Dirty Laundry Vineyard is one of our favourite Okanagan wineries and a “Must-Go-To” winery when we have friends visit from out of town. This is one of the few Summerland wineries that offer food (pizza and smoked meat), beer and accommodation. Here is the link to the Red Grille and Bottoms Up Saloon menus.
Dirty Laundry Vineyard is known for the year-to-year consistency and quality of the wines produced by Mason Spink and the winemaking team.
Before we go to the tasting notes for the new vintage, here are Mason’s comments on the growing season and the harvest.
2021 Harvest
“It was a very challenging vintage.
The heat dome shrunk berry size and increased the skin to juice ratio for some varieties. This made for some very concentrated and well-structured wines.
In other cases, the heat dome slowed the ripening of varieties that shut down early with heat and water stress. This prolonged the hang time enhancing the phenolic ripeness.
Very little mildew pressure as there was no moisture in the air.
Again crop yields were down but the quality was excellent.”
The 2021 Wines
Dirty Laundry Vineyard Viognier ($21.99)
“Our Tight Cork Vineyard located in Summerland is the home of all the Viognier grapes for this 2021 vintage. A touch of skin contact early in fermentation brings out a delicious round-mouth feel. This wine was once only a staple in our flagship wine Secret Affair, and it now shines on its own!”
Mason Spink, Winemaker
13% Alcohol, pH 3.56 TA 6.3 g/L, RS 8.93 g/L.
A beautiful floral nose of orange blossom, honeydew melon and a hint of jasmine. Flavours of nectarine, red peach, ripe apricots and honeycomb. An off-dry medium-bodied wine with the classic Viognier oily texture and a refreshingly light touch of bitterness. 90 Points
Gold Medal winner at 2022 All Canadian Wine Championships.
Food Pairing: Pork chops with apple sauce, seared scallops and a roasted root vegetable salad would all complement this wine very well. When looking at cheese pairings, try a double cream brie or creamy goat cheese.
Dirty Laundry Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc ($20.99)
“100% Summerland Sauvignon Blanc picked late September. Fruit was from two vineyards, so we fermented them separately with different yeasts to give us some blending options later. Fruit was de-stemmed and crushed and soaked on skins for 2 hours under C02 in the press before gently pressing off skins into stainless tanks.
Lees stirring in the stainless tanks was performed once daily during ferment to build complexity and body. Fermentation temperatures kept low to preserve the delicate aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc. No malolactic fermentation took place – wine was blended before Christmas 2021 and then left to age in stainless for 6 months before bottling.”
Mason Spink
Alcohol 13%, pH 3.5, TA 5.9 gm/L, RS 5.21 gm/ L
A medium-bodied white with aromas of tropical fruit and citrus. The mouthfeel is crisp, fresh and fruity. Perfectly balanced acidity with flavours of pineapple, lemon, lime, pink grapefruit and passion fruit. 91 Points.
Gold Medal winner at 2022 All Canadian Wine Championships.
Paired perfectly with Orange Salmon, broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes or garlic tiger prawns.
Dirty Laundry Vineyard Pinot Gris ($20.99)
“100% Pinot Gris from several of our estate vineyards in Summerland. Our Pinot Gris gets very dark in colour during the ripening phase of our growing season, so to retain the crispness & have minimal colour, we press the juice off the skins right away & cold settle everything in tank for a few days before initiating fermentation. Usually showing notes of pear & grapefruit, we keep the fermentation temperatures relatively low to bring out interesting fruity esters & retain acidity. This is a well rounded representation of the most planted varietal in the Okanagan.”
Mason Spink
Alcohol 13%, pH 3.53, TA 6.75 gm/L, RS 3.55 gm/ L
Light aromas of ripe peach and pear with a hint of tropical fruit. Flavours of pineapple, pear, honeydew melon and a touch of grapefruit on the finish. A crisp lively Pinot Gris with a creamy texture and a little more acidity than previous vintages. 91 Points
Excellent as a standalone drink or served with seared or grilled fish and oven-roasted chicken.
Dirty Laundry Vineyard Hush Rosé ($20.99)
“The Hush Rosé is comprised of several varieties, mainly Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon. The juices are processed separately, and also at different times of our vintage season, to provide complexity and flexibility with the style. The Pinot Gris is destemmed and crushed, and allowed to soak on their skins overnight in the cool night temperatures to allow all those luscious pear and peach flavors to soak into the juice.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is also destemmed, crushed and pressed immediately. We have the capability on our crush pad to fill our press while simultaneously pressing off the juice, which gives a delicate pink color and extracts berry flavors like the classic strawberry profile of Hush.”
Mason Spink
Alcohol 12.5 %, pH 3.63 , TA 6.2 , RS 8.5
An easy-drinking Rosé with aromas of strawberry and spice. On the palate, strawberry, apricot, ripe red peach, watermelon, and balanced acidity on the finish. Perfect for a summer day on the patio. 90 Points
Bronze Medal winner at 2022 All Canadian Wine Championships.
To order these outstanding BC wines go to the Dirty Laundry Vineyard site.
Here are the links to the tasting notes for previous releases that we have tasted – 2021, 2020, 2018, 2017 and 2016.