Mission Hill Reserve Merlot, Okanagan Valley, Canada

• Vintage: 2019
  
• Origin: Okanagan Valley, Canada
  
• Taste guide: Mission Hill's stellar southern Okanagan estate delivers this fruit forward and voluptuous Merlot. Power and structure dance while lush, round flavours of plum, blackberry, cedar and fig flourish.

• Food Pairing: Excellent with red meat, game dishes, cheeses and chocolate desserts.
• 75cl - 14.5% abv - Screwcap closure

Okanagan was an undiscovered wine region back in 1981. There were stone fruit orchards here instead. At this time, grape growers had started taking risks and trying out vines even in a terrain that was unproven.

The valet was glacier formed and had a wide range of soil profiles as well as hot and long growing days. The microclimates were quite diverse as well. Because of this, the distinct subregion offered great chances for wine cultivation in the terroir. The potential that this region had is the inspiration behind the establishment of mission hill family estate. Mission hill is part of the popularity of Okanagan wine.

Mission hill has been recognised in Canada and won winery of the year awards five times. It has also received a wide range of awards internationally.

One thing about mission hill is that the vineyards are farmed organically. Instead of insecticides and pesticides, there are chickens, falcons, and bees. Instead of chemical fertilizers, mission hills make use of compost, earthworms, and cover crops. In this way, mission hill has been able to foster a natural ecosystem to further boost this grape growing region.