The Moon Curser name pays tribute to the gold smuggling history of Osoyoos.
The winery was founded by owners Chris and Beata Tolley. Needing an exciting name they hired Vancouver market Bernie Hadley-Beauregard (who created Blasted Church and Dirty Laundry) to re brand the winery. He came up with Moon Curser, a reference to gold rush-era smugglers cursing the full moon when it stopped them sneaking over the border at night to avoid duties on their gold.
They have a very nice location sitting on the hill overlooking the town of Osoyoos and the Osoyoos lake. Osoyoos is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is 3.6 km (2.2 mi) north of the United States border with Washington state and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve.
The tasting room and barrel hall has been designed in homage to classic Tuscan villas featuring luxe finishes like plaster walls, custom woodwork and large Italian floor tiles.
Christian Scagnetti - - Winemaker
The winery’s focus has always been on making premium wines from old-world grape varieties not previously planted in the Okanagan such as Tannat, Dolcetto and Touriga Nacional. These varieties have not historically been a part of the South Okanagan viticulture, but thrive in the distinctive terroir of the Osoyoos East Bench and continue to deliver unique, world class interpretations of these wines.
The range of varietals produced by Moon Curser is extensive and includes several varietals that are either exclusive to the winery or grown by few other producers. A Moon Curser wine list includes Arneis, Dolcetto, Tannat, Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Carménère, and Nebbiolo. “I love the diversity,” Chris says. “I love the affirmation that this valley is capable of doing a wide variety of wines. Maybe we do one of these varieties better than anywhere else in the world.” Indeed, I would put up a Moon Curser Tannat against wines from Uruguay where that variety thrives. The flagship red at Moon Curser, Dead of Night, is an inspired blend of equal parts Tannat and Syrah...." John Schreiner.
