Visitors to British Columbia’s sprawling Okanagan Valley can find Scenic Road Cider Co. right off (you guessed it) Scenic Road in Kelowna. The eight-acre orchard — which came with four acres planted in dessert apples when co-owners Marina and Harv Johal bought the property — was already being leased to Taylor and Caroline Sebastien. Together, the couples combined the Sebastien’s orcharding experience with the Johal’s need to do something with the 1930s packinghouse on the farm. Cider seemed a natural fit, and the four converted the building and property into an orchard-based cidery.
One of three regular offers, the Razz is a blend of these Okanagan-grown apples, pressed and fermented with raspberries from the Fraser Valley in southwest British Columbia. Pure raspberry fruit and leaf explode as soon as the cap is unsheathed from the bottle and cherry-red liquid spills into a glass. A big, boisterous mousse keeps the bold fruit gushing on the palate, with a berries-and-cream flavor-texture combo finishing tart and off-dry, with some savory raspberry seed tones.
