Dry, bold, new.
Osoyoos-based estate winery Moon Curser makes a wide range of wines, many from varieties rare to Canada.
Their new limited series "Confiscated" are wines made from grapes grown in Lake Chelan, Washington, just two hours south of Osoyoos. Like many in the Okanagan (a January '24 freeze event caused an extremely small harvest in the region) the winery felt the need to supplement their 2024 harvest from south of the border.
Estimated release, late summer 2025 this serious watermelon-pink Pinot Noir suggests fresh wild berries and rhubarb, sour cherry juice, cedar, tealeaf and dried orange slices. It's dry with a bold structure and flavours of wild herbs, cigar and faint spice layered with charred oranges and leather. A fresh rose that drinks like a light-bodied red.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - August 6th, 2025

Savoury, earthy, dry.
The Osoyoos-based estate winery Moon Curser makes a wide range of wines, many from varieties rare to Canada. This Syrah dominated rose blend is a bold ruby shade. Don't expect Provence here, it's a robust style, more reminiscent of those from the Southern Rhone's Tavel region. It's earthy and dominated by aromas of tobacco, cranberry, rhubarb, wild herbs and dried flowers. Bone dry with an intense savoury character with a firm backbone and flavours of olives, tart red berries, bitter orange and tealeaf. A rose for BBQing.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 29th, 2025

Dry, creamy, purity.
This wine club exclusive traditionally made sparkling is an estate Osoyoos-grown blend of Roussanne and Marsanne. A golden shade and fine mousse greet the eye, it has aromas of peach and apple and pear along with banana and orange blossoms. Nice purity overall with yellow fruit flavours layered with hazelnut and citrus, more leesy/bread dough characters appeared on day two. Bone dry and creamy with an appealing richness and lovely balance.

©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 28th, 2025

Tangy, dry, citrusy.
From the Golden Mile Bench's Culmina, this organic pale peachy-hued Bordeaux-style rose is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot is a saignee method, which is made using only free-run juice left 4 hours on the skins.
Expect strawberry, charred orange peel, cranberry and sour cherry, tealeaf, wild herbs and faint spice aromas. It is light-bodied dry and zesty with a leesy sort of hoppy flavour profile alongside tangy citrus. It's a pink that will stand up to chicken and turkey, fish tacos, creamy pastas, paella or strongly flavoured cheese.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 28th, 2025

Unique, smooth, fresh.
Black Sage's new whisky barrel aged red (a blend of Cabernet, Zinfandel, Merlot and Shiraz) gives off all the characters you'd expect from a whisky-soaked barrel. It has that brown spirit smell of toffee, vanilla, cola spices and pipe tobacco, along with strawberry and dried cherry notes. It is smooth and laden with sweet fruit, chocolate, toffee, vanilla dark rum and toasted spice flavours. Smooth and fresh with a little something different than regular red wine blends.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 28th, 2025

Intense, woven, fresh.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc,and Malbec come together in this blend. Grapes were harvested by hand from Burrowing Owl's south Okanagan estate vineyards from Oliver and Osoyoos. The best barrels of each single varietal wine were selected for the blend. After the components were combined, they were barreled for another 18 months.
Expect an age-able wine with a rich nose of cherry, plum, wild sage, vanilla, dark chocolate, leather and espresso with salty/mineral undertones. The palate follows suit; intense with red and black fruit, leather, smoked sausage and wild savoury herbal flavours. Fresh and bold with a cigar-like finish.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 28th, 2025

Elegant, structure, lengthy.
Similkameen Valley's Clos du Soleil makes classic minimal-intervention wines from vines tended with biodynamic practices.
This premium red is a blend of Merlot (25%), Cab Sauv (31%), Cab Franc (14%), Petit Verdot 11%) and Malbec (19%) aged 18 months in French oak barrels.
This premium wine, their top-tier red, delivers notes of fresh wild herbs and wildberries, leather, tobacco, cocoa, pencil shavings and a hint of purple flowers. In the mouth, lifted red fruits dominate (current, plum, berry) alongside pipe tobacco, leather and spice flavours. Elegant, lengthy and smooth with a tobacco flecked finish.
Pairs great with Gone Crackers Canadian Chedder & Chive
 
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 28th, 2025

Fresh, zesty, slick.
Located in Southern Okanagan, Osoyoos, Nk'Mip is North America's first indigenous-owned winery. The Sylix peoples land straddled the Canadian US border into Washington State, where the grapes for this year's rose were sourced. The website and QR code have not been updated for me to pass on all information (variety, winemaking, price) but it is a light-blush hue with peach and honeydew melon, orange blossom and grapefruity notes. Slick and fresh, light-bodied and zesty it has nice fruitiness overall and is a drier style.

Image does not reflect current vintage bottling.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 28th, 2025

Inky, balanced, woven.
Oliver-based Burrowing Owl Estate Winery has maintained a house style and quality consistently over the years. Aged in a mix of French, American and Hungarian oak this inky red suggests black cherry and cassis, cola spices and licorice, leather and vanilla on the nose. The palate is woven and balanced and an echo of the nose; intense with developed fruit flavours that are layered with black chocolate, espresso and tobacco.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 25th, 2025

Charming, juicy, quaffable
Founded in 2001 by winemaker Ted Kane, River Stone is a small estate winery located in Oliver BC. It's comprised of two estate vineyards focusing primarily on Bordeaux-varieties and aromatic whites; the tasting room was opened in 2010.
Like many Okanagan wineries, hit hard by a disastrous widespread cold snap in 2024, River Stone reach out to our neighbours to the south in Washington and Oregon to source fruit to make wine. River Stone selected grapes from Horse Heaven Hills and Wahluke Slope in Washington State. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, it delivers energizing aromas of melon and tangerine, peaches, lemon curd and honeysuckle. Off-dry and quaffable it has a charming and juicy character and appealing fruity/zestiness. A great summer sipper, or pair with spicy dishes or holiday turkey.
©copyright 2025 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 25th, 2025