An art as old as winemaking itself, assemblage in Bordeaux, the blending of  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec – is centuries old. Each component is thought to add a level of complexity to the wine.   There are no binding regulatory restrictions on creating proprietary blends, thus vintners have carte blanche in crafting these wines. Our winemaker can be as creative and expressive as he wishes to be, taking advantage of available fruit to craft a wine in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – creating a distinctive wine that incorporates the finest elements of its component parts without one varietal dominating. In short, wines such as these represent the highest form of the winemaker’s art – blending.

All wines are thus “blends” however they are more commonly referred to such when they contain grapes of different varietals. We produce three of these – our 7 Blanc (an aromatic white blend), our Reserve 7 (a Meritage), and a Merlot Cabernet (blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon)

We are offering several fun barrel blending sessions this year during each of the spring, summer and fall wine festivals on Chardonnay, Merlot and Meritage wines. Held on our crushpad in Naramata, they enable you to discover the distinct elements behind winemaking. How changing small components can dramatically affect the flavour and aroma profiles of the wine.  In these fun, hands on workshops, you’ll learn how blending can create more complex, interesting and flavourful wines. More details and RSVP information is available on our events page.

Our winemaker Bradley Cooper earlier this spring was out with the crews pruning our vines using the two most common pruning styles – cane and spur.

Spur pruning is popular for vines of medium to high vigour. Classic varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are often spur pruned. We employ this for our vineyard in Langley and most our our Naramata vines. Simple to do, it’s basically similar to giving the grapevine a short haircut, retaining one “arm” on the fruiting wire as a permanent “cordon,” and trimming back the spurs on the vine to limit the growth. With this process, the cane furthest away from the cordon is completely removed, the one nearest is shortened to two nodes to produce next years spur, which will generate the two new fruiting canes.

While, cane pruning is most popular with lower vigour, cool climate grape varietals. We employ cane pruning on our Gewürztraminer. Also, easy to do, the viticulturist leaves two of the best positioned canes near the crown of the trunk, pruning away everything else from last year’s growth, and then ties down the two reserved canes to the fruiting wire. The buds on these canes will send up fruiting shoots in the growing season, which will be tied into the trellis wires above the fruiting wire.

We hold pruning parties every spring at our Langley winery, which sells out in less than 24 hours! Make sure to check our events page or sign up for our mailing list to receive advance notification.

Join us for a number of our BC VQA wine tastings this spring. We’re pouring the latest releases at a VQA wine store near you. Hope to see you at:

• Feb. 18 – Swirl in Yaletown
• Mar. 10 – Mud Bay in Tsawwassen
• Mar. 17 – Sip in Richmond
• Mar. 24 – Westwood in Coquitlam
• April 14 – Sardis Park in Chilliwack
• April 21 – Wine Emporium in Murrayville (Langley Township)
• May 5 – Village VQA in Kitsilano
• June 16 – Village VQA in South Dunbar

At the end of February our proprietor Mike Raffan is speaking at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, on a Wine and Liquor Law in BC panel.  Their business-focused topic concerns Creating Profitable Business Models: What Fits the Regulatory Structure and Economics for Wine in British Columbia. The panel is naturally followed by a delicious wine tasting hosted by the illustrious wine critic, Sid Cross.  Also at the VPIWF, Bradley is on a panel for those in the wine trade titled You’ll Tell Two Friends. The Social Media Symposium will look at word of mouth advertising and discuss how to thrive in the age of social media. Afterwards you can hobnob with the panelists over a glass of wine or two at the post symposium reception.

Later this spring Bradley will lead an in-depth tasting seminar on the Terroir of the Naramata Bench to the BC Wine Appreciation Society, which is open to non-members, and is always a delightful and interactive time with fellow BC wine enthusiasts.

And finally, try your hand at winemaking itself! Bradley will lead a Chardonnay barrel blending session right on our Naramata crush pad during the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. Discover how changing small components in the crafting of a Chardonnay can dramatically affect the flavour and aroma profiles of the world’s most popular white varietal.  In this fun, hands on workshop, you will blend your own Chardonnay. Come with a team or join one of ours and be entertained by our charming winemaker as you attempt the ‘Art of Assemblage’ on the picturesque Naramata Bench.

Not wine geeked out yet? We also encourage you to take an ISG and/or WSET class, they are a fun and informative way to learn more and are offered by wine  experts in cities across North America.

Dinner with wine used to be simple. The rule was white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat. But most of us don’t just eat meat and potatoes or drink claret and chablis these days.  With modern fusion cuisine and wines from new regions around the world, the choices and confusion are great. 

When the marriage of food and wine works well, each enhances the other, making the meal greater than if you had consumed them separately. That’s why the following classic matches have survived the changes in food fashion: stilton with port, foie gras with sauternes, boeuf bourguignon with Burgundian pinot noir and goat cheese with sauvignon blanc.

It helps to start with the basic principles of food and wine pairing as they still provide a basis for experimenting with new world cuisine. One of the most important elements to harmonize between wine and food is flavor… Your best source of food and wine matching is your own palate. Experiment with different combinations to discover not only what makes a perfect pairing for you, but also to broaden your range of possibilities.

Check out her blog for the full article and a nifty wine/food pairing app.

We have an extensive calendar of delicious and entertaining wine and culinary activities planned this spring. Our winemaker Bradley Cooper is hosting sold out Winter Wine and Food grazing nights at our Langley winery this week.  Next week you’ll find us in Alberta supporting the Alberta Theatre Project with Flavours of the Naramata Bench.  Next month our proprietor Mike Raffan is co-hosting a Dine Out Vancouver Wine Country Luncheon with longtime friend and chef Neil Wyles at the delectable Hamilton Street Grill. And for Valentine’s we’re holding our annual Date Night at our Langley winery with a decadent evening of seafood, chocolate and wine. Stay tuned for additional festivities for the spring and Easter…

Being Canadian with family originally from the Maritimes, we’ve incorporated one of my favourite French Canadian dishes into our repertoire of Boxing Day meals, the Tourtière.  The “meat pie” is a traditional part of the Christmas Eve réveillon and New Year’s Eve meal in Quebec.  Oddly enough, the name is derived from the Passenger Pigeon, or tourte in French which was the original ingredient in Tourtière.  I stick with ground turkey and have incorporated our recipe below.  Given the savoury, spicy elements in the dish we suggest pairing with the Township 7 Syrah and serve with a cranberry chutney and fresh green salad. Bon appétit and bonne année!

INGREDIENTS

For Filling
1 small onion minced
1 3/4 lbs ground turkey (you can substitute ground pork or lean ground beef)
1 ½ cups of plain croutons
1 can organic chicken consommé or stock
½ tsp salt (optional)
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp ground thyme
¼ tsp marjoram
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cinnamon

For Pastry
2 ¼ cups pastry flour
¾ cup shortening
4-8 tbsp cold water
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
dash cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pastry – use deep dish pie plate
Make a pastry for a double crust pie. NOTE: mix flour, shortening and cheese mixture (cheddar cheese, cayenne pepper and paprika) before adding cold water to pie pastry; then add water. Form into round ball, cover and let rest for 20 minutes in the fridge

Filling
Saute onion
Add ground turkey and spices and brown
Add chicken stock or consommé and croutons. Simmer for 15 minutes

Assembly
Roll out bottom crust and place in pie plate.
Pour filling from frying pan onto the bottom crust; then cover with the top crust.  Once top crust is on – make slits and optionally garnish with decorative pastry cutout

Cook for 45 minutes.

Interestingly, the Huffington Post predicts that a food trend we’ll see in 2012 is that of “niche hyperlocal cuisine” whereby restaurants cook food that is truly local, both biologically and culturally. The Food Network predicts that next year we’ll see “the new Agri-Chef”, chefs who simply like to cook with what they’ve grown.

With wineries, orchards, farms and ranches from Vancouver Island to the Okanagan, not to mention all the Ocean Wise fish friendly options from our ocean and streams, we can certainly eat and live local for a good part of the year. Some good resources for following the locavore lifestyle in BC include Granville Magazine, Edible Canada, City Food, Savour Magazine, Eat Magazine, Wine Trails, BC Farmer’s Markets, and Slow Food Canada, to name a few.

In keeping with this spirit, we are delighted to partner with Local Lounge • Grille in Summerland on their Wine Wednesday dinner series. The cuisine at Local is suitably enough inspired by locally grown and sustainable ingredients.  Executive Chef Paul Cecconi tours the scenic Okanagan Valley local farms and markets to source the freshest ingredients available for his seasonally inspired menu. They also have the Okanagan’s largest selection of BC wines at a restaurant, where you can select from more than 0ne hundred BC VQA wines.

For a festive evening, on December 14, 2011 join us at Local Lounge. Dine on delectable cuisine with a unique menu that perfectly complements our wines, while enjoying the gorgeous lakeside locale…

On the menu:

Sunchoke-apple soup, spiced pork belly paired with Township 7, 7 Blanc

Prosciutto-sage wrapped beef petite tender, blue cheese whipped potato, braised red cabbage, caramelized apple jus paired with Township 7, Cabernet Sauvignon

OR Chicken breast with Yukon gold potato puree, warm broccolini feta salad, Kalamata olive tomato gravy, paired with Township 7, Merlot

Cranberry-cornmeal cake, eggnog gelato, caramel

Only $25 for three courses plus wine! Call for reservations 250.494.8855…

In France and Germany , vin chaud or Glühwein (hot mulled wine) is one of the delicious Alpine beverages traditionally consumed to the accompaniment of Christmas carols during the holidays. In honour of these old country traditions and with our harvest finally complete and wines happily fermenting in our cellar, we’re ready to celebrate!

Kick off the holiday season with Township 7 and enjoy wine country hospitality in your local neighbourhood.

On Sunday December 4th, join us for the festivities including live Christmas music, new winter wine releases, and a fireside chat with our assistant winemaker. Seasonal craft making and gingerbread cookie decorating for the kids, hot mulled wine, and other campfire goodies will be available by donation to our charity partner, the Langley Christmas Bureau.

You’re encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy for the Christmas Bureau – and will receive a complimentary wine tasting for two.
Enjoy a glass of wine while doing your holiday shopping from our wide array of wine gift baskets … What could be easier and more pleasurable?

Merry Christmas from the Township 7 team!  We hope you enjoy our hot mulled wine recipe to share with friends and family at home…

Hot Mulled Wine

Bring the mixture to a very gentle simmer over low heat for approximately 30 minutes. Don’t let it boil: this can cause spices to turn bitter. Strain and ladle into mugs and serve, garnished with an orange slice or cinnamon stick. It’s fine to keep the pot warm for several hours, for sipping holiday cheer throughout the night.

See how our winemaking season starts. Experience May in the Okanagan! Catch the beauty of budburst in the vineyards, cherry blossoms in the orchards, and savour delicious wine and cuisine by local producers.

Enter our Be a Local Contest and you could win a weekend for two including accommodation, Wine Festival tickets, dinner at Local Lounge • Grille and tickets to Township 7′s winemaker barrel blending seminar at our picturesque Naramata winery…  The contest closes at the end of November so enter before it’s too late…

Bonne Chance!

We’re delighted with the huge turnout by the community and are holding more fun and educational activities like these year round, given the incredible interest in all aspects of the winemaking process. Festivities such as the traditional grape stomp offer you the chance to literally get your feet wet in the winemaking process cycle.

As part of that natural cycle, the stomped grapes are being used in our compost and the unused grapes we harvested earlier in the week were donated to Critter Care. (See photo of one of their rescue bears, Kody, enjoying our grapes!) We’re proud to support local charities like Critter Care who provide an invaluable service as the only organization that rehabilitates wildlife in Metro Vancouver.  They specialize in the treatment, care and release of sick, injured and orphaned Native Mammal species of British Columbia’s Southern and Lower Mainland. They are the only facility in BC specializing in the care of mammals and one of only four Bear Rehab facilities in the province.

With winter approaching Critter Care has a number of much needed items on their holiday wishlist, please help out with either an item or donation this Christmas.