Part 2 of my fantastic visit to Tightrope Winery, continues with a fabulous chat and tasting with Owner, Mother, Wife and Winemaker extraordinaire Lyndsay O'Rourke. We tasted through 2 wonderful wines( 2019 Rose and 2018 Vertigo) crafted with their unique estate grown Barbera. Since then I had the pleasure of spending a few days with the O'Rourke's lending a hand bottling the 2020 whites, roses and new release reds. Check out the @Grapesavvysips Instagram account to watch some fun reels from the bottling excitement.
Want to know a little more about Barbera...
TANNIN: LOW
ACIDITY: HIGH
FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS : DARK CHERRY, PLUM, DRIED STRAWBERRY
OTHRER CHARACTERISTICS :VANILLA, ANICE , VIOLET, LAVENDER
ORIGIN :ITALY
Barbera is an Italian grape variety originally planted on the foothills of Monferrato in central Piedmont. It accounts for over 50% of all red varietals grown and produced in Piedmont and is the third most planted varietal in Italy. Barbera may call Italy home,however it is also planted around the world and is known for producing wines that are medium-bodied, low in tannin, with good depth of colour and a predictably high acidity. The wines have distinctive aromas and flavors of plum, ripe cherry, dried strawberry with developing characteristics of vanilla, baking spice, lavender and violets.
Tightrope Winery’s estate vineyard is home to the only planting of Barbera on the Naramata Bench and is one of very few plantings in Canada. Barbera equates to less than .5% of the total percentage of vinifera plantings in the Okanagan region which makes its presence in these Tightrope blends a very unique and must-try attribute to these already eloquently crafted wines. The fact that Barbers is naturally high in acidity and anthocyanins make it the perfect blender in some of their award winning wines. It adds an intense depth of colour to the 93% Pinot Noir dominant Rose and an acidic backbone to the Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Barbera (30%) flagship blend “Vertigo”creating a well balanced and age worthy red and thirst quenching patio perfect rose.
Tightrope Winery is open for the 2021 season!! Book your reservation online and taste through their current portfolio and "coming soon" new releases.
JOIN THE WINE CLUB FOR FIST ACCESS TO NEW RELEASES!
Walk the Wire Wine Club
THE BALANCED PACKAGE OF CHOICE
Wine Enthusiasts will receive a handpicked selection of 12 bottles of wine two times a year (in the spring and fall): this offers our members the opportunity to choose between sampling all our Whites, Reds or the Winemakers assortment mix of whites & reds.
Wine Club orders are shipped for free, or if you prefer, pick your order up at our tasting room, and receive a 15% discount on your order.
Visit https://www.tightropewinery.ca/Wine-Club or email wineclub@tightropewinery.ca. for more details.