Lone Tree Cellars, founded in 2005, is an importer and distributor, sourcing wine and spirits from around the world and bringing the best ones to Western Canada.
In 2019 they moved their offices to North Vancouver where they acquired a brewery. They named the brewery La Cerveceria Astilleros and when it opens it will offer patrons an authentic taste of Mexico.
Above La Cerveceria Astilleros is a warehouse that the Lone Tree Cellars team dreamed of turning into a wine bar where they planned to serve Super Tuscans, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Italian Pinot Gris straight from the barrel. Sounds amazing doesn’t it??! But then 2020 happened and they, like everyone else, asked themselves, “what happens now?”
So, the team, a motley crew of garagiste winemakers, negociants, travelling salesmen and rebels, began bottling small batch wines from BC.
2018 Gamay $28.99
This Gamay is made from grapes grown on the Golden Mile Bench in Oliver, BC. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and aged for 12 months in 3rd and 4th fill neutral barrels.
This wine quenches my thirst for Beaujolais. Despite recommendations to “chill this wine down and guzzle it back” I enjoyed how this Gamay evolved in the bottle throughout the evening at room temperature. I wrote my tasting notes after the bottle had been open for about three hours.
The 2018 Gamay has aromas of violet, cherry, raspberry, strawberry, fennel, cinnamon and toast. This is a medium bodied wine, with medium acidity and medium- tannins. The palate has all of the minerality and salinity I was hoping for, offering bright red fruit (strawberry, raspberry and cherry) with liquorice notes on the medium finish.
2019 Viognier $26.99
This Black Sage Bench Viognier has a splash of Gamay (15% to be exact) giving it a beautiful hue. It was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for six months.
I would recommend not to over-chill this wine or you will miss out on its subtleties. My notes were written after the bottle had been open for two hours.
The delicate nose offers aromas of pear, white peach, honeysuckle, marzipan, ripe strawberries and hints of cherries. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity. On the palate strawberries mingle with salinity, grapefruit and raspberries, this is accompanied by a floral undertone and a medium finish.
2019 Kerner $22.99
The grapes for the 2019 Kerner were grown in Shuswap Lake. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for six months.
This wine has a fairly pronounced, herbal nose offering acacia, honey and linden along with notes of white peach and pear. This is a fairly dry, medium bodied wine with high, racy and mouth-watering acidity. The palate is also herbal, with notes of honeysuckle, lemon curd, salty lemons and peach with a medium finish.
These wines can be found at Liberty on Lonsdale and Village Liquor Store, or purchased online from Garden of Granite.