July 10, 2015

This occasional newsletter from Garry Oaks Winery on Salt Spring Island is to inform you
of new releases and wine related events. You are on our distribution list because you
either sent us an email or, while visiting our winery, you asked to receive this
newsletter. If you do not wish to receive it, please reply with “Unsubscribe” and we will
take care of it. 



It’s been a tumultuous spring for us here at Garry Oaks. Among other things, we’ve been
trying to keep up with the vineyard which we figure is three weeks ahead of usual. We’re
keeping our fingers crossed that the extraordinarily warm spring won’t be balanced out by
a wet and miserable September, as happened in 2013, or the early onset of the rainy
season that happened in the second week of October last year. Notwithstanding, we brought
in a beautiful crop last year. 

Another matter that consumed a great deal of time and attention was the changes to the
province’s liquor regulations. We hope someone, somewhere, benefitted from all that Sturm
und Drang. All we have to show for an extraordinary number of hours spent trying to
comprehend and implement the changes is our winery prices stated without the 15% tax
included, as they are below. But enough about that. If you’re not on holidays, you’re
probably thinking about them, so I’ll get to the point. Here are our new releases (all
100% grown and made in our vineyard):

2013 PINOT NOIR + ZWEIGELT $21.50

Okay, so there I was, doing the final tests of the 2013 Pinot Noir and Zweigelt wines
preparatory to bottling when I thought, gee, I wonder what these would taste like
together. (You may recall that we did that for the 2011 vintage when poor weather
radically reduced our yields.) WELL, they meshed instantly and the result stunned us.
Nothing wrong with the individual wines, but it was a case of the whole being more than
the sum of the parts. What to do? What to do? At the last minute, we combined the two
wines (60% Pinot, 40% Zweigelt), chucked out the labels we had printed, and bottled it as
a blend formally named as stated above, but affectionately known as PINOT PLUS. This wine
is a real crowd pleaser with a smoky, black toffee nose, and spicy cherry, cassis, and
vanillan flavours. There is lots of dimension to this wine and we predict that it will
continue to develop in bottle and age very well. 

2014 PINOT GRIS $21.00

Our signature white, very similar in style to previous years, but fuller and richer,
reflecting the vintage. Mouth-filling with apple, melon and honey-spice flavours
bracketed by a fresh minerality. Class in a glass.

2014 GEWÜRZTRAMINER (A.K.A. PRISM) $19.50                                                                                                                                 

We had such a good crop of Gewürztraminer last year that the amount of Chardonnay blended
in was reduced to a very small percentage so we named it after the varietal. Made in a
dry style with tropical and floral notes and a lovely, round mouthfeel.

2014 BLANC DE NOIR $17.70

In crafting our Blanc de noir, we salute the rosés of the Tavel region in France, giving
it the deep colour and full flavor of these famous wines. This vintage is a blend of 60%
Pinot Noir and 40% Zweigelt with spicy strawberry, cherry and watermelon flavours. As
always, it is finished dry. 

We still have some stock remaining of our 2012 vintages of Pinot Noir and Zweigelt. Get
them while you can. This newsletter goes far and wide, but our retail outlets beyond Salt
Spring are largely limited to the Greater Vancouver region and Vancouver Island. 

In Vancouver, look for us at the Liberty Wine Stores around the city, as well as Marquis
Wine Cellars in downtown Vancouver, Firefly Wines on Cambie, Legacy in Olympic Village,
Bottle Jockey in Burnaby, 16th Street Liquor Store in West Vancouver, and Everything Wine
in South Surrey. Some of these stores may have the odd bottle of our older vintages. In
Victoria, you can find our wines at Vintage Spirits in the Rialto Hotel, and the Strath
Liquor Store in the Strathcona Hotel on Douglas. I was there recently and they both have
a handful of bottles of our wines that are no longer available elsewhere. Also look for
our wines at Metroliquor in Brentwood Bay. 

We have expanded our presence elsewhere on Vancouver Island. Our friends in the Cowichan
Valley and Up Island can now find our wines at the Vancouver Island LRS stores in Duncan
and Nanaimo; Greenrock and Northgate Liquor Stores, also in Nanaimo; Liquor Depot in
Parksville, Leeward LRS in Comox; Oyster River LRS and Merecroft LRS in Campbell River.
Going west, the Alberni and King Edward liquor stores in Port Alberni have our wines, as
does the Ucluelet LRS. 

If none of these stores is convenient to you, we also can ship wine (within Canada). Our
15% case discount usually more than covers the cost of shipping. Give us a call or send
us an email. 

This marks our 16th year growing wine (boggles the mind!). Marcel and I thank you for
your interest and support, and send our very best wishes for a safe and enjoyable summer. 

Elaine Kozak
Garry Oaks Winery
Salt Spring Island, BC

www.garryoakswinery.com