Tasting Note – I visited Skimmerhorn and neighbour Baillie-Grohman near Creston in southeastern B. C. about ten years ago, and I was smitten by beauty, remoteness and fruit of this place – especially the cherries that rival those of Naramata, similarly growing on a west-facing bench, above the Kootenay River. Any place that can grow great cherries can ripen cooler clime vinifera grapes like pinot noir, and yes gewurztraminer.  This blasts a fruit purity that took me right back, with a typically lifted and perfumed gewurztraminer nose of lychee, orange blossom, anise and subtle clove spice. It is just as effusive and energized on the palate as the nose, with medium weight and a lively sweet and tart balance that I want in gewurztraminer. More acidity than usual making it quite fresh.  It is just a bit pasty sweet on the finish, but cut with pleasant gewurz grapefruit bitterness. The length is excellent. Chill fairly well.

Backgrounder – Skimmerhorn was founded just outside the town of Creston in 2003, early days for regions not in the Okanagan, with 17 acres planted that came into production in 2006. In 2017 (after my visit which did not impress) Skimmerhorn was purchased by Janek Guminski and Ryan Burgis of Calgary, and in 2019 they hired winemaker James Cambridge, a Niagara College grad who had worked in several B.C. regions – the South Okanagan at Le Vieux Pin, in Lilloet at Fort Berens and in Langley at Backyard Vineyards. His partner Treena Magee was born and raised in the Kootenay’s and is today the Business Manager.  To this day Skimmerhorn – named for the mountain range that frames its bench vineyards – remains an estate-only producer of pinot noir, pinot gris, ortega and hybrids used in friendly blends

Accolades: Silver National Wine Awards of Canada