A View of the 2010 Vintage from head winemaker James Cambridge

The 2010 vintage will be regarded by many as an extremely tough vintage. Cool and wet spring weather delayed bud break and forced us to play catch up throughout the summer. Several areas in the valley had to deal with heavy powdery mildew and botrytis pressures, but all was not lost for this vintage. There always seems to be a few producers that rise to the challenge during harder times. The white wines for LaStella are spectacular. The flavours and aromas are intense and vibrant, finished off with that mouth cleansing acidity that is quintessential Okanagan Valley. All the 2010 reds at LaStella have been in barrel since Christmas. All are progressing as they should for being six months old. The red wine production will be considerably smaller in 2010 than previous years for several reasons. First for some growers the early frost in October of 2009 killed a portion of the buds necessary for producing fruit. Second, for us, and other consciences producers, limiting crop loads means being able to ripen fruit in difficult years. Finally not squeezing every last drop (with the press) allows us to maintain wines that are not full of bitter phenolics and that are typical of the varietal and the region. I am very happy with where the wines are at this stage of their evolution.

James Cambridge