Journal

What’s Changing in the Vineyard Pt.1: New Grape Varieties

The history of winegrowing on the Black Sage Bench helps to explain the grape varieties that are planted today. The paradigm shift to Bordeaux red varieties in the early 1990s dramatically increased the acreage of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc over the next decade. By the early 2000s, Merlot was the most widely planted…

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History of Black Hills on the Black Sage Bench

The Okanagan Valley is a young wine region in many ways. It was only 10,000 years ago that the valley was carved by a receding glacier. Some regions lay claim to some of the oldest soils on earth. Ours are some of the youngest, a result of an endless number of glacial streams depositing sand…

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Reimagining viticulture on the Black Sage bench

Our original estate vineyards, Sharp Rock and Double Black Vineyards, date to the mid-1990s, shortly after the first significant plantings of Bordeaux red varieties on the Black Sage Bench. This represented a dramatic paradigm shift for the South Okanagan, as winegrowers transitioned from cool-climate white grapes to late-ripening varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. While…

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