About Black Hills Estate Winery
The Terroir on
our 40-acre property is renowned as some of the most exceptional in the
country. Located on the famed Black Sage Bench north of
Osoyoos,
our vineyard
has a microclimate that makes it one of the hottest, driest and most sunny
sites in Canada. With our northern latitude we enjoy longer sunlight hours than
Napa Valley does in the key growing months of June through August. The
west-facing orientation combined with our deep desert sand gives us intense
daytime heat followed by cool nights. This exceptional diurnal temperature
variation allows the grapes to fully ripen by day and then retain the acidity
by night. The result in that our vineyard yields intensely flavorful grapes.
Our Vineyard team uses careful irrigation techniques
and intensely focused viticulture practices, which create ideal growing
conditions for growing the “Big Reds”

of our signature blend. In fact we are so
terroir-centric in our thinking, that our winemaker lives right in the middle
of our vineyard. He quite literally eats, sleeps and breathes our grapes!
Thanks to our
terroir, we are one of the few Meritage or Bordeaux-style blends that are
primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. We have one of the few sites in the country
that
has a long enough growing season and enough heat to fully ripen this grape. This
in turn allows for a taste profile that is truly unique amongst Canadian red

blends. Further, the clonal diversity gives multi-faceted depth to our Cabernet
Sauvignon which enables
Nota Bene wine takes on the complexity that it is
renowned for.
Our small 9,000
case production enables us to use very exacting standards and “hands on”
farming and winemaking practices. Our team has always used environmentally
sustainable farming practices. All
of our vines are maintained, picked and sorted by hand. We call our Vineyard
Manager our “Grape Whisperer” because of his ability to coax the best flavours
out of our vines. In the winery, we employ the gentlest fruit handling possible and use state-of-the-art equipment
including an automated berry sorting table, crusher/destemmer, and press. Then
we carefully and methodically age our wine in appellation specific oak.
Since 2007 we
have invested over $300,000 into improvements in the vineyard & winery to
further elevate the craft of fine wine making at Black Hills Estate Winery.
This is only the latest instalment in the legacy of the continual quality
evolution that has existed with us since 1996.
In 2011 an
excellent vineyard on a neighbours property was purchased to increase the
wineries access to top quality grapes. In 2012 a 5,000 sq.ft. winery addition
was completed to give greater room to elevate the winemaking craft. Then in
June of 2013 an innovative new Wine Tasting Lounge & Pizzeria opened up to
provide world-class wine tasting experiences to visitors in the valley.
The years ahead
promise greater and greater passion as we pursue our passion to produce the
best possible wine in Canada.
Other interesting facts on Black Hills Estate Winery
1)
Cab Domination.
·
Thanks
to our terroir, we are one of the few Meritage or Bordeaux-style blends that
are primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. We have one of the few sites in the country
that has a long enough growing season and enough heat to fully ripen this
grape. This in turn allows for a taste profile that is truly unique amongst
Canadian red blends.
2)
Clonal Diversity.
·
We grow
four different clones on our 10.5 acre lot of Cabernet Sauvignon. Each has
differing ripening and taste profiles, and each is crushed, fermented and
barrel aged separately. When they are eventually blended together, this Clonal
diversity gives multi-faceted depth to our Cabernet Sauvignon. Then when
combined with the Merlot and Cabernet Franc that are grown on our same
vineyard, the Nota Bene wine takes on the complexity that it is renowned for.
3) Environmentally sustainable farming practices
·
Black Hills has been awarded Environmental Farm Plan
Status by the BC Environmental Farm Plan. This means that we have always been
guided by sustainable practices in our vineyard and in our winery.
4)
Exacting hand-grown vines, hand- made wine.
·
Our
small 6,300 case production enables us to use very exacting standards and
“hands on” farming and winemaking practices. All of our vines are maintained,
picked and sorted by hand. We call our Vineyard Manager our “Grape Whisperer”
because of his ability to coax the best flavours out of our vines. In the
winery, we employ the gentlest fruit handling possible and
use state-of-the-art equipment including an automated berry sorting table,
crusher/destemmer, and press. Then we carefully and methodically age our wine
in appellation specific oak.
5)
Nota Bene is B.C.’s most sought-after wines.
·
Nota
Bene is Latin for “Take Note”. It was first launched with our 1999 vintage.
Since then the following for our Bordeaux-style red blend has grown rapidly.
Many in the province feel that Nota Bene has achieved cult status, as witnessed
when the 2006 vintage of 3.300 cases sold out in only 47 minutes!

Black Hills Estate Winery
Glenn Fawcett,
President
Cell: (403)
710-1667 e-mail:
glenn@blackhillswinery.com
30880 Black
Sage Road
RR1, Site 52,
Comp 22
Oliver, B.C.,
V0H 1T0
Less
This is a great location, with not only fantastic views and exceptional wine...check out the Forno Pizza!
— VINPIN, 5 years