On the Vine: Okanagan’s 2025 wines proving to be vibrant and full of flavour

The Okanagan’s 2025 vintage is likely to be remembered as something of a miracle. After all, it’s sandwiched between 2024, when winter damage reduced the crop to five per cent of normal, and 2026, when winemakers will be challenged to deal with the taint of wildfire smoke.

The 2025 whites, which have been in the market all summer, are vibrant, crisp and clean. The few reds, including the rosés released so far, are packed with flavour, promising that when the barrel-aged wines are released, their quality will rival those from the great vintage of 2022.

The wineries harvested 60 per cent of a normal volume of grapes in 2023 after a late, hard frost in 2022. That was succeeded by the devastation on 2024, when many wineries were forced to import grapes from American vineyards. Vines that survived the 2024 freeze rebounded during the ideal growing season of 2025, often producing yields 25 per cent higher than expected.

“When our vines suffered so much damage two years ago, it seemed a gargantuan task to replant, remediate and rebuild,” says Michael Bartier at Bartier Bros. Winery.

“It was intimidating. But we started and kept going, and now we have harvested a healthy crop — and these wines are so delicious.”

That’s echoed by Heleen Pannekoek, chief executive at Lillooet’s Fort Berens.

“Our estate vineyards were in great shape going into the 2025 season,” Pannekoek says. “Our vineyard remained very happy and healthy and we ended up with 90 per cent of a normal harvest of healthy grapes. … We believe this vintage is one of our best vintages, exceeding our outstanding 2022 vintage.”

The crushed fruit was allowed 12 hours on the skins to extract aromas and flavours. The winery says the fermentation was “carefully managed tenure preservation of aromatics and intensity.” The end result is a zesty white wine with aromas of lemon and pineapple and flavours of tropical fruits. The juicy texture on the palate leads to a long, clean and persistent finish.

93/100

Made with estate-grown fruit, this is one of the best examples ever of this Austrian varietal that I have tasted from a B.C. winery. The grapes are from one of the estate vineyards at Lillooet. Some 70 per cent of the crushed fruit was allowed four hours of skin contact, while the remainder was whole-clustered pressed. Fermentation was long and cool in stainless steel. The wine has a terrific aromatic beginning with aromas of lime and kiwi fruit and flavours of green apple. The finish is crisp.

93/100

The fruit is from the Fool’s Gold Vineyard at Oliver. The juice was fermented cool and primarily in concrete, with a small portion in stainless steel. This is an elegant Riesling, with aromas and flavours of citrus and green apple.

93/100

This is an impressive example of a rarely seen (from the Okanagan) Italian red varietal. Aromas of plum and red cherry jump from the glass leading to bold flavours of cherry, plum and pomegranate. The texture is rich and juicy.

92/100