Liquidity Wines wins Chardonnay du Monde    

Liquidity Wines, nestled in the heart of Okanagan Falls, has been awarded silver medal for world-class 2013 vintage Chardonnay at the Chardonnay du Monde competition in France. Now in its 23 year, the competition received 782 submissions from 39 countries which were judged by tasting panel of 300 international experts.  
    

Recognizing the world's best Chardonnays, the awards provide a benchmark of quality in an increasingly competitive market. Of the 259 medals awarded in this competition 132 went to French Chardonnays and 14 of those were given to Canadian wines.
    

Winemaker Alison Moyes and the Liquidity team pride themselves on making handcrafted wines that express the individuality of the vineyard, variation of the season and varietal. 

Starbucks announces a marriage with local wines   

Coffee in the morning, wine and craft beer in the evening. Starbucks Canada hopes this recipe will bring repeat traffic and result in a bigger share of beverage spending. Three locations opened with this concept in high-end Toronto neighborhoods in early April. 
    

Two Niagara wines are on the listing. A six-ounce serving of Vintage Ink Chardonay is priced at $11 and Fielding Estate Riesling is priced at $10. Small tapas plates of food are also on offer.  
    

Will it work across Starbuck’s 1,300 locations coast to coast? Other wine-producing regions should watch this pilot for future opportunities.  

Sustainable vineyard practices prevail 

When the Penticton Herald profiled Ian Mavety this past winter, the author noted the characteristics of his family’s unique vineyard at Okanagan Falls, British Columbia. Besides a postcard view, Blue Mountain winery and vineyard are situated in a very dry climate that discourages pests and disease.
    

According to the website, several soil fertility concepts have been developed including a diversity of cover crops such as grasses, legumes and flowering species. On-farm-composting uses cow manure, wheat straw and winery marc. Organic fertilizers improve nitrogen availability. 
    

Weed management is achieved through mechanical operations under the vine, both hilling up and ploughing back under the vine. 
    

For a video tour of the 2015 harvest, go to http://ow.ly/4mVkHt