Last week I wrote about one of the new wineries that recently opened in the Okanagan, but I also mentioned those that have been around for decades, standing the test to time. Moon Curser Vineyards certainly falls into the latter category, as they are now entering their 20th year in business.
Moon Curser Vineyards is owned by Chris and Beata Tolley, who are originally from Calgary. Chris was a software engineer and his wife, Beata, was a chartered accountant before they decided to spend a year at Lincoln University in New Zealand studying viticulture and oenology. When they returned from New Zealand they purchased a cherry orchard in Osoyoos. The cherry trees were old and gnarly, so they named their new winery, which opened in 2004, Twisted Tree. As for the cherry trees, unfortunately they had to be removed in 2005 for the planting of the new vineyard.
In 2011 Twisted Tree was rebranded as Moon Curser because the name ‘Twisted Tree’ was being confused with other wineries in the Okanagan with similar sounding names. By renaming their winery ‘Moon Curser’ the Tolley’s paid homage to the colourful past of the South Okanagan. In the late 1800’s this region saw an influx of gold miners and these miners would take their gold to smelters across the border in the United States. If they crossed the border legally they would be forced to pay taxes to the Canadian Government, so instead they would smuggle their gold across in the dead of night. On a clear evening though, when the moon was full and bright, the smugglers would curse the moon as it would render them visible to the customs agents if they tried to cross illegally.
Moon Curser’s 20th year is off to a very good start. This year they made the Top 10 Small Wineries in Canada and the Top 25 Wineries in Canada at the 2023 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, and they also won numerous other awards for individual wines.
2022 Roussanne Marsanne $26.99
The 2022 Roussanne Marsanne won Gold at both the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada and the Cascade International Wine Competition.
This wine is a blend of 64% Roussanne and 36% Marsanne. Grapes for the 2022 vintage were hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, followed by a second sorting prior to whole-cluster pressing. The wine underwent cool fermentation, 30% in 225L, new French Oak barriques with the remainder fermented in stainless steel. Lees stirring took place once per day, three times per week. This wine was filtered but not fined and bottled in March 2023.
Aromas of chamomile, mandarin, beeswax, pear and yellow grapefruit pith, with a hint of butter, nutmeg and brioche. This is a dry wine, medium+ in body with high acidity. The palate offers beeswax, pear, lemon, yellow grapefruit, chamomile, apricot and mandarin rind with a medium+ finish.
I would love to see how this wine ages. The winery anticipates that with four or so more years of cellaring the 2022 Roussanne Marsanne should develop notes of marzipan, honey and caramel.
2022 Heist $26.99
The 2022 Heist won a Gold Medal at the All Canadian Wine Championships.
This Rosé is composed of 95% Syrah and 5% Malbec. Grapes were hand-picked and sorted twice prior to whole-cluster pressing. Two hours of skin contact during pressing produced a lovely pale salmon hue. The Syrah and Malbec were co-fermented. Cool fermentation was carried out in 2200 litre stainless steel fermenters with 50% undergoing warmer fermentation in neutral oak barriques. The wine remained in barrel for four months and the portion in oak underwent partial malolactic fermentation. The lees were stirred once a day, two times each week. The wine was filtered but not fined before it was bottled in March 2023.
The nose on this Rosé is a bit shy, offering notes of crushed gravel, white pepper, pink grapefruit, underripe strawberries, and red pepper flakes. This is a dry medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity. The refreshing palate offers notes of Swedish berries, pink grapefruit, minerality, salinity, lime zest, floral notes and a bit of pepper on the medium finish.
2022 Dolcetto $29.99
Dolcetto’s home is in Piedmont, Italy and Dolcetto means “little sweet one” in Italian. Dolcetto is not terribly common in the Okanagan but Moon Curser is one of two wineries (that I know of) that grow this grape variety and they are doing a great job with it.
The 2022 Dolcetto won Gold medals at both the 2023 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada and the All Canadian Wine Championships.
Grapes were hand-picked and sorted twice prior to de-stemming and pumping into fermenters; the grapes were not crushed. The wine underwent cool fermentation in 5000 litre stainless steel fermenters with gentle pumpovers three times daily for 7 days. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation in tank before being pressed off its skins. The wine was bottled in March 2023 after being filtered but not fined.
First, a whiff of dark chocolate cover caramels followed by fairly pronounced aromas of black plum jam, black cherry, black pepper, violet and liquorice pastels. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity and medium- tannins that are surprisingly grippy on the back end. The palate offers pomegranate, black plum, black cherry, violet and liquorice pastels with a medium finish.
This is a versatile food wine that one can drink chilled or at room temperature with a myriad of food but I think it would be particularly delicious with lasagna.