Christmas is just around the corner and I’m counting down the days with my favorite gifts for the creative people in your life. 

Day 5- BC Wine

I am inspired by all kinds of creative people from photographers, to chefs, to crafters, to winemakers. Winemaking is an art and like all things art related it’s fun to be a tastemaker and be one of the first people to discover something that is truly great. I love discovering  new wine or a vineyard that my friends are unfamiliar with and introducing them to it. 

Wine makes a lovely host/hostess gift. I recommend that if you find a wine you love, pick up a case so that you have an easy, go to hostess gift and so you have bottles at hand to enjoy yourself or when an unexpected guest pops by. 

Let me introduce you 5 Fabulous BC Wines for Holiday Entertaining…

The creators of The Girls Vivacious Rose had two goals in mind when creating their wine:

1. Create a REALLY delicious wine

2. Give 100% of the profits to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – BC/Yukon Region.

They succeeded on both counts! A unique blend, primarily a saignée of Merlot, the colour is a soft pink with an intensely fragrant, floral nose of raspberry and wild strawberry. The palate is dry, medium to light bodied, with a thread of acidity giving a beautifully refreshing quality to the wine, and helping to create a lingering finish. Fabulous served with grilled or slow roasted meats.

The Girls Vivacious Rose retails for $19.99 per bottle. Visit Charitable Wines for information about where to purchase. 

Family-owned and operated since 1968, Mt. Boucherie has evolved from a masterful grape grower into one of British Columbia’s premier wineries. With a wide range of white and red wines, blended reds and four varietals of Icewine, Mt. Boucherie takes the time to celebrate the grape, creating wines from some lesser-known varietals. Mt. Boucherie Family Estate Winery 2013 Gamay Noir is a lighter bodied red with aromas of fresh ground coffee beans. On the palate juicy, fruity with a hint of smokiness. Pair with a dried fruit lamb tagine, roast turkey or onion quiche.

Mt. Boucherie Family Estate Winery 2013 Gamay Noir retails for $15.90 a bottle. Visit Mt. Boucherie to purchase. 

Blue Grouse winery is a family-owned and operated vineyard and winery established as one of the founding Estate wineries of Vancouver Island. Blue Grouse believes in simplicity– doing a few things, but doing them very well. That’s just what they have done with the Blue Grouse 2012 Pinot Noir. This wine exhibits flavors of cherry and plum, with elements of minerality and flint. Fine tannins and firm acidity round out the finish. It is a perfect match for wild game, salmon and pasta dishes.

Blue Grouse 2012 Pinot Noir retails for $23.00 a bottle. Visit Blue Grouse to purchase. 

Serendipity Winery is located in the heart of the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley, BC. Since it’s first harvest in 2009, Serendipity Winery has surprised delighted and captured accolades for a variety of their wines. The winery was named BC Winery of the Year at a New York competition. Their Red Handed 2010 is a balanced wine with a long chocolate finish. This wine has strong smells of vanilla, mocha and a toffee type of caramel. Fruit notes of plum, cherry, blueberry and strawberry round out your taste.

Serendipty Red Handed 2010 retails  for $18.00 a bottle. Visit Serendipity Winery to purchase. 

I’m counting these 2 wines as one selection. A longtime fan of Okanagan Crushpad, I just recently discovered the Narrative wines at a cooking class I took at Well Seasoned. 

The 2013 Narrative white is a blend of Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Blanc. Fresh lifted aromatics of spice and floral notes intermingle with juicy tropical fruits; a lush mouthfeel coats the palate with great fruit density while also retaining delicacy, freshness and a very lengthy finish.

The 2013 Narrative red is a blend of Syrah from the Black Sage Bench and Gamay Noir from Secrest Mountain. Bright dark raspberry fruit with notes of sagebrush and chocolate create a seamless texture of sweet berries, fine grained tannins, and a long juicy finish.

The 2013 Narrative white retails  for $17.00 a bottle and the 2013 Narrative red retails  for $18.00 a bottle. Visit Okanagan Crush Pad to purchase. 

Do you  have hidden wine gems from the state/province where you live? I’d love to hear about them! Share your favorite wines in the comments. 

*Thank you to Town Hall for sending me these wines to sample. All thoughts and opinions on this site are 100% my own.

Please check back each day for more of my favorite gift ideas, you can find my Countdown to Christmas suggestions here!