British Columbia’s Salt Spring Island is worth a summer visit via B.C. Ferries simply for its innate beauty. But it’s also home to some capable wineries, chief among them Garry Oaks Estate, which crafts several varieties of wines and consistently makes excellent Zweigelt, an Austrian grape created only in 1922 by crossing Blaufränkisch (Lemberger) and St. Laurent. Literally translated, it means “two gold,” an appropriate term for the Garry Oaks 2014 version, made from grapes grown on Salt Spring. It opens with aromas of cherry and spice and on the tongue displays the most pure black cherry fruit you’ll ever encounter in a wine. This earned a double gold medal at the 2016 Cascadia Wine Competition.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 350 cases
Alcohol: 12.5%
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