Consumers will soon be able to purchase bottles of BC wine that display two new specific growing regions from the Okanagan Valley.
Naramata Bench and Skaha Bench join the regions of Golden Mile Bench and Okanagan Falls.
Naramata Bench lands roughly between Penticton and Okanagan Mountain Park, on the east side of Okanagan Lake.
Skaha Bench covers a 10-kilometre stretch from the outskirts of Penticton and along the eastern shore of Skaha Lake.
Evan Saunders, winemaker for Blasted Church Vineyards, described the importance of geography and how it creates a distinct difference between the wines.
“The soil types are actually fairly similar but when you get up to the Naramata bench you have the influence from Lake Okanagan, which is a much larger, deeper, cooler lake. Cooler daytime temperatures throughout the growing season, whereas down here with Skaha it’s a smaller lake, it gets a little warmer so you have less of the cooling impact,” said Saunders.
He said other factors, such as elevation and weather, can also influence the final product.
Wines labelled with a region identifier commit to using at least 95% of grapes being grown from that region.