Happy Wine Wednesday!
It takes a village…
Ok, you have likely heard that expression before, and in the case of Okanagan Crush Pad – it takes a strong team to grow the grapes, make the wines, market the wine, give it publicity, and sell it to you!
The wines at Okanagan Crush Pad are purchased by visiting the winery, contacting the order desk, buying online, or visiting a retailer or restaurant that carry the wines.
Now if you happen to be a retailer or restaurant, you likely buy from Okanagan Crush Pad’s sales agents. In the Okanagan, OCP is represented by BCWineshop, and in Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria and Alberta, Haywire and Bartier Scholefield are represented by Trialto.
Trialto has a team that stretches across the country, and recently representatives from each of their regions made a visit to the Okanagan. While in the Okanagan, they visited Okanagan Crush Pad. We wanted them to see what we were all about, but instead of giving their team a presentation about the vineyard and wines with a slide show and a sit down tasting – we had them gallop through the vineyard on a scavenger hunt.
They were divided into teams with names such as The Punch Down Gang, Forklift Jockeys, and Cellar Rats, and then sent to complete tasks that ranged from gathering eggs at the ‘Okanagan Chicken Pad’ to tasting and identifying concrete-fermented wine. Our friends at Local Lounge and Grille provided a delicious al fresco meal, and a fun (albeit competitive) time was had by all. Thanks to Trialto for all they do to spread the word and get our wine into wine lovers’ glasses! Same time next year?
The crush is on!
Like our neighbours, the crush pad is in the midst of bringing in the grapes and pressing off the delicious juice as I type. After the success of the first 2011 harvest, we realized that there was a demand for the services we offer as it relates to custom crush.
So, over the summer, Steve Lornie oversaw a renovation to the crush pad – a mezzanine level was added to the cellar to hold more tanks, a cover was put over the crush pad in case the “R word” shows up, and now OCP has the capability to produce 30,000 cases.
Rafter F, Bella, Harper’s Trail, Bartier Bros. (of course) and now Di Bello are back for the 2012 vintage, joining Haywire, Bartier Scholefield, the new wine campus wine Terry, as well as other custom crush wines, to be released in the future.
We are very proud to be able to help these passionate people bring their wines to market. And 2012 looks like a great vintage!
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