John and Virginia Weber are Saskatchewan transplants that moved to the Similkameen Valley in 2001. Their winery focuses on sustainability (both in the vineyard and the winery) and minimal intervention wines that really showcase the qualities of the Similkameen Valley’s unique terror. In other words, they make super delicious, no nonsense wines that all have an amazing sense of purity that I absolutely love!
The 2017 Wild Ferment Syrah is fermented with indigenous yeast strains in concrete vessels made for them locally in the south Okanagan. The lack of oak presence in this wine really allows the characteristics of the Syrah grape and the Similkameen terroir show through in an amazingly transparent way.
Fresh and juicy are two words that immediately come to mind when I taste this wine that’s full of blackberries, blueberries, sagebrush, cassis and stony mineral tones. The crunchy fruit is wrapped in silky tannins with an abundance of acidity that makes for a wine that’s so easy to drink that it seems to evaporate out of the glass.
Drink alongside: charcuterie, seared duck breast, beef tartare, people you love.