This year Oliver Twist Estate Winery celebrates 15 years by rebranding as Nostalgia Wines Inc.
In 2006 Denice and Bruce Hagerman converted an orchard on the Black Sage Bench to a 14.5-acre vineyard; they didn’t know it yet, but their lives would soon converge with that of Gina Fernandes Harfman.
Gina Fernandes Harfman comes from a long line of farmers. Her maternal grandfather, Joe Fernandes, left Madeira, Portugal in the early 1950’s for British Columbia, where he farmed an orchard in Osoyoos. Her Father, Ken Harfman, is also a farmer, farming a 15-acre vineyard in Osoyoos.
Gina didn’t get into the family farming business straight away though. Instead, she studied fine arts while attending university in Kelowna, and she took air brush courses abroad in Las Vegas. Her studies led her to a career pin-striping and air brushing classic cars, hot rods, and motorbikes.
In 2009 Gina found herself in a completely different realm, making wine from her father’s grapes for a family function. She made a Gewürztraminer and Merlot, even custom pinstriping the labels herself. She loved the process so much that she enrolled in the winemaking course at Okanagan College that September.
In 2010 Gina gained experience as the assistant winemaker at Cassini Cellars and in 2011 she joined consulting winemaker, Christine Leroux, at Oliver Twist Estate Winery.
In 2012 the owners of Oliver Twist, Bruce and Denice, asked Gina if she would like to purchase the winery. Gina took them up on the offer, keeping both the winery name and consulting winemaker, Christine Leroux, who remains an important member of the winemaking team to this day.
Shortly after Gina took ownership of the winery, she injected more of herself into the brand, introducing a “Nostalgia” line of wines.
The name Nostalgia was chosen because for Gina, wine is about creating memories and making connections. It is her hope that when people are enjoying her wines, they are also making new memories.
The term “nostalgia” also goes hand-in-hand with the music and memorabilia at the winery, which is from the fifties and sixties; Gina’s 1961 Chevy Bel Air only adds to the winery’s ambiance.
Nostalgia Wines now produces three distinct lines, including Nostalgia, Pin-Up and the Family Collection. Nostalgia and the Family Collection represent the serious side of Gina’s winemaking, while the Pin-Up Series allows her to express her fun side.
2020 Chantilly Lace $24.99
The paintings of artist Ralph Burch grace the bottles in the Pin-Up Series, breathing fun and whimsy into the line. Chantilly Lace is made in the Charmat method and it is a blend of 81% Kerner and 19% Chardonnay.
This sparkling wine has aromas of grapefruit, pear, apricot and floral notes. This wine is off-dry with a mouth-filling mousse and medium acidity. The palate offers apricot, honey, mango, ripe pear and floral notes with a medium finish.
At 34.7 g/L residual sugar this sparkling wine makes a great paring for all sorts of brunch fare as well as angel food cake, vanilla poached peaches and whipped cream.
2020 Nostalgia Rosé $23.99
This Rosé is made using the Saignée method and it is a blend of 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 23% Syrah, 17% Malbec and 13% Cabernet Franc.
There are aromas of wet stone, pink grapefruit, cherry and hints of strawberry. This Rosé is dry, medium bodied and has medium+ acidity. The palate opens with cherry, strawberry and floral notes, followed by pink grapefruit, raspberry and pepper on the medium, juicy and savoury finish.
Pair with charcuterie or your Thanksgiving Day feast shared with family and friends.
References
Schreiner, J. (July 11, 2021). Nostalgia: A New Twist on Oliver Twist. Retrieved from: http://johnschreiner.blogspot.com/2021/07/nostalgia-new-twist-on-oliver-twist.html