There’s a beehive of activity at TIME Family of Wines aside from bringing in the 2021 Harvest. Winemaker Lynzee Schatz has assembled the new Chronos Brand for premium wines that showcase the terroir of the Okanagan. With a winery name like TIME, it was appropriate that this new brand be named after the Greek god of Time.
The 2020 Chronos Sauvignon Blanc ($27.99; 88 points) was awarded a Bronze Medal at this year’s National Wine Awards of Canada. It has a light straw colour and guava, white currant, and gooseberry aroma with a delicate vegetal scent. On the palate, there is more of a vegetal character with grass and green beans. But it also has plenty of tropical fruit such as guava and passion fruit.
The grapes were picked at their Silver Barrel vineyard at Okanagan Falls. What‘s interesting is the fruit was harvested in two sections at two different times. Each lot was fermented separately with different yeasts and then blended together.
The final result is a dry and lovely balanced Sauv Blanc with tropical flavours from the top portion of the vineyard and vegetal flavours from the bottom of the vineyard. If you find New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc too aggressive with its acidity and asparagus aromas, you’ll enjoy the Chronos.
It's a wonderful pairing partner with herb-driven sauces like dill or fennel as well as asparagus, chicken, or Asian cuisine.
Another new release is the Chronos 2020 Chardonnay ($29.99; 89 points) which was also a Bronze Medal winner. This is a wine for those who don’t enjoy oak in their chards. It was picked from the Mirror Lake vineyard in Oliver and was fermented in stainless steel. There is no oak used!
And it didn’t receive malolactic treatment so it has more refreshing malic acid and no creamy lactic acid. There is a fresh ethereal aroma of citrus, stone fruit and tree fruit. It has a light body and is full of ripe fresh fruit such as mango, peach, nectarine with an elegant dry lime finish. The Chronos Chard is made for shellfish such as oysters and scallops.
Our third recommendation is the Chronos 2020 Riesling ($27.99; 90 points), which was a recent Silver Medal winner. Produced from 100-per-cent Riesling grapes from The View vineyards in East Kelowna, it was fermented in two tanks at different temperatures with different yeast strains for complexity. One wine was fermented dry while the other had the fermentation halted, leaving some residual sugar. The two batches were finally blended together balancing the sweetness and acidity.
This new Riesling displays a typical pale colour but the aroma of citrus and tree fruit is generous. So are the flavours of ripe apple, lime, and peaches with mouth-watering acidity. On the mid-palate, there is some sweetness but the wine finishes on a dry note.
Like most young Rieslings, the Chronos is drinkable now but can age from between 3 and 10 years. Enjoy with Curried Prawns, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai cuisine; the winery recommends halibut (which is in season now) with orange miso sauce. All Chronos wines are available at Save-on Foods’ VQA stores, including Ironwood in Richmond.
In addition to the debut of a new brand, there are exciting changes at the winery in Penticton. Orolo, previously known as TIME Kitchen, is a new restaurant space. Plus, there are new intimate meeting rooms where you can take your food and wine game to the next level. This curated tasting between their Estate Sommelier and Executive Chef AK Campbell will open your eyes and taste buds to the joys of a perfect wine/food pairing.
There’s also time to get Cheesy when they pair five local cheeses with five wine counterparts. And in the New Year, there will be a new rooftop patio that is a first on the Okanagan wine route.
The TIME team is excited to announce a satellite experience centre at the brand-new District Wine Village in Oliver. This will allow TIME Family fans an opportunity to enjoy Chronos and the other brands, Evolve Cellars and the McWatters Collection right in the heart of wine country in the South Okanagan.
This Saturday, November 27th there is Festive Food and Cocktails at TIME in the District Wine Village from 1 to 6 p.m. The Winter Market happens this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 27 and 28 and next weekend, Dec. 4 and 5 in the afternoon. Local crafts, baking, and great gift ideas are yours to enjoy. For more information visit the TIME Family of Wines website.
