From the Bartier Bros. Winery website:

Don and Michael are brothers raised in the Okanagan Valley. As young men they took different career paths – Don an accountant, Michael a winemaker – but have remained close.

Michael has pined for his own winery to make his style of wine, but lacked the business and financial acumen for this undertaking. Don has long been a wine enthusiast and indeed about the best customer of each winery that Michael worked for.

Loyalty and partisan feelings aside, Don liked Michael’s style of winemaking. With his fascination in wine and advice from Michael, Don planted a small vineyard at his wife Sheila’s family property in Summerland. Michael watched this project closely and helped a lot.

Either Don passed Michael’s test, or Michael laid a trap that Don walked into.

In either event, the stage was set for the partnership of the Bartier Bros., two brothers, who between them had a vineyard, business expertise, viticulture experience, an accountant, a winemaker, and most importantly, an abiding respect for their Valley and the desire to represent it well.

Bartier Bros. Chardonnay 2022 (Okanagan Valley)
Bright, straw in colour; lightly toasty, apple nose; medium-bodied, dry, yellow apple flavour with lemony notes; elegant, beautifully balanced, well-integrated oak. (91)

Bartier Bros. Brut (Traditional method)
Golden straw colour; active mousse of tiny bubbles; apple and citrus zest bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, apple and lemon flavours; great length. (90)

Bartier Bros. Semillon 2022
Bright, straw colour; minerally, waxy, lanolin, citrus nose; medium-bodied, dry, fresh and lively, green plum flavour. Well-balanced. (91)

Bartier Bros. Grüner Veltliner 2022
Bright, pale straw in colour; minerally, grapefruit and green plum on the nose; medium-bodied, dry, fresh, green peach, grapefruit and lime flavours; well-made and lingering. (90)

Bartier Bros. Pinot Noir 2021
Ruby in colour; elegant, raspberry bouquet with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, beautifully balanced, raspberry flavour with well-integrated oak. (91)

Bartier Bros. Cabernet Franc 2021
Deep ruby-purple colour; cedary, plum nose; medium-bodied dry, savoury, plum flavour with a herbal tinge with black olive and saline notes on the finish. (89)

Bartier Bros. Grenache Syrah 2021
Deep purple colour; cedary, blackberry bouquet; full-bodied, dry, juicy, blackberry and mulberry flavours with lively acidity and mellow tannins. (90)

Bartier Bros. Rosé 2022
Pink with a coppery tint; minerally, watermelon and raspberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, redcurrant and cranberry flavours with a lychee note. (89)

Bartier Bros. Pinot Noir Rosé 2022
Coppery pink in colour; lightly floral, red berry nose; medium-bodied, just off dry with a perfumed note. Very elegant. (90)

Dobbin Estate tower with Wade Dobbin and Peter Gamble

Dobbin Estate is a new Niagara winery located on the Twenty Mile Bench. The 50-acre property has a magnificent tower that overlooks a small lake and the 17 acres of organic vineyards (planted to Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir). Peter Gamble and Ann Sperling are the consulting winemakers (and doing a magnificent job for owner Wade Dobbin).

Dobbin Estate’s 2019 line-up

Finger food to pair with Dobbin Estate’s wines – prepared by Chef Professor Allan Kerr of Niagara College

Dobbin Estate Chardonnay 2019 ($75, Twenty Mile Bench)
Golden straw colour; spicy, toasty, apple nose with fragrant apple blossom notes; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, beautifully balanced with apple and lemon flavours and well-integrated oak. Lovely mouthfeel. Reminiscent of a Chassagne-Montrachet. (95)

Dobbin Estate 2019 Cabernet Blend (50/50 Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon, $80)
Deep purple-ruby in colour; cedary, blackcurrant and plum nose with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, well-balanced plum and tobacco flavours with racy acidity and a deft use of oak. (90)

Dobbin Estate Dry Riesling 2019 ($60)
Light straw in colour with a green tint; floral nose of grapefruit with a suggestion of petrol; light to medium-bodied, dry but showing a honeyed note; sweet grapefruit flavour. Very Rheingau in style. (93)

Dobbin Estate Riesling 2019 ($65)
Light straw in colour; minerally, spicy, floral, grapefruit nose; light to medium-bodied, just off-dry, balanced – initial honeyed grapefruit flavour evolves into a crisp lime finish. Rich and smooth on the palate with a great mouthfeel. (92)

Dobbin Estate Chardonnay 2019 (estate fruit, bottled in magnums only, $260)
Bright golden colour; rich, expressive nose of vanilla, apple, lemon zest and oak spice; full-bodied, richly extracted apple flavour tinged with oak. Lovely mouthfeel, great length. Very Burgundian in style. A sensational Niagara Chardonnay. (96)

Dobbin Estate Riesling 2020
Deep gold colour; floral, spicy, lychee and grapefruit nose; medium-bodied, off dry; great tension between honeyed sweetness and lime and grapefruit flavours. Amazing length. (95)