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Liquidity Wines winemaker runs on adrenalin as grapes are finally picked

Liquidity loves harvest time

There is no more exciting time at a winery than harvest season.

Winemakers who for months have risen before the sun and gone to bed well after it has set know that their year depends on what those grapes look like when they are plucked off the vine each fall.

The anticipation rises as the temperature falls. They look good at a glance, but how will they feel when the time actually comes to take a key step on the journey to becoming a bottle?

"It's the excitement of everything that we work towards throughout the whole year coming to finalization and coming to action," Liquidity Wines winemaker Amy Paynter says over the phone from the vineyard. "It's a feeling of excitement, a feeling of anticipation. We're seeing those flavours come through, and we have exciting decisions to make about what to do with it.

"You run on adrenalin the whole time."

When the first grapes came off the vine at Liquidity Wines last month, joy spread throughout the valley. That’s because the grapes looked absolutely sensational.

“We brought in the first of our pinot noir from the Allendale vineyard here in Okanagan Falls,” Paynter said at the time. “The fruit looks lovely, and everyone is in high spirits.”

Liquidity Wines is located in the Heart of Wine Country, where it offers an artisan approach to winemaking. Not only does the winery take its patrons on a journey of the senses that captures the art of winemaking from grape to glass, but it does so in a stunning space with incredible views.

The winery has a distinct advantage when it comes to growing its grapes, because the vineyards are located on some of the most abundant land the glaciers left behind in the Okanagan Valley. Liquidity grows its grapes both in Okanagan Falls and in Oliver, and even though there is a short distance between the two pieces of land, they are worlds apart when it comes to their growing conditions.

“The afternoon wind keeps things cool, resulting in a more citrus-driven chardonnay in Okanagan Falls,” Paynter says. “However, in Oliver, the warmer growing region provides more concentration and richness. When the fruit from both estates are blended, it is the best of both worlds.”

Another difference between the two growing regions, which dates back to 1994 in Okanagan Falls, is where they are located on the slopes.

“Planting our vines on these different slopes, and according to the most ideal sunlight needs of each variety, has allowed us to capture the essence of our valley in a glass,” Paynter says.

The result is a plentiful harvest that is a deeply personal process for Paynter and her team, which has put so much effort into ensuring an elite crop. The harvest is conducted by hand to ensure the premier grapes are the ones being artfully blended into the fine wines Liquidity is known to produce.

You can discover the fruits of Liquidity’s labour yourself by shopping now on the winery's website here.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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