Hester Creek's Mark Sheridan will retire

Photo: Hester Creek president Mark Sheridan

The release of these wines – all 2025 VQA wines except one 2024 Washington red – has almost been overshadowed by the announcement that Mark Sheridan, the winery’s president, will retire at the end of this year.

An Australian-born and trained viticulturist, he was recruited to the Okanagan in 1999 as vineyard manager for Vincor. The late Curt Garland, who bought Hester Creek out of receivership in 2004, he hired Mark as general manager in 2010 to accelerate the turnaround at the winery. “I have a working knowledge of a vineyard but it is not my expertise,” said Rob Summers, Hester Creek’s winemaker at the time. “We have a great vineyard and Mark Sheridan, with his expertise, has taken it up another level.” Mark was soon promoted to president. Under his leadership, Hester Creek has become one of the most respected wine producers in the Okanagan.

When Mark leaves, he will be succeeded by Roger Gillespie, the current Director of Operations at the winery. In a news release, the winery said: “Roger joined Hester Creek in March 2012 and has a long history in the Canadian wine industry. Roger's deep understanding of Hester Creek's operations, culture, and values will ensure a smooth transition.”

One of Mark’s most consequential decisions for the winery was securing Washington State grapes for the 2024 vintage. The object was to keep Hester Creek in production, its staff intact and its customers needs met despite devastating frost damage to the vineyards in two consecutive years. “We had a 35% crop in 2023 and will have a zero crop in 2024,” Mark told me in July, 2024. “You have a 17% crop averaged over two years. That is devastating. I have never heard of a wine region in the world that is predicting a 97% crop loss. 97% for the Okanagan valley! Sure, when I was in the Barossa and when I was in Coonawarra, you get a local frost and you might lose 10 or 15% of a crop. But I have never heard of a wine region forecasting a 97% crop loss. I have never heard of that world-wide.”

He moved decisively in February, 2024, when the vineyard damage had become evident in the Okanagan, to line up a supply of Washington grapes. By good fortune, there was a surplus of grapes there, with growers more than willing to sell to Canadian wineries. Typically, Mark was hands on. “We have been talking with a grower [in Washington] since the very early spring,” Mark told me. “We had a contract in place and they were holding the grapes for us. I have been down there multiple times and have had input into how they grow the grapes. We have our own section of their vineyard that they have allocated to us. I have full input as to how they are growing the grapes on that section. All the viticultural inputs are being directed by myself.”

At the time of that interview, Mark made it clear that Hester Creek would resume making VQA wines from British Columbia grapes as soon as the vineyards were back in production. While Hester Creek has replanted a third of its vineyards, the remaining vines at the estate and at some of its growers recovered well. The 2025 whites just released are among the best ever made by Hester Creek. It enables Mark Sheridan to leave the B.C. wine industry on a high note. These are the wines.

Hester Creek Riesling 2025 ($24.99). The fruit is from one of Hester Creek’s Okanagan growers. The handpicked berries were crushed gently and fermented cool for 36 days in stainless steel. The wine has an appealing aroma of lemon and apple leading to flavours of apple, honeydew melon and lemon. The balance is exquisite, with a touch of sweetness on the long finish. 93.

b>Hester Creek Viognier 2025 ($24.99). The hand-picked grapes were pressed gently. After one day of cold settling, the wine was racked into stainless steel for a 37-day cold fermentation. Floral aromas of jump from the glass, followed by intense flavours of mango and Honeycrisp apple. 93.

Hester Creek Pinot Noir Rosé 2025 ($27.99). Made with South Okanagan fruit, the hand-picked grapes (clone 777) were crushed and allowed three hours of skin contact t0 extract the appropriate pink hue. The wine was fermented cool for 30 days in stainless steel and aged another four months in tank. Aromas of strawberry and mingled with hints of rhubarb; these are echoed on the full palate on the long finish. 91.

Hester Creek Cabernet Franc Rosé 2025 ($22.99). The hand-harvested grapes were crushed and left on the skins for three days to achieve the desired deep ruby hue in the glass. There are aromas of cherry, cranberry and pomegranate leading to flavours of ripe strawberry mingled with red plums. The wine is full-bodied and perhaps a little awkward for a rosé but is delicious none the less. 90.

Hester Creek Ti Amo 2025 ($24.99). This is a blend of 50% Gewürztraminer, 41% Pinot Gris and 9% Muscat. Each varietal was cool fermented separately for 25 days. The wine was blended and refermented in a Charmat tank for six weeks to create the lively bubbles. The wine is crisp and refreshing, with spicy notes in the aroma and one the palate. 90.

Hester Creek Petit Verdot Malbec 2024 ($29.99). The fruit for this wine was from Washington State’s Red Mountain region. The blend is 67% Petit Verdot and 33% Malbec. The wine was aged 13 months in French and American oak barrels. The wine begins with aromas of spice and cherry leading to flavours of blueberry and fig. 90.

Blue Mountain's impressive white trio

Photo: Blue Mountain winemaker Matt Mavety

The trio of 2025 whites released earlier this month by Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars show once again what a fine vintage 2025 is proving to be.

The previous two vintages suffered seriously from winter damage. The Okanagan Valley’s vineyards produced just five per cent of their normal quantity in 2024. At Blue Mountain, the vineyard survived in 2024 but winemaker Matt Maverty did not make any wine because he was nurturing the vineyard carefully so the plants could recover and produce well in 2025 – as they did.

“The growing season was dry, and marked by unsettled weather patterns,” Matt recounts. “A sustained period of heat at the end of August carried through the first three weeks of September, shaping the final stages of ripening. The wines display bright, vivid fruit character with excellent acidity and balance.” Here are notes on his exceptional 2025 white wines.

Blue Mountain Pinot Blanc 2025 ($25). Made with fruit from 40-year-old vies, this is a remarkably complex wine. The grapes were whole-cluster pressed; the juice was settled, decanted into stainless steel (35%), large oak casks (35%) and 500-liter neutral oak barrels. Fermentation was with native yeast. While the tank-fermented wines were decanted off the heavy lees, the barrel-fermented wines were aged on the lees for five months before all were blended and bottled. Aromas of apple and pineapple lead to flavours of stone fruits. The texture is rich and the finish is very long. 93.

Blue Mountain Pinot Gris 2025 ($25). The fruit is from 39-year-old vines. The crushing, fermentation and aging was similar to how the Pinot Blanc was treated. The result is another complex and satisfying white wine. It begins with aromas of citrus leading to flavours of pear and apple. The texture is rich and the finish is persistent. 92.

Blue Mountain Sauvignon Blanc 2025 ($25). Think Sancerre, not New Zealand, when you approach this wine. The fruit is from 18 and 19-year-old vines. The juice was fermented with native yeast in stainless steel (30%) and large oak casks (70%). The latter were aged five months on the lees before being racked and blended. This is a wine with a crisp, disciplined structure, aromas of melon and flavours of lime and apple. 91.

40 Knots Winery: meet Kurt Wallander

Photo: Winery owners Brenda Hetman and Layne Craig

Ten years ago, when my wife and I were in Sweden, I discovered that there are a number of wineries near the country’s south coast – among the world’s most northerly wineries.

To visit some of the wineries, we based ourselves in the small port city of Ystad, the setting for nine novels and two television series about a fictional detective named Kurt Wallander. As an aside, both are excellent television. One is in English and stars Kenneth Branagh. The other is in Swedish with subtitles, starring Krister Henricksson, who is the better of the two screen Wallanders, at least in my judgment.

What brought Ystad and the nearby wineries to mind was a recent tasting I did of wines from 40 Knots Winery in Comox. Like Ystad, Courtenay and Comox are small but attractive communities – and not places where one expects to find wineries. Comox is Latitude 50 and Ystad is even further north, at Latitude 55. It makes a difference: the Swedish vineyards were still struggling to find grape varietals that would ripen in the short, if intense, summers. The Swedish wines were eminently drinkable but not in the same league as Vancouver Island wines.

But I don’t know that anyone has set a good detective story in Comox. There have to be plot elements, given that there is a Canadian Forces base at Comox; and the Snowbirds aerobatic team spends part of the year there – within sight and sound of 40 Knots and its 24-acre vineyard. It is just as unexpected to find a vineyard here near the ocean as it was the find vineyards not far from the sea in Sweden. 40 Knots has settled on varietals well-suited to its location, as these reviews show. With climate warming, the diligent Swedes will catch up.

I want to prod Knowledge Network (and sponsors): 40 Knots would be a great setting for a television series. Even a travelogue but better, one featuring a dashing Snowbirds pilot moonlighting as a detective. I have yet to run the idea past Brenda Hetman and Layne Craig, the winery owners, but they are high-energy personalities who would throw themselves into such a project. Here are my notes:

40 Knots White Seas 2024 ($27.50). This is a blend of 59.2% Pinot Gris and 40.8% Chardonnay. It was fermented cool in stainless steel. It begins with aromas of green apples and lime, leading to a crisp, bright palate dominated by citrus flavours wrapped around a backbone of minerality. The finish lingers. 89.

40 Knots Auxerrois 2024 ($32 for 188 cases). This is a varietal identified with Alsace. According to Jancis Robinson, it is a “low-acid variety useful in cool climates.” In other words, well suited to Vancouver Island. The fruit here was fermented cool in stainless steel and aged on the lees for eight months with weekly stirring. The wine begins with aromas of peach leading to flavours of orchard fruits. The finish is crisp and long-lasting. 90.

40 Knots Soleil Rosé 2022 ($45 for 416 cases). This is a traditional method sparkling wine. The blend is 59% Chardonnay, 21% Epicure and 19% Pinot Noir. The primary fermentation was in stainless steel, with secondary fermentation in bottle. The wine was disgorged 12 months later, with a dosage of Pinot Noir to create the delicate pink hue. There are hints of brioche in the aroma and on the palate, along with hints of apple and strawberry. 91.

40 Knots Rose 2024 ($29.50 for 511 cases). The blend is 75.3% Pinot Noir and 24.7% Gamay Noir. The destemmed grapes rested 24 hours on the skins before being pressed into stainless steel for fermentation and 10 months aging. The wine presents with a delicate golden pink hue and aromas of watermelon. The palate delivers flavours of strawberry and watermelon. The wine has a bright and refreshing finish. 89.

40 Knots Gamay Noir 2024 ($42 for 281 cases). The grapes, after a cold soak of four to seven days, were fermented in bins with daily punch downs. The wine was aged in stainless steel “in the presence of light medium-toasted oak.” The wine presents in the glass with a brilliant ruby hue. Hints of pepper mingled with dark cherry give the wine unexpected and delicious complexity. 92.

40 Knots Pinot Noir Coastal 2024 ($47.50 for 584 cases). The fruit was given a five-day cold soak and was then fermented in bins, with twice daily punch downs until the cap fell. The wine was then racked into stainless steel before being moved into amphora for aging. This is an expressive wine with aromas of cherry and strawberry leading to spicy flavours The tannins are silky and the texture has good structure. 92.

Chronos and Evolve wines are released

Photo: Lynzee Schatz (courtesy of Chronos Wines

Four years before he died in 2019, Harry McWatters launched the Time Winery in downtown Penticton, converting an old movie theatre. The facility now has a wine production area, a tasting room and a restaurant. It became what one would call a destination winery.

Unfortunately, the winery went into receivership after Harry’s death. It was purchased by Ron and Shelley Mayert. Time has been rebranded as Chronos, while the Evolve brand, created by Harry, has remained in the portfolio and now graces the separate Evolve sparkling house on Lower Bench Road. The sparkling wine house opened with three award-winning sparkling wines made by, or finished by, Lynzee Schatz, the Okanagan-born winemaker who joined Time in late 2019, taking over from Harry’s winemaking team, Nadine Kinvig and Graham Pierce. Lynzee trained as a winemaker in Australia and spent five years with Chandon, a French-owned sparkling wine producer in the Yarra Valley there. “Sparkling wine has been my passion since I entered the wine industry over 20 years ago,” she is quoted in one publicity release from Evolve.

She clearly has solid ability in making table wines as well. Chronos designates the well-made premium tier in what the Mayerts still call the Time Family of Wines. The more modestly priced table wines are released under the Evolve label. The portfolio is deep: the winery’s website lists 29 wines!

Here are notes on just a selection of those wines. Many are from the wonderful 2025 vintage.

Chronos Sauvignon Blanc 2025 ($29.99 for 285 cases). The fruit was fermented cool for four weeks in stainless steel. The result is a classic Sauvignon Blanc, with aromas and flavours of lime mingled with citrus and green apple. 91.

Chronos Pinot Gris 2025 ($24.99 for 580 cases). The winery remarks that the ideal growing conditions in 2025 “fostered pristine Pinot Gris grapes.” It shows in the glass where the wine has aromas and flavours of peach, pear and citrus. The bright fruit flavours persist in the crisp finish. 91.