First Visit to Church and State Winery in Oliver

It was a bit of a blustery day when we headed down to Oliver to check out Church and State Winery. 

This winery started in Vancouver Island in 2003 and opened up in the Okanagan about eight years later. The winery attained a fair bit of fame when they introduced a series of labels with cheeky messages such as 'Surrounded by Idiots' and 'This is F*cking Awesome'. I loved those labels but, I think, now they want to focus a bit more on the wine rather than the packaging. 

We headed down to Oliver to pick up wine from three different wineries for the Uncork the Sun Virtual Vinstitute online wine tasting sponsored by Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country. Church and State offered a tasting ($15 per person - choose mostly white or mostly reds ... and you get to keep your glass!) so we took advantage of the opportunity. 

As I said, it was a bit of a rainy, windy day and we were fortunate to be the only ones in the winery for a tasting. The tasting bar is not huge but there is a brand new outside bar that will be ready for the nice weather. There is also a large grass area where visitors can grab a bottle and some glasses and enjoy their wine amongst the vines. 

My wife chose the mostly whites while I chose the mostly reds tasting. It was a great variety of wines and I can comment on most of them, although not in detail. 

The 2017 Muscat Frizaante was an excellent way to start things off. This is a dry style of Muscat sparkles but with lots of fruit. We both really enjoyed this wine and, at $17 and 12 percent, you could drink this all afternoon. This was produced using the tank method and is a lovely patio slurper. I would rate this one as Very Good. 

The 2017 Pinot Gris ($19) is another very nice wine. It has a bit more roundness and weight than Pinot Gris from the Central Okanagan and I thought it was fine. My wife absolutely loved it so I would give it a Very Good as well. 

Next was the 2016 Chardonnay ($20) which had mixed reviews. My wife found it to be a very tasty wine where I thought that the 6 months of oak made it a bit too vanilla-bombish. Still, lots of people enjoy a buttery Chard so I will rate this as Good. 

The 2017 Roussanne ($27) is spectacular! Both of us enjoyed this one (unusual for my wife, as she usually isn't a Roussanne fan) which is well rounded yet has that nice 'kick' that I like with Roussanne. There are lots of different stone fruits as well as butter and some spice in this Outstanding wine. 

I had some Cab Franc the other day from another winery and I found it to be a bit thin and lacking in character. Not this one! The 2017 Cabernet Franc ($32) is full bodied and rich tasting. There were aromas of red cherries on the nose but the taste was much more dark fruits on the palate. This complex wine would go well with some nice barbecued pork chops and is rated Very Good. 

The 2017 Merlot is the wine that we came to buy. This full bodied wine has a touch of tannins as well as good acidity and will be a good a pairing with grilled meats. I found it difficult to rate because it tasted so good that I drank it rather quickly. Oops! Rated Very Good. 

The penultimate wine was the  2017 Meritage which is a blend of Merlot and Cab Franc. It is a very drinkable wine with well rounded tannins and lots of dark fruits. At $32 a bottle, however, it is just a tad expensive for a wine that is quaffable but not a stone out. Rated Good. 

The last wine we tried was the 2017 Petit Verdot. Most Petit Verdot wine that I have tried have had a lot of tannins and seemed to young to drink - they needed another 10 years in the bottle. Not this one - it is delicious and enjoyable to drink with lots of deep, rich, black fruits and full body. This wine would happily replace a big Cab Sauv when having a rich, red meat. At $65, it was a bit pricey but I already regret not buying a bottle. Rated Very Good to Outstanding.

I'm very much looking forward to returning to Church and State with friends, family or clients. It's a winery that has consistently well made wines and some that are a great value as well.

This summer, why not book a tour with me at Wine and Then Somm Wine Tours? I would be happy to meet you in Kelowna or Penticton and take you, in the comfort of your own vehicle, to Church and State or some other wonderful Okanagan wineries! Book today!