This week I present my annual list of British Columbia wineries that most impressed me this year. This is not to suggest that these are the only great wineries in the province but simply those that attracted my attention this year.  The list varies in length from year to year as I like to focus on achievements rather than listing a specific number of wineries. The wineries are presented alphabetically as follows:

Laughing Stock Vineyards

Laughing Stock was recognized as the Best Performing Small Winery of the Year at this year’s National Wine Awards where they earned 2 Platinum, 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. The winemaking team is led by winemaker Sandy Leier.

They aim to continually improve their wines and have been exploring a variety of fermentation vehicles over the past few years, including temperature regulated stainless tanks and the addition of eight concrete eggs. Six clay Amphorae have been acquired from Italy, in which a variety of limited production wines are produced. Complexity is added to the red wines through an extended barrel-aging program using 100% French oak in both standard barrel sizes and 500 liter puncheons.

Laughing Stock has 2 separate vineyards:

• Naramata Bench Vineyard – The estate winery vineyard is home to all the Bordeaux grape varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec & Petit Verdot) that are included in their flagship wine, Portfolio.
• Perfect Hedge Vineyard – Osoyoos – Since acquiring this 22-acre vineyard in 2007, it has become home to Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon) as well as Viognier and Syrah

This is Laughing Stock’s first appearance on the Movers and Shakers list.

Meyer Family Vineyards (2021, 2024

This is Meyers Family Vineyards third time on the Movers and Shakers List, having appeared previously in 2024 and 2021.

Meyer aims to produce the finest quality wines in the traditions of the Burgundy region of France. The grapes are hand-harvested, with great attention to detail and minimal winemaking intervention. The wines are produced from three main vineyards: the 6.9-hectare McLean Creek Road Vineyard in Okanagan Falls; the 1.62-hectare Old Main Road Vineyard on the Naramata Bench; and the 1.5-hectare Lakehill Road Vineyard in Kaleden. They also work with passionate quality-minded growers in Naramata and Osoyoos area to round out their portfolio of terroir-driven wines.

Winemaker Chris Carson’s philosophy is to care for the grape on the vine and maintain as much as possible a hands-off approach in the cellar to allow the true expression of the terroir. Each wine reflects the single vineyard of its origin, the soil, the climate and the slope.

The three main vineyards are:

• McLean Creek Road Vineyard Okanagan Falls – This is the home vineyard. The vineyard was originally planted in 1994. Varietals grown include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer.
• Old Main Road Vineyard Naramata Bench – This vineyard was originally planted in 1996 with 100% Chardonnay vines which is still the case today.
• Lakehill Road Vineyard Kaleden – The vineyard was planted with 3 acres of Pinot Noir in 2009 and another 0.75 acres in 2019.

Mission Hill Family Estate

Mission Hill was named Winery of the Year earlier this year at the National Wine Awards, making it Canada’s only six-time winner. This is reflected in the fact that Mission Hill appeared as a Mover and Shaker previously in 2022, 2021 and 2020.

This year Mission Hill Family Estate was awarded top honours with two platinum and seven gold awards. The award winning wines are:

• 2022 Perpetua: Platinum
• 2022 Terroir Cabernet Franc – Member Exclusive: Platinum
• 2023 Terroir Chardonnay – Member Exclusive: Gold
• 2020 Compendium: Gold
• 2022 Terroir Cabernet Sauvignon – Member Exclusive: Gold
• 2021 Oculus – Member Release Fall 2025: Gold
• 2020 Quatrain: Gold
• 2023 Perpetua – Coming Spring 2026: Gold
• 2022 Terroir Meritage – Member Exclusive: Gold

Fostering an ecosystem natural to the region supports quality grape growing, which in turn creates wine of depth and character. Bees, falcons and chickens replace pesticides and insecticides. Cover crops, earthworms and compost are used in place of chemical fertilizers.

Their practices are fundamentally rooted in Old World techniques which they now support with modern technology.

Stag’s Hollow Winery

This is Stag’s Hollow’s first appearance as a Mover and Shaker.

Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger started with a 10 acre vineyard in 1992 that was planted with Vidal and Chasselas varietals. The winery was later constructed in 1995. At that time, Stag’s Hollow Winery was one of only 30 wineries in British Columbia. Initially Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Vidal were grown.

In 2011, another 18 acres of land was purchased which became Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard.

The vineyards are managed sustainably, which refers to conservation, pest management, responsible water usage and efficient energy use. To maintain good biodiversity and soil health in the vineyard, chemical fungicides are not used. Instead, only organic products are applied. All canopy management is performed by hand, which reduces energy consumption as well as allowing for far more precision. A natural vegetation buffer zone is used to provide breeding grounds for beneficial insects to control unwanted pests.

The winery’s two vineyards are:

• Stag’s Hollow Estate Vineyard – Merlot and Pinot Noir blocks, now exceeding 30 years of age, are on the southwest facing slopes of the Hollow. 
• Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard – This land, a former hay field, was purchased in 2011, recognizing that Pinot Noir was likely to be an excellent variety for its terroir. In addition, two Spanish varieties were planted – Albariño and Tempranillo, and two Italian varieties – Dolcetto and Teroldego.

Happy New Year!

Sláinte mhaith