In 2009, seven acres of vines on the Shuswap Riverbank were planted with six grape varieties and in 2014 Waterside Winery and Tasting Room were opened.
Kevin Verschoor and Jennifer Marcotte purchased the Waterside Vineyard & Winery in April 2018 and have brought in three new varietals and focused on vineyard improvements to increase the quality of the vines and wines.
Current Estate grown varietals from the Enderby vineyards are Ortega, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Siegerrebe, Pinot Noir, Marechal Foch and Zweigelt.
The Winemaker
Background
For more than 15 years, Kevin Verschoor spent time creating small-batch wines for friends and family, experimenting with different grapes, flavours and wine personalities.
His creations raised eyebrows, pleased palates and brought smiles to the people who drank his wine.
Waterside Winery
Using years of learning and experience, Kevin took his passion for wine and eagerness for a new challenge to a larger scale and found himself drawn to the beauty of the Okanagan and Waterside Winery. Now he creates wines at Waterside Vineyard & Winery, learning from his grapes in the vineyard on the land. Every day, Kevin immerses himself in his land, his grapes and how they are grown and cared for. There is great care taken in every aspect from land cultivation, growing and pruning to the gentle, hand-picked harvest every year at Waterside.
It is the same gentle care and experience that goes into every single bottle of wine. As the winemaker at this boutique winery, Kevin takes great pride in sharing the stories of such hard work going into the wines, from land to shelf.
“We do every single thing by hand here at Waterside. We stir, we test, we taste. and spend time with our wine and pay attention to each varietal’s needs and personalities. Every single bottle is handled, filled, corked, capped and labelled by hand. We put not only a lot of hard work into our wine, but a piece of ourselves in everything we do, and people feel that. They feel part of something great when they drink our wines. It becomes more than just a bottle from a big factory. You’re truly getting homegrown wine here, and we are very proud of that.”
Among all of the hard work that takes place, producing cool-climate wines, taking a walk around the vineyard at Waterside, listening to the river running nearby, listening to the breeze through the mountains and down into the valley, one can feel the peace that has consumed the whole place. The sun shines, the rains quench. There is a sense of ‘farm, sweet farm’ that fills Kevin and his family. This is our home, this is what we do, and we love it every single day.”
“Learning with grape farming and winemaking never stops. There is always something new to learn, stories to be heard, experience to absorb, and people eager to drink up our accomplishments. It’s humbling and incredibly rewarding to have wines people love, not just wines that win medals.”
Harvest 2019
The BC Harvest 2019 was a huge improvement over 2018, with minimal cloud cover, plentiful bright sunshine days, and extra care and attention to the vines. The vineyard is located on the Shuswap Riverbed plateau allowing for minimal need for above-ground irrigation. We had a better yield with higher Brix, better flavours and healthier grape crops.
This year we experimented with running chicken tractors in between the vines, increasing soil fertility and with no need for pesticides. We had well-trained vineyard staff pruning and keeping a close eye on crops, keeping good airflow through the vineyard preventing powdery mildew and allowing for ease of schedule in organic spray every 14-21 days to combat any lingering mildew.
Crush consisted of close monitoring of the grapes, balancing Brix levels before the wasps and bear invasion. With upgrades to the crushing system and a new press, we had a more efficient and clean crush. Due to the immense sunshine this year, the gentle North Okanagan’s climate allowed us an earlier ripening harvest by about 10 days, leaving us unscathed from frost.
The Marechal Foch did extremely well this year, with triple the yields as well as intense flavour, it should be a stand out vintage.
White Wines
Waterside Ortega 2018 ($15.65)
A floral bouquet from the concentrated aromatics, citrus notes plus a hint of baking spice. Flavours of Anjou pear, pineapple, Meyer lemon, stonefruit and honey. A soft fruity wine.
Waterside Siegerrebe 2018 ($15.65)
A lovely off-dry white with an aromatic bouquet and scent of honeysuckle & orange blossom. Flavours of lychee, pink grapefruit and mandarin orange. A soft drinking fruity wine.
This was my favourite wine from this tasting. If you love Siegerrebe you can also check out Nagging Doubt’s 2018 version.
Waterside Gewurztraminer 2017 ($15.65)
Straw yellow colour. Passionfruit, lychee, honeydew melon and light floral notes. Pink grapefruit on the finish.
Brought back memories of Passionfruit Pavlova Cake from my visits downunder. Paired really well with Roast Port Tenderloin and Tuscan Vegetables. A fantastic value at $15 and change.
Waterside Sex in a Bottle White ($17.39)
For Sex in a Bottle White, the Siegerrebe grapes were left on the vines after the usual harvest date, processed in a cooler climate, and left on the skins. Bringing out sweeter and fruitier characteristics, along with a light blush.
An off-dry white with flavours of citrus fruit, mango and berries.
Rosé Wine
Waterside Ruby Rosé 2018 ($15.65)
This Rosé is a blend of six grapes. A refreshingly dry Rosé with aromas of strawberry and watermelon and flavours of raspberry, rhubarb and cranberry. This a vibrant Rosé that can be enjoyed year-round.
Red Wines
Waterside Castel 2018 ($17.39)
Castel is a French American hybrid (specifically a V. riparia X Gamay cross), which was bred to take severe winters, ripen early with high Brix and produce big crops <1>.
This is a bold full-body red. Aromas of cherries and liquorice and flavours of Black Cherry with a smooth velvety finish.
Waterside Marechal Foch 2014 ($17.39)
Opens like a black forest cake! Black cherry, plum and chocolate with earthy tones and a smooth finish.
The wine won a bronze medal at the 2019 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards.
Waterside Sex in a Bottle Red ($17.39)
The perfect red blend for mulled wine this ski season. Already has the cinnamon and vanilla notes. Black fruit flavours with notes of caramel and dark chocolate. A semi-sweet red blend that works well with food.
For the complete portfolio of Waterside Wines please visit the winery website.
Reference: 1. Wines of Canada.