The 2023 Vintage from Hester Creek

Coming soon to a wine cellar near you: The 2023 Vintage from Hester Creek Estate Winery.

Today, January 17, 2024, marks the commencement of bottling the 2023 vintage from Hester Creek and up first is our Pinot Gris.

This Okanagan favourite was crafted by our winemakers using Pinot Gris grapes grown in a variety of vineyards in the South Okanagan. But this post really isn’t about the grape so much as it’s about something I learned just this morning while getting footage for this YouTube Short (yes, we are now quite active on YouTube – subscribe to our channel to be on top of all the wine news and educational material – #wineducation – at Hester Creek).

Take a look at this image of the wine bottle:

Have you ever wondered what the small lettering is on the bottom of your wine bottle? For those who can’t read it in the picture, it says, ‘ABL6240170927.’ Read on for the breakdown:

 

🍇’AB’ = Artus Bottling (Artus Bottling Ltd.) – this is the company that comes in with a semi-trailer filled with high-tech equipment used for bottling our wine.

🍇 ‘L6’ = ‘Line 6′ – this is the line number for the trailer that is used.
🍇’24’ = Year 2024
🍇’017′ = The day of the year that we’re bottling (goes up to 365 in a regular year).
🍇’0927′ = The hour and minute that the wine is poured into each bottle.

Working backwards, this particular bottle was filled at 9:27am on the 17th day of 2024 on Line 6 by Artus Bottling.

The 2023 vintage will be released in our Wine Shop and online soon, but in the meantime, head to our website to shop the current vintages in stock.

Alternatively, you’re welcome to come to the Wine Shop for a complimentary tasting. We’re open daily from 10am to 4pm and on February 10th, we’ll be open until 5pm daily which gives us the opportunity to open up availabilty for our Signature Tastings a month earlier than we have ever done in the past!

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers,

Kimberley