Lariana Cellars: a jewel in Osoyoos

Photo: Carol and Dan Scott in Lariana Cellars

Dan and Carol Scott, who operate Lariana Cellars in Osoyoos, were close to bottling their first Meritage blend when I dropped in once for a visit. They had not yet ordered the labels and told me they were thinking of naming it for the vintage, which I believe was 2012. That would mean naming each subsequent bottling with the vintage – 2013, 2014 and so on.

I had seen that branding fail at another Okanagan winery. I decided to offer some free advice. Name the wine The Franklin to honor Larry Franklin, Carol’s father and a shareholder in one of the Black Sage Bench vineyards before the pullout. That branding has worked for Hester Creek where the flagship red is Garland, named after the late Curt Garland who owned and developed the winery. Well, Dan and Carol seem also to have heard the adage that free advice is worth what you pay for it. They went ahead with branding the wine on each release with that year’s vintage. The current release is Twenty-Three. The branding has succeeded because of the underlying reputation of Lariana Cellars. This boutique winery, tucked right against the Canada-U.S. border, makes exceptional wines and its customers know it. And I am not put out that my advice was ignored, even if I still think it was a good idea.

Lariana’s vineyard is right beside Osoyoos Lake and it benefitted from the lake effect during the 2024 freeze which devastated much of the Okanagan grape crop. The lake is usually frozen over by January. That was not so in 2024 because there had been a long, warm fall. The open water moderated the freeze on Osoyoos area vineyards. “Fortunately, we did not lose any vines in 2024,” Don and Carol write. “We did not have any fruit on the Cabernet Sauvignon plants and only seven barrels of Carménère were produced. Sadly, there will not be a Twenty Four red blend.”

They continue: “We thought we had lost the 2023 plantings but continued to water the area. In July, we noticed new greenery amongst the weeds. To our surprise, the new plants had survived and thrived, especially the Carménère. We completed planting more Carménère in 2025 and these are growing very well.” And that brings Lariana’s total vineyard acreage to 7.1 planted acres.

Carménère is an old Bordeaux varietal that was largely abandoned in France during the phylloxera crisis of the 1870s. The varietal’s current “power base” – as the Jancis Robinson book puts it – is Chile, which is phylloxera free. The varietal was planted there in the mid-nineteenth century and for many years, was thought to be Merlot. It was only identified correctly in Chile in 1994. The first Okanagan winery to planted Carménère was Black Hills when winemaker Senka Tennant was one of the owners. She almost certainly influenced the Scotts to plant it because she has long been an advisor to Lariana.

Here are notes on the current releases.

Lariana Viognier 2025 ($33 for 565 cases). The fruit was sourced from vineyards on the east and west sides of Osoyoos Lake. The juice was fermented in the winery’s two concrete tanks and one stainless steel tank. The wine is kept on the fine lees and stirred periodically over five months before blending and bottling. The wine begins with exotic tropical fruits aromas leading to flavours of quince and pear. A spine of minerality give the wine a crisp finish. 92.

Lariana Carménère 2023 ($60 for 308 cases). This wine, made from a varietal rarely seen in the Okanagan, was aged 15 months in 75% French oak (25% new) and 25% in American oak. This is a dark and rich wine, with notes of pepper in the aroma. Pepper also mingles with dark fruits on the well-structured palate. 93.

Lariana Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 ($60 for 249 cases). This is a bold, ripe wine from a hot vintage. It was aged 15 months in 75% French oak (25% new) and 25% American oak. It begins with aromas of cassis and dark cherry. The palate delivers black currant and black plum. 93.

Lariana Twenty Three 2023 ($55 for 250 cases). This is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Syrah and 18% Carménère, aged 15 months in 75% French oak (25% new) and 25% American oak. This wine benefits from being decanted. It has a medley of dark fruit aromas and flavours – cherry, plum, black currant and spice – with notes of chocolate and tobacco as the wine opens up. 94.