Wine Tasting at Church and State Winery - Oliver, BC
CHURCH AND STATE was one of our six wine tasting stops during a recent trip to the Okanagan. Located in Oliver, BC on the Coyoto Bull Vineyard, this modern and minimalist tasting bar and facility is set over a beautifully manicured property where daily tastings of some of Canada’s best wines are offered.
First, let me say I enjoy wine but I know very, very little about it. So sitting down for a tasting can be a bit intimidating. This was not at all the case during our visit at Church and State. Janik, our host, was so great at making us feel at ease during our tour. He was informative and patient with my many, many (dumb, I’m sure) questions that made our experience really comfortable.
For the wine tasting, there are a few options and 2 price points ($15/$30) you can choose from. Enjoy your experience at the tasting bar inside, or take a flight out on the patio. It’s the perfect spot for sipping wine while taking in the stunning panoramic view of the vineyard. It’s so tranquil.
Now for the wine! We learned that Church and State really focuses on creating “single varietal wines”. I had never really heard of or thought about this term before. It means that while they make blended varieties (wines that are made from blends of different types of grapes), their speciality is creating a wine from a single type of grape since it allows them to really showcase what their grapes can do. It was pretty amazing to hear how they can use the same type of grape to create different tasting wines by varying things like the soil type that the grape is grown in, the barrel type the wine aged in, and how long they age the wine itself before bottling. All of their wines are produced from grapes grown on their own vineyards, one here in Oliver and another on Vancouver Island.
I sampled a variety of their award winning wines which included the Muscat Frizzante that’s grown and produced from their other vineyard in Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island.
How beautiful are these grapes?
The 6 wines we tasted: 2017 Frizzzante Muscat, 2017 Roussanne, 2017 Chardonnay, 2017 Caberbet Franc, 2016 Syrah, and 2016 Petit Verdot.
My favourite was the 2016 Syrah. It has aromas of dark and red fruits. Flavours of black cherries, blackberries, plums with a buttery, smooth peppery finish. It’s a bit of a splurge for us at $52.90 + tax, but I had to take a bottle home.
These plump dark grapes will soon be ready be harvested to produce their 2020 Syrah wine.
Tasting the delicious 2016 Syrah .
I would recommend taking their Terroir Tasting ($30pp) where you taste some of the top tier wines and tour the vineyard. You also get to take home your Riedel crystal tasting wine glass.
Overall, our wine tasting experience in the Okanagan was great and we hope to visit their other vineyard when I’m in Victoria in a few months.
Church and State Winery
4516 Ryegrass Road
Oliver, BC,
Disclosure: Media Visit.
