2016 at Upper Bench. . . 

What a year 2016 was! It was our busiest year to date; we welcomed over 10,000 guests through our tasting room doors which is fantastic. We wanted to share a few of the highlights and favorite moments of the past year with you and also say a great, big thank you for all your continued support of Upper Bench. We absolutely love what we do and love sharing it so we hope to see you all sometime soon in 2017.

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that Upper Bench is owned by two couples? Shana and Gavin Miller partnered with Wayne and Margareta Nystrom in 2011 to make Upper Bench a reality. 

We were humbled to receive rave reviews for many of our wines. . .

We were so honoured to receive so many kind words from wine writers in 2016. Here are a few of the highlights.

From John Schreiner, Canada's most prolific author of books on wine:

Upper Bench Merlot 2013 Four Shadows Vineyard- "This bold and concentrated wine that should be decanted to let the aromas and flavours develop in the glass. It begins with aromas of black cherry, vanilla and chocolate, going on to flavours of plum, coffee and chocolate. The wine has been aged 18 months in second and third use French barrels. 91 Points."

Upper Bench Yard Wine 2013- "The wine begins with aromas of cherry, cassis and plum. On the palate, there is a medley of red berry flavours, including blueberry and black currant leading to spice, chocolate and dark coffee on the finish. The long, ripe tannins give this an ageable structure but, with decanting, it is drinking well now. 90 Points."

From Beppi Crosariol, wine writer for the Globe and Mail:

Upper Bench Four Shadows Vineyard Merlot 2013- "This is another exemplary wine from Upper Bench's consistently good lineup of new winter-spring releases. They're clearly on a roll, and I just wish this boutique winery could produce enough to supply all of Canada. The 2013 merlot, designated "Four Shadows Vineyard", delivers rich smoothness that is the grape's hallmark, yet with the sort of firm and elegant structure not always evident in New World merlots. Full-bodied, with ripe dark-fruit, chocolate and tobacco notes, it's pulled together by gently grainy tannins and attractive acidity. Marvelous for juicy, medium-rare meats. 91 Points."

From Anthony Gismondi, wine writer for the Vancouver Sun:

Upper Bench Four Shadows Vineyard Merlot 2013-  "Four Shadows Vineyard belongs to Shana and Gavin's nearby neighbour in Naramata but they are making lovely merlot with the fruit. At 14.8 percent alcohol it announces itself on the palate with a weighty spicy texture and plenty of dark fruits. The flavours are a mix of black cherry and vanilla with bits of tobacco and milk chocolate and a dusting of resin. Big round and fat, it finishes long soft and spicy. Think lamb chops or a rack or Spatchcock grilled chicken. A little less oak and a little more Naramata is all this wine needs to soar. 90 Points."

From Kurtis Kolt, wine writer for the Georgia Straight:  

Upper Bench Four Shadows Vineyard Merlot 2013- "comes from Winemaker Gavin Miller's Naramata British Columbian winery, where he has been toiling his trade for the last few years after a long, successful run at nearby Poplar Grove Winery. This Merlot is a big, meaty one with dark cherry, dried plum, notes of blueberry compote, a hint of molasses, along with a little umami, sundried tomato character and a crack of clove. 18 months in French oak frames everything quite well."

We are very pleased to offer FREE SHIPPING on these wines for all orders of 6 bottles or more!

The best news of all is that both our 2013 Four Shadows Vineyard Merlot and our 2013 Yard Wine are still available, albeit in extremely limited quantities, and we are pleased to offer you complimentary shipping (anywhere in Canada) on all orders of 6 bottles or more of these two wines. Please feel free to mix and match and add any cheese you might like to your order. Visit our website to order now and ensure you enter the coupon code "febshipping" at checkout to get your free shipping. If you are a member of our Curds & Corks Club, please send us an email and we will process your order for you to ensure all your applicable discounts are applied. Club members please also note that you will not be receiving any 2013 Four Shadows Vineyard Merlot in any of your 2017 shipments so this will be your last opportunity to order it!

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that in 2016 Upper Bench produced 3,500 cases of wine?  That's 42,000 bottles! While that may sound like a lot, that amount still places us in the small winery category.

We threw an awesome Pick-Up Party for our Curds & Corks Club Members. . . 

Our 3rd annual Curds & Corks Club Pick-Up Party was held this past July and it was a great success! Our Club members wined and dined with cheesemaker Shana and her husband, winemaker Gavin. The food was delicious and everyone had a fabulous time. As is tradition, our Club members were treated to a barrel sample at the end of the evening and they tasted a not-yet bottled red that they will be receiving in their Club shipment later this year. 
An invitation to this party is extended only to members of our Curds & Corks Club, so if you would like to join Canada's only wine and cheese Club, click here for more details and to join.

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that cheesmaker Shana is originally from Nova Scotia? And that her husband, winemaker Gavin is originally from England? The two met at Poplar Grove winery here in Penticton in 1995.

We added two new fermentors to the family. . . 

In preparation for harvest 2016, we bought two new fermentors to keep up with the amount of grapes we knew we would shortly be picking. We had these fermentors custom-built for Upper Bench in Italy from French and Slovenian oak. Between the two fermentors we gained another 4000 L of space which was needed to make more delicious wine for all of you! 

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that all of the cheese produced at the Upper Bench creamery is 100% gluten free? It is also 100% preservative and additive free as well!

We attended the Sold-Out, Bohemian-Themed Tailgate Party. . . 

The annual Tailgate Party put on by the Naramata Bench Wineries Association is always one of the best parties of the year and 2016's was no exception. It was held at Red Rooster Winery and was bohemian-themed. The event was held in September and by July, all the tickets had been sold. This event is an excellent opportunity for guests to sample all the wonderful wines that the Naramata Bench has to offer and also sample some excellent cuisine provided by local restaurants. The fact that it is a costume party is just an added bonus because we absolutely love dressing up! 

If you would like to mark your calendars, Tailgate 2017 is being held at D'Angelo Estate Winery on Saturday, September 9th. The theme is TBD but keep an eye out for more information from the Naramata Bench Wineries Association by viewing their events page.  Make sure you get your tickets early as it will sell out again!

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that the Upper Bench Estate vineyard (located directly behind Upper Bench winery) is 7.5 acres? It is also farmed organically and the grapes are always hand-picked.

We sold out of two vintages of Riesling in one season. . .  

Our delectably dry Upper Bench Riesling is always one of our most popular whites, and in 2016 this was truer than ever as we sold out of both the 2014 and 2015 vintages in the same season!

The 2016 Riesling is shaping up to be just as delicious, with bright, mouth-watering acidity and aromas of lychee, guava and lemon meringue and flavours of crisp apple, peach and Asian pear. As always, the 2016 will be dry as well, with only 9 grams of sugar per litre. As this newsletter is being written, we are sampling the just-filtered 2016 Riesling out of the tank (as it has yet to be bottled) and it is tasting just fantastic! To make sure you don't miss its release, like us on Facebook and keep an eye out for more news about this awesome wine. 

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that all the milk used to make Upper Bench cheese is sourced from Holstein cows at D. Dutchman Dairy in Sicamous, B.C.? 

We made some absolutely delicious specialty cheeses. . . 

In addition to our line of five cheeses which we produce to sell through the tasting room and to local restaurants, we also make specialty cheeses just for our Club members. These exclusive cheeses can be different versions of our regular cheeses or entirely new recipes dreamed up by our cheesemakers. Pictured above are three examples of specialty cheeses we made in 2016.

The first picture shows our red-wine infused King Cole blue cheese. We added red wine at the salting stage of the making process to give the cheese an extra dimension of flavour.  

The second picture shows our Farmer Cheese at 87 days old. While this cheese was made in 2016, it will not be released to our Club members until later this year as we would like to give it some more aging time. We are very excited to see what this cheese will taste like once it's done aging!  

Pictured third is our assistant Cheesemaker Josh holding our most popular specialty cheese of 2016: our brand new Aberdeen (named for the S.S. Aberdeen, the first steamship on Okanagan Lake). This cheese was wonderfully salty and crumbly and had a great bite to it. 

If you think those cheeses sound good, just wait! We have so many more ideas in the works for 2017. The only way to receive these exclusive cheeses is to become a member of our Curds & Corks Club (Canada's ONLY wine and cheese club) so please email Club Manager Sarah or take a peak at our website for more information and to join now.

UB FUN FACT:  Did you know that while our vineyard pups, Emma and Bella, may look like sisters that they are actually not related and Bella is several years older than Emma. Not that you would know it though! Emma is definitely the lazy one, while Bella will play fetch for hours on end!

Help us spread the "curd". . . 

We are still a relatively new business so we would love your help spreading the word about Upper Bench. We'd be most grateful if you would take the time to review us on TripAdvisor and on our Facebook page. We are also now on Instagram, so can follow us there and of course, you can also follow us on Twitter. Thanks so much again for all your continued support of Upper Bench!