Desert Hills Estate Winery
About
"We believe that we must “grow” wine. We started as farmers, and know that great wines can only be achieved with wonderful grapes.
Location Description
This family owned, boutique winery is ideally located on some of the most sought after terroir in the Okanagan, that of the Black Sage Bench, outside Oliver, BC. Sitting on 24 acres of some of the finest vineyards on the Bench, this award winning Okanagan Winery is situated between Black Hills and Burrowing Owl wineries – an ideal provenance for the grapes.
Features
- Award Winning, Boutique Estate Winery.
Additional Information
- Meeting / Conference Facilities:
- Caves:
- Wedding Facilities:
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- Dog Friendly:
- Winery Tours:
- Wine Tasting:
- Art or Architecture:
- Organic / Biodynamic:
- Awards:
- Wine Club:
- Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:
The Team
Randy, Jessie and Dave Toor learned wine in the vineyards, and this serves as the background of their philosophy in making great wine – memorable, award winning wines can only be achieved with wonderful grapes.
Great philanthropists, the Toor family donates proceeds from winery tastings to building and maintaining a sports stadium in India. Annual tournaments take the family back to celebrate their ongoing commitment.
Practices & Techniques
We also craft wines that are representative of the terroir, with a balanced elegance that can only be achieved through a seamless collaboration between winegrowing and winemaking.”
Estate Vineyards / AVA
The Black Sage Bench is renowned for its long, hot summer days and sandy soils that concentrate the flavors in the grapes, and its gentle cool evenings that round the complexity of each variety. The moderating effect of the Okanagan River on the lower western edge of the Estate vineyard is also a natural deterrent against October frost.
Estate Vineyard – Three Boys Vineyard, Black Sage Bench
This estate was purchased by our family in 1989 and with an extensive planting effort, strategically determining where each grape varietal grows best, with our first production in 1996. Today the vineyard is home to award winning Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Malbec, Merlot, Zinfandel and Pinot Gris.
Our family has hand selected this gentle east to west sloping property for is natural attributes to potentially deliver some of Canada’s finest grapes.
SageBrush Vineyard – Black Sage Bench
Also located on Black Sage Road, this vineyard benefits from long, hot summer days and moderating cool nights. The 2012, first vintage will produce Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and small amounts of Gewurztraminer.
Eagle’s Nest Vineyard – Black Sage Bench
Adjacent to SageBrush Vineyard, this vineyard produces Merlot with small quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Our icon red, Mirage, benefits from these high quality, low yield grapes.
Sira’s Vineyard – Osoyoos
Our Viognier is sourced from this vineyard, on the banks of Lake Osoyoos. The cooling evenings allow the fruit long hang time, developing the characteristic aromatics of this grape.
NightHawk Vineyard – Okanagan Falls
Sitting at a higher elevation than our other vineyards, our NightHawk produces our Gewurztraminer, which achieves a subtle elegance by nature of the vineyard’s position.
Awards
DOUBLE GOLD – 2013 New World Wine Competition
GOLD – 2012 Los Angeles International Wine Competition
GOLD – All Canadian Championship
92 POINTS – John Schreiner
2009 Desert Hills Syrah
BEST OF CLASS – LA International Wine Competition
DOUBLE GOLD – LA International Wine Competition
94 points – LA International Wine Competition
2012 Desert Hills Viognier
JUDGES’ CHOICE – Wine Access International Value Wine Awards
89 POINTS – John Schreiner
2013 Desert Hills Gewurztraminer
OVERALL BEST WINE OF CANADA – All Canadian Wine Championship
DOUBLE GOLD – All Canadian Wine Championship
BEST OF CLASS – All Canadian Wine Championship
2013 Desert Hills Gamay
GOLD – All Canadian Wine Championship
2013 Desert Hills Cactus White
BEST OF CLASS – Northwest Wine Summit
GOLD – Northwest Wine Summit
2011 Desert Hills Cabernet Franc
GOLD – Riverside International Wine Competition