Photo: Hillside Winery's Kathy Malone
The three white wines recently released by Naramata Bench’s Hillside Winery, all unoaked wines from the 2025 vintage, signal that the vineyards have recovered brilliantly from the devastation on 2024.
Other 2025 whites also have begun to arrive. The wine are consistently impressive: crisp, fresh, full of flavour and with good palate weight. As good as the 2024s were – made with imported grapes – I think consumers will prefer the 2025 wines from British Columbia-grown fruit.
In her covering note with the samples, Hillside winemaker Kathy Malone does not explain why she released all three of these wines in the unoaked style. Traditionally, Hillside’s portfolio has had just an unoaked Pinot Gris (since 2008). She should be congratulated for expanding the unoaked portfolio, releasing the wines in their pristine glory.
Here are my notes on the three:
Hillside Unoaked Pinot Gris 2025 ($26). Two to four hours of skin contact have given this wine a pale pink hue as well as adding layers of flavour. Aromas of fresh peach mingle with raspberry, leading to flavours of pear and peach. 92.
Hillside Unoaked Chardonnay 2025 ($27). Winemaker Kathy Malone writes that while she “generally prefers carefully selected commercial yeasts for whites,” she allowed a spontaneous wild fermentation of this wine. “It paid off in spades,” she writes. This is a delicious wine with aromas and flavours of apples, stone fruits and citrus, and good weight on the palate. 93.
Hillside Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc 2025 (N/A). This is an such appealing wine that you will want a second glass right away. It has aromas of lemon and lime mingled with fresh grass. All that is echoed on the palate. 92.
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