I had seen the sign for Lotusland Winery around Abbotsford on Highway 1, and in the land of mushroom farms and rural sprawl, hadn’t given it much thought. But their label design has a much more urban flair, using west coast Vancouver B&W imagery that definitely made their product appealing to try. I sampled their ‘Blushing’, a varietal white blend tinted with pinot, and their Pinot Noir, a 2002 vintage. The blushing was a good summer hot day swiller, and the Pinot had decent complexity and nice tones of barnyard on the finish.
I was helped with this last description by the able coaching of Owner David Avery, who brought a great deal of knowledge and enthusiasm to the table. Lotusland wines are made from organically-grown grapes sourced from Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack. So it’s a legitimate 100-mile product. (In Dave’s opinion, global warming is making the Okanagan too hot to grow some grapes, and the Fraser Valley is well positioned to move up the wine food chain) When asked whether the 2002 vintage was actually available for sale, he replied in the affirmative, and that he wouldn’t sell a wine until it was ready to drink, adding that with chemical- and pesticide-free production processes, aging a wine to this stage before release should be the norm.
Green Briefs Marketing Thoughts: As Lotusland doesn’t sell through the BC Liquor Distribution system (our government stores, for you international readers) it might behoove them to partner with some Vancouver-based organic restaurateurs to promote name awareness. A ‘Vancouver 100-Mile Diet Approved’ certification of some sort would also be welcome, perhaps on their label, and they could contact some other suppliers and promoters of that system to cross-market with.
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