Unless you live near the border, you probably don’t have much access to Canadian wine, but this bottle made me realize what a shame that is. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, I felt a very real neighborly proximity to Canada growing up. We used to say on a clear day that you could see Toronto across the lake. I don’t think that is true, but we certainly used some Canadian lingo, thinking it was great fun to call each other hosers when we were little kids. As an adult, I was aware of a the Niagara wine region, but to be honest, until I studied wine, I couldn’t have told you if that was in New York, or Canada. Maybe both, like the Falls?

My daughter and son in law brought this bottle of Canadian wine to Thanksgiving this past year. They purchased the wine while exploring British Columbia before they embarked on an Alaskan cruise for their anniversary. I was so touched that they brought this wine to share and was so excited to try it. The only other Canadian wine I have had was an ice wine from the Niagara region.

Canadian wine regions carry a quality designation called VQA (Vintner’s Quality Alliance) that connect the wine to place, and is an indication of a certain level of quality. Comparable to France’s AOC, or the United States’ AVA, etc. Ontario (Niagara) and British Columbia (Okanagan Valley) produce the vast majority of the country’s wine. Quebec and Nova Scotia make wine but in smaller capacities.

British Columbia, where this wine is from, is at the upper limits of the global wine growing regions that generally fall between the 30° – 50° latitudes. I was very curious about the climate but it turns out that while the Okanagan Valley certain has cold winters by most standards, it is milder than most Canadian regions. The average winter temperatures falling between 0° and -7° C (32° and 20°F). Summers are warm with daily temps averaging between 27° and 12°C (80° – 55° F). The region is semi-arid, with only around 11″ of rainfall annually.

Why has it has taken me until now to write about this bottle of wine that I was so excited about? I guess with the holidays and then my other daughter’s wedding in February, it just fell between the cracks. Thanks to Google’s thrice daily email and text reminders that my storage was about to run out and I would no longer receive emails when this occurs, I found myself trying to clean up my photos, which is what is consuming 98% of my storage. I finally realized it is only $20 a year to pay for additional storage. But, I digress.

Coming across these pictures on my phone this week, with the implementation of tariffs, made it a must share. To be honest, unless you live in Washington state or upstate New York, I don’t think most Americans ever had much access to Canadian wine, but it will certainly be non existent now. I came across this notification on the British Columbia Liquor Board’s website while I was researching this wine and the region. I can’t describe exactly how this made me feel, but it wasn’t a good feeling that’s for sure.

Calliope Wines is a second label for the Wyse family who started Burrowing Owl Winery in 1993. Jim Wyse had no intention of purchasing a vineyard when the opportunity presented itself. Fast forward to today and the Burrowing Owl Winery is an icon of the Okanagan Valley, particularly of the Black Sage bench wine region, where the original vineyards are located. The winery is very eco-conscious and is home to an array of wildlife, including the namesake burrowing owl. You can wine, dine, and stay on premise.

The Calliope brand is named after the Calliope hummingbird – Canada’s and the United States’ smallest bird. The hummingbird was named after the Greek muse of elegance and poetry, and means “beautiful voice” in Greek. In addition to their love of birds and the ecosystem, the Wyse’s have a love of music – what a perfect choice for this endeavor.

My daughters and I feel very strongly that my Mom, who passed away in 2018, visits by way of hummingbird. The daughter that bought this wine was a wildlife major in college, with a serious focus on birds. Not to mention, I have written several times about my love of birds on wine labels and that I readily admit to choosing wines because of the bird on the label. I confess all of this because I feel like I was predestined to love this wine. An acknowledgement of the multi-sensory experience and why blind tasting is so important for objectivity.

The Calliope line includes a red and white wine called Figure 8, after the hummingbird’s wing pattern. The white wine is an intriguing blend of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc. This red one is Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah. In addition there is a full line of individual white varietals, and a rose.

Calliope Wines|Figure 8 Red|2020|British Columbia VQA|13.5% ABV|$**

I didn’t include a price for this wine in the heading because it is not widely available outside of Canada. I found some online pricing between $20 and $28 and not sure if those are American or Canadian dollars, or perhaps both. Regardless current trade wars would like double the price, even if you could find it.

The actual blend of this wine is 75% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, and 2% Syrah. The grapes came from Calliope’s estate vineyards as well as growers throughout the Okanagan Valley.

You can’t drink a bottle of wine from the 2020 vintage and not wonder what was happening in that region can you? It turns out that it was a rather average growing season. There were lower yields due to dicey Spring weather, but near perfect weather in the Fall resulted in an outstanding fruit and made for a great season overall. At least nature was winning in 2020.

Harvest occurred between late September and early November. The individual wines were transferred to barrel for aging and bottled in January and February of 2023. The oak in this process was a mix of French, American, and Hungarian, but predominantly French and neutral.

We all thought this wine was really good, but no one took notes and I can’t give you specifics at this late date. The winemaker’s notes run the entire gamut of flavors on both aroma and palate – from fruit to leather and burlap (that is a new one on me), to chocolate, coffee and herb!

The Calliope label was started to have a little more fun and creativity in winemaking. It is focused on early consumption and drinkability. The entire Calliope line is under screw cap, so a great on the go option that doesn’t require a corkscrew.

After experiencing this bottle, I think Calliope wines are the perfect choice when life is more about the moment than the wine, but you still want a quality, well made beverage in your glass. The bottom line is that this was a great wine that I would purchase it again. If only I were able to.

The Calliope line is available at the Burrowing Owl Winery, and British Columbia and the Okanagan Valley are definitely places I would like to visit. Maybe my next bottle will be at the source?

I wanted to share some things I stumbled upon that I found really interesting in the Canadian wine world. First was website dedicated to responsible alcohol consumption, called The Right Amount. Put your big girl/boy pants on and update your Uber app before you start fiddling with the website’s calculator for standard drinks.

Second, at the Wines of Canada website, I learned that there is an industry hashtag: #rootedincool Bravo to this! The Canadians really are cool aren’t they?

Equally fascinating was the British Columbia Liquor Board’s wine sweetness scale. It goes from 00 to 7, and I am not fully understanding the 00 category.

Have you had a Canadian wine? Do you live somewhere that finding them is easy and/or common? Please tell me about it.

Cheers you Hosers!