NEWS & EVENTS
Kelowna's First Organic Cidery Opens
Cidery operations have become a booming business in BC, particularly in the Okanagan Valley, and now another upscale, fully organic cidery has jumped into the market. Starting with an organic farm and a vision for a fruit stand and cidery, the newly opened Upside Cider is Kelowna’s first organic cidery as well as the city’s first cidery and fruit stand combo.
Photos contributed
The fruit stand is set to open in July and the cidery already offers a tasting room, rooftop patio and picnic tables, at their high traffic location on Highway 97, just past Kelowna International Airport toward Lake Country. The site is ideal for
tourists travelling through wanting a great location to sip cider and purchase organic fruits, veggies, snacks and gluten free products. With four new releases catering to the widespread requests of organic, vegan and gluten free you can enjoy; late dry,
late harvest, sweetheart cherry and cherry semi-sweet. Upside Cider also offers beverages from other producers like Truck 59, Harker’s Organics, MotherLove Kombucha, Boundary Brewing and Cranog Ale. www.upsidecider.com
Organic Phantom Creek Estates Winery Opens This Year Few wineries have seen as much anticipation as the new 45,000 square foot, fully organic Phantom Creek Estates facility on the Black Sage Bench in Oliver. Phantom Creek has announced the im-
pressive site will open by appointment in September, 2019, featuring wines produced using organic and biodynamic farming that began in 2017 under the guidance of Olivier Humbrecht MW.
Photo by Lionel Trudel
To eliminate the use of herbicides, hand hoeing is used for weed control. Similarly, the canopy is managed using the palissage technique: shoots are trained back down into the canopy by hand instead of being trimmed or hedged. This technique slows down shoot growth and focuses the vine’s energy on ripening fruit. As an added benefit, no tractor passes are required, reducing the winery’s carbon footprint. Humbrecht says biodynamics is not only a sustainable approach, but it also yields exceptional, energetic wines.
Becker Vineyard, part of the Phantom Creek Estate.
As part of this transition, Phantom Creek’s grape farming does not include any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers. By incorporating traditional practices, the aim is to promote a selfsustaining ecosystem within the vineyard. For example, the winery encourages indigenous flora to grow both in and around its vineyards, attracting beneficial insects. It also means more work by hand in the vineyard.
Innovation 2019
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