River Stone is counting on its strong red wines

Photo: River Stone's bare vineyard in September 2024

There is good news and bad news at River Stone Estate Winery in Oliver. The good news is that winemaker and co-owner Ted Kane (pictured below) has a good inventory of red wines from the 2020 and 2022 vintages, arguably two of the best Okanagan vintages this century.

The bad news is that no grapes have been produced from River Stone’s two vineyards in 2024 due to the severe damage suffered during the hard cold in January. Ted will need to replant some of the vineyards and revive production next year from vines that survived. Meanwhile, like many other producers, Ted has secured white varietals from growers in Washington in the 2024 harvest.

Here is an excerpt from a statement Ted has prepared for the winery’s customers.

As valued members of our community, we wanted to share an important update about the current state of our vineyards and the future of River Stone Estate Winery. Most of you will have read our vineyard update published earlier this year regarding the devastating affects of the sudden and severe freeze of January 2024. You will be aware of the practical and optimistic outlook that our River Stone team shares. We remain hopeful and confident in the resilience and creativity of the agricultural community affected by climate extremes in the last several years.

This year was spent in deep observation and scrutiny regarding the best path forward for our small winery. We realistically accepted bud-damage (which is a short-term setback compared to longer, more sustained damaged that can arise with injury to older wood) as the best-case scenario but prepared for the worst. After months of observation and analysis, we now see not only did the freeze impact our entire crop from 2024, but there is large potential for long-term damages across our two vineyard sites. The damage varies by varietal and location, ranging from 40% to 95%, with our Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer vines being the hardest hit. While our Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc fared somewhat better, the overall impact was severe enough to halt all production from our estate this year.

In response, we are taking action to ensure River Stone remains resilient, as we have so often stated before. Depending on the extent of the damage, we are interplanting new vines, replacing entire rows, and even replanting entire vineyard blocks. This careful and strategic process will take time, resources, and meticulous vineyard management in the coming seasons to ensure long-term success.

In the short term, we are sourcing high-quality fruit from reputable growers in Washington State for our white wine portfolio, and we will be relying on our cellared 2020-2022 vintages of red wines to carry us through the next few years. We want to assure you that despite the challenges, we have no intentions to reduce availability and will continue offering competitively priced premium wines. Our goal remains the same: to produce wines that reflect the exceptional quality and style that you have come to expect from River Stone. As we move through the next several months of vineyard recovery, we remain optimistic that we can utilize a combination of government-funded replant programs, along with our crop insurance to support our efforts. These resources, along with our dedicated team, will help us navigate this difficult period. Most importantly, we are confident that River Stone will continue to thrive and grow, despite the setbacks we've faced over the last two years.

During this time, your support means everything to us. Whether it's purchasing wine, visiting the winery, or simply choosing BC wineries from restaurant wine lists or local liquor store shelves. We have worked hard to maintain the integrity of our wines by sourcing from trusted growers who share our commitment to quality. While our wines maybe labelled differently, we promise that our passion for producing excellent wine has not wavered. Thank you for being a part of our journey. We remain optimistic about the future and are excited to share the next chapter with you.

Here are notes on the winery’s recent red wine releases. The quality is superb. Prices do not include taxes.

River Stone Merlot 2020 ($30.90 for 400 cases). The grapes are from the River Rock Vineyard, which surrounds the winery. The fruit was fermented in both stainless steel and small fermentation totes with two or three daily punch downs. The wine was aged 18 months in French oak (33% new). The wine presents intense aromas and flavours: dark cherry, black currant and spice. The tannins are firm but ripe. 91.

River Stone Malbec 2022 ($38.90 for 470 cases). The fruit is both from the estate vineyard and the Red Brick Vineyard in Osoyoos. For fermentation, about 80% of the berries were left whole and, after a cold soak, were fermented in both stainless steel and small totes. The wine was aged 14 months in French oak (33% new). The wine begins with lovely floral aromas mingled with cherry and blackberry. The aromas are echoed on the generous palate where the layers of fruit are supported by ripe tannins. 92.

River Stone Stones Throw 2020 ($36.90 for 500 cases). The blend is 73% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot. The Cabernet Sauvignon was co-fermented with a similar volume of Merlot. Most of the fruit was left uncrushed. The wine was aged 14 months in French oak (33% new). This is a wine with bold aromas and flavours of dark cherry, blueberry and spice. 92.

River Stone Corner Stone 2020 ($46.90 for 352 cases). The fruit for the winery’s flagship red is from the River Rock Vineyard. The blend is 36% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec and 6% Petit Verdot. About 80% of the grapes were left whole when they went into stainless steel and small fermentation totes. The Cabernet Sauvignon was co-fermented with some Merlot while the other varietals were fermented separately. The wine went into French oak (33% new) for 12 months. The superior-tasting barrels were selected for the final blend and aged a further six months. All that work produced a full-bodied and elegant wine with aromas of dark cherry, black currant and spice. On the palate, the wine delivered flavours of black currant, cherry and plum mingled with a hint of chocolate. The finish is long. 95.