As has become our tradition during our trips to the Okanagan, we pack ourselves a little picnic lunch and for the last couple years, stop and eat it at Liber Farm & Winery. It’s the perfect spot, as by the time we get there we are always hungry, and there aren’t exactly a bevy of restaurant options in the area. The co-owner and winemaker, Mike Dowell, plies us with his wine while we enjoy our lunch on the patio. Mike is a good guy, and I am always hopefully that family run wineries like this are successful. Of course, no matter how much I might root for a winery, I’m going to be honest in my reviews, or there is little point of continuing with this blog. So we’ll just have to see how these wines turned out…….
This year, of course, everything has been turned upside down. As of now, Liber is one of the wineries that has NOT opened their tasting room to the public (a fact I was not aware of when we booked our visit, I didn’t realize he was making a special tasting just for us). Sometimes, it’s just nice to have a few connections in the BC wine biz.
On to the wine!
Lots of great wine, as expected, and that Rebil is going to be something else once it totally settles down. Oh, so the one negative I would say is that the etching of the word “REBIL” on the bottle is so light, it’s actually tough to read it (not in the bottle shot above, that is probably how it is supposed to look, but IRL, the grey is really subtle). That might be something to try to correct for future vintages.
But if THAT is the biggest complaint I can come up with, they are doing something right.
SAFETY SCORE: 10*
We were outside, Mike was masked most of the time and didn’t get too close to us, there was no reason for us to be nervous at all. I put an asterisk beside the score because, well, he’s currently not open for tastings, so I’m not sure it really matters. If they do open later this summer, I’d suggest booking a table outside and you will have a great experience.
Up next: We get to the Watermark and check in to our townhouse, and get ready for our first booked tasting in the morning: Checkmate Artisanal Winery!
Confessions of a Huge Wine-R 