Located in the luscious green of Langley, only an hour drive from downtown Vancouver is Backyard Vineyards. Since 2009, Backyard Vineyards have been producing award-winning varietals, blended, and bubbly wines from 100% BC grapes grown in their own vineyard and complemented with fruit selected from the Fraser Valley and South Okanagan.
Backyard welcomes visitors to their spacious tasting room with a warm neighbourhood pub atmosphere. Outside there is a large gazebo to handle the overflow on crowded weekends.
WineMaker
James Cambridge joined Backyard Vineyards as Winemaker in 2013. James brings to Backyard a wealth of knowledge in both viticulture and winemaking, and an industry background in most of the major wine regions of Canada. He started his career in oenology 15 years ago. He studied at Niagara College, completing a fully integrated Oenology/Viticulture Program and graduated at the top of his class. James has since gone on to work for some of Canada’s most respected wineries including Henry of Pelham, Creekside Estate Winery, Summerhill Estate Winery, Le Vieux Pin, LaStella Estate Winery, and Fort Berens Estate Winery. Now at Backyard Vineyards, James is working with farmers in the Okanagan Valley and the estate grown fruit in the Fraser Valley. Combining the best of both valleys is a great new adventure for this experienced winemaker.
“Our Backyard is growing rapidly and we really feel it is time to have our winemaker on site, hands on year round. I believe that the addition of James, in-house and on the ground, will only increase the quality of great, affordable wines that are the backbone of Backyard Vineyards”.
The Wines
Now the important work of testing the Nosey Neighbour Red begins.
Here is the wine review for the 2014 vintage.
Backyard Vineyards Nosey Red 2014 – A perfect Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is extremely approachable, rich and well rounded. The nose shows hints of vanilla, pomegranate, eucalyptus and chocolate. The palate is bright and fruitful, displaying raspberries, strawberry jam and currants. Pairs well with ribs, burgers and tomato based Italian dishes.
Next step is bottling!
Please visit the Backyard Vineyards website for their full BC Wine portfolio.
Source: Background, photos, video and BC Wine tasting notes from the Backyard Vineyards website.