We are pleased to announce the release of the 2016 Jill Spoor White Terroir Blend, the latest limited-release wine from Okanagan Crush Pad’s Okanagan Wine Campus series, whose proceeds benefit the BCHF Sommelier Scholarship program.

Jill Spoor is the Wine Director at Botanist, in Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. Jill herself assembled the wine, with support from Okanagan Crush Pad’s Matt Dumayne and David Scholefield, and world-renowned terroir expert, Dr.Pedro Parra. This juicy blend of Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc is a pure expression of what the Okanagan does best.

The wine label was designed by Jill’s niece Taryn Brown, an artist living in Victoria, working with Jill’s vision to showcase imagery that captured the sensuality of women and wine.

At the recent launch of the wine, Jill noted the importance of supporting the Foundation, especially as one of the BCHF’s beneficiaries was a good friend and co-worker at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.

At Botanist, Jill has a focused vision to build a unique wine program featuring both Pacific Northwest and internationally-sourced wines that reflect a true sense of place. She has developed Botanist’s wine program to reflect exclusive terroir-driven wineries that support sustainable, organic and biodynamic farming and winemaking practices.

Okanagan Wine Campus, created in 2011 by Okanagan Crush Pad, is a mentorship program that provides selected Vancouver Sommeliers with the unique chance to make a small lot wine using the grape variety and style of wine they wish. The proceeds from the sale of the wine are given to the BC Hospitality Foundation wine scholarship fund to support students pursuing higher level wine education certification. To date, $30,000 has been donated from seven projects including Kurtis Kolt (2010), Owen Knowlton (2011), Terry Threlfall (2012), Samantha Rahn (2013), Mike Bernardo (2014), Jason Yamasaki (2015) and Jill Spoor (2016). 26 scholarships have so far been awarded through the support of this program.

The Jill Spoor wine is available at select private retail stores, at The Botanist Restaurant, Fairmont Pacific Rim, or directly from okanagancrushpad.com.