I recently had the opportunity to experience the Grand Master Tasting at Checkmate Winery near Oliver in the Okanagan. It was a memorable experience with excellent wines.

I was lucky enough to be invited by my brother-in-law along with my wife and two friends. I say lucky because the usual cost of this experience is $60 per person - pricey even for the Okanagan! Happily, my brother-in-law is a member at Checkmate so the entire tasting was free for all of us. 

We were greeted by our tasting consultant, Océane, who first took us downstairs.

We started in a private tasting room (with very cool lights) and had a glass of the Knight's Challenge ($95). This was a lovely, round Chardonnay with vanilla and spice on the palate.

While we tasted, we were able to explore the show cellar.  Océane said that originally it was just for show, but now is actually being used to ferment and age wines. Inside there were regular barrels, foudres (big barrels), concrete eggs and a concrete sphere. The sphere, I found out, was for the Bear's Move Chardonnay ($83), one of my favourite Checkmate wines. 

The story goes, way back in 2016 (?) the winemaker decided to make a wild ferment, natural wine as an experiment. The wine was fermenting in a container outside in the vineyard when a young bear smelled the irresistible aroma of fermenting wine and tried to break into the container. Luckily, the bear was shooed off and the wine was saved - and tasted amazing! This is almost the opposite of the other wines that Checkmate makes - it is a bit wild tasting, fruity, a little gamey, and is definitely not a wine for the cellar.

After Océane told us this story I asked her what part of France she was from. (Okay, first I asked her if she was French French or Quebec French which garnered me a slight dirty look). It turns out she is from Nîmes, where our family did a house exchange for a month in the summer of 2005. C'est super!

Back upstairs, we were able to look at a painting by a famous Austrian painter and the production facility . But the best was yet to come.

Members of the wine club (and their guests) get to enjoy the rest of the tastings in the Member's Patio. The views were amazing and the patio itself was a lovely place to sit, sip, and talk about the wines.

Our next wine was the Capture Chardonnay. This was another tasty wine that had tropical flavours and was oh, so smooth. 

We then had three Merlots. The first was the Opening Gambit which was my favourite. I felt it was ready to drink and had the smooth, silky but still fruity characteristics of a great Merlot. When then tried two Black Rook Merlots, one from 2018 and one from 2014. The 2018 was fine but definitely needed some age. The 2014, on the other hand, was spectacular - and a great lesson in why it is important to age some wines.

Accompanying the tasting was a charcuterie plate. It was tasty but seemed rather small for the price. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the tasting and would happily go along again with a member. We already belong to four wine clubs and one Checkmate membership would probably be the same as two or even three of the others! 

Would I pay $60 to do this tasting? Maybe. The wines are some of the best examples of Merlot and Chardonnay in the Okanagan. Their Little Pawn Chardonnay ($115) received 100 points from Decanter magazine but was sadly sold out. Last time I went with my brother-in-law, however, we did get to try it. I like Chardonnay but am not a huge fan but Merlot is a big favourite of mine. 

The Advantage Experience for $45 a person is probably what I would go for. The same wines are offered but there is no charcuterie board and you don't get to tour the cellar. Still, I did enjoy the experience so if someone else is a member or you don't mind dropping an extra $15, then check out the Grand Master Tasting. Either way, these wines are pretty incredible and it is nice to be able to taste and compare them. 

Merci, Océane!

It is still wine season in the Okanagan and, although some wineries are a bit short. on wine, there are still many places to visit. If you are interested in a tour, why not contact me about a private tour in your own vehicle?