be truly In the know: don’t say merry-tawdge, rhyme it with ‘heritage’, ‘cause that’s how it was created (and if you really want to get the story right note the fact it may have been “invented” in California but it was named by a guy from New Jersey!) It’s always a blend and it always has to have the big Bordeaux varieties in it; in our case, we’ve mixed Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, from famous South Okanagan vineyards to achieve an elegant, satisfying wine.
Meritage should be rich, round and velvety but with some assertive edge to handle big meat-focused meals. We think our winemakers have hit it spot-on. Wine lovers often talk of “mouthfeel”—i.e. the way the wine glides over the palate on the way along all the taste receptors. This is a wine with major mouthfeel— robust but never aggressive.
Backyard Vineyards’ Meritage is definitely a wine for meat-lovers of all persuasions; carnivores and sensualists, anyone who loves the culinary good life. And what’s more sensuous than a bold French blue cheese? Rare roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and fiery horseradish? Veal chops stuffed with spinach and pine nuts and goat cheese? Your favourite goes here…
Price: $24.99
2008 Gewürztraminer
Some people are scared off this delicious food wine, by the name, Nothing to it when you break it down: geh (or guh, from which a popular short form has derived: goo!), VURTZ (rhymes with hurts, which it doesn’t), traw-MEAN-er—presto: geh-VURTS-traw-MEAN-er. The first part, gewürz just means spicy. The second part, traminer, is the name of a grape variety that’s big in northern France (Alsace) and south along the Rhine in Germany as well as in California. And throughout B.C.
Our Backyard Vineyards version is patterned after the northern style, of Alsace: lean, on the dry side, not so overly floral as some of the versions from farther south. There’s good, full weight to the fruit, but also more acidity, less sachet. You may find a hint of bitter almond at the back of the tongue, which is what makes it so versatile with so many different foods.
Gewürz (as many people like to shorten it, without going so far as to use “goo”) has made its mark as an idea accompaniment to Asian cuisine: dim sum to hotpots, to spicy cashew chicken with XO chili sauce. Curries like it too, anything with a little fire to it picks up the spice in the wine. But our favourite food for this one is the “national” dish of Alsace, the hearty stew of sauerkraut, potatoes, sausages and bacon they call choucroute garni back home. Or a good BLT!