1350 Naramata Road
Penticton, BC
Hillside has grown to become one of the Naramata Bench’s largest wineries since its opening in 1990 as a farmgate winery with just 25 cases. That included the first cabernet sauvignon on the Bench.
Hillside’s reputation has been based on its whites (muscat ottonel, gewürztraminer, pinot gris), but the winery has been making a splash with reds since releasing its first Mosaic, a Bordeaux-blend, from the 2002 vintage. This limited production reserve red is available only to people who join the Hillside Wine Club. The winery made its first syrah in 2005 from four-year-old vines on its recently developed Hidden Valley Vineyard on the Naramata Bench. The winery’s first pinotage was made in 2007 with purchased grapes.
The winery’s block of old gamay produces a remarkably concentrated, peppery red. In 2009, the winery installed a new $250,000 Italian-made bottling line with flexibility to package white wines under screwcap and reds under cork.