The disappearing VQA symbol

BC VQA (top) has replaced the familiar VQA symbol (bottom)

Since October 2011, wineries in British Columbia have been prohibited from using the VQA medallion that has been on bottles and labels since 1990. Instead, five letters - BC VQA - appear in small type on the labels.

It is a little surprising that the Vintners Quality Alliance designation has become inconspicuous considering its contribution to the success of BC wines. Sales of VQA wines have risen from 600,000 litres in 1990 when the VQA program began to 7.8 million litres in 2010.

The medallion directed consumers to those wines made from grapes grown in British Columbia, distinguishing them from the "cellared in Canada" wines made with imported bulk wines. As it is, the CIC wines grab $250 million in sales annually in BC, against $193 million in sales of VQA wines. It is debatable that BC wines would have anywhere near that market share without the VQA program.

VQA was imported from Ontario in 1990, where it had been launched a few years earlier. Consumers interpreted the VQA symbol as an indicator of quality. In fact, the panels that taste wines submitted for VQA do not taste for quality. Their role is to screen out faulty wines.

The current VQA assessment form lists only faults. Wines with technical faults are rejected; wines without faults are VQA-eligible. A mediocre wine can pass if it has no technical faults. Fortunately, most VQA wines are not mediocre.

There is an explanation why consumers understood VQA to be a seal of quality. Before 1990, most BC wines were made with such inferior grapes that wineries had to add water and/or sugar at times to make palatable wines. Most of the inferior hybrid varieties were pulled out in 1988; and the rules for VQA winemaking forbade adding water or an unreasonable amount of sugar.

The grape varieties remaining after the 1988 pull-out were almost entirely vinifera. At first, only wines made with vinifera were even eligible for VQA. As it happens, these were also better wine grapes. For example, the European Riesling grapes always made better wine that the Okanagan Riesling hybrid. The VQA wines tasted better because they were made with better grapes. Hence, consumers understood VQA to mean better quality.

In the two decades since VQA was introduced, many acres of premium vinifera have been planted. At the same time, vineyard and winemaking practices have become vastly more professional, resulting in dramatic improvements in wine quality. That has reinforced the perception that VQA means quality.

BC VQA wines can only be made from grapes grown in BC. The wide acceptance of VQA wines has allowed vineyards to flourish. Without VQA, I suspect wines from grapes grown here would have been crushed by the the volume of low-priced CIC wines because consumers would have had no simple way to identify local wines and support them.

There are also many excellent wines from BC grapes that do have have the BC VQA symbol, since the program still is voluntary. But even the wineries not applying for VQA benefit from it because VQA created such broad acceptance of homegrown wines.

So why has the symbol been banished? That decal belongs to VQA Canada (effectively, VQA Ontario). BC and Ontario have never been able to agree to the same national wine standards. Arguably, the BC wine standards are just as effective but because they are not the same, BC no longer is allowed to use VQA medallion.

For the time being, BC wineries replaced it with the letters, BC VQA.

They could use the wine glass symbol of the BC Wine Authority. No one seems to be bothering, perhaps because the authority, as it said in an industry bulletin last fall, is developing "a more enduring certification mark" for BC VQA wines. The authority expects "it will take some time before that mark is developed, reviewed and ready for industry usage."

It remains to be seen whether this switching of a trademark will set back sales of grown-in-BC wines.

Winter wine festival at Sun Peaks

Photo: Okanagan Wine Festivals Society chair Eric von Krosigk

When the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society launched a winter wine festival 14 years ago, the focus was on Icewine.

As iconic a wine style as that is, it was somewhat limiting. The winter festival quickly opened up to embrace all styles of Okanagan and Similkameen wines. The 27 wineries at Sun Peaks Resort this year were pouring everything – sparkling wine, table wine, fruit wine, port-style wine and, of course, Icewine.

The resort, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, has always been the venue for the winter wine festival. The Wine Festivals Society has resisted pressure to move it to Kelowna or Penticton. There, the wineries would be preaching to converted locals since the Okanagan gets few tourists in winter.

At Sun Peaks, however, the wineries are much more likely to be exposing their products to consumers relatively new to British Columbia wines. Sun Peaks draws both local and international visitors, many of whom take time off from skiing to attend winemaker dinners and other festival events. This interaction extends the brand of British Columbia wines.

The resort is about 45 minutes north of Kamloops (there is a shuttle from the airport). The compact and friendly village nestles at the base of good ski runs. There is a good chance that guests get to ski with long-time resident and Olympic champion Nancy Greene Raine. These days, however, she splits her time between the resort and the Senate in Ottawa.

Sun Peaks has none of the pretentions of Whistler. The restaurants, for example, manage to satisfy without over-the-top wine cellars (and prices).

Of course, Whistler’s Cornucopia each November is a far bigger food and wine festival because it draws on a bigger market and includes imported wines as well as British Columbia wineries. However, it is not a hardship to have to taste only British Columbia wines.

Whereas the big Cornucopia tastings are all in a large conference centre, the major tasting at Sun Peaks encompasses the village. This year, the wineries were spread among 14 locations. Tasters, wine glasses in hand, stomped through the snow from one hotel lobby or shop to another. The experience is both intimate and merry, as groups of tasters exchange recommendations as they pass each other.

To sum it up, this is wine festival manages to be serious at the same time as it is casual and fun. It works for me.

Here are notes on some of the wines I thought noteworthy. I should add that get to every winery’s table, so there certainly are noteworthy wines I missed.


Black Hills Syrah 2009 ($35 for a production of 1,200 cases). This is the first Syrah from Black Hills and seems an obvious companion to Nota Bene. Dark in colour, the wine begins with aromas of pepper, black cherries and game meat. On the palate, the flavours are generous, with flavours of plums and figs and the spiciness of good deli meats. The wine is full, with the textural elegance of ripe tannins. 90.

Cassini Syrah Collector’s Series 2009 ($34). A robust Syrah in the Cassini style, the wine has meaty and dark fruit aromas with flavours of black cherry, plum, fig, liquorice and pepper and an almost earthy finish. 90.

Cassini Viognier 2010 ($19 for a production of 425 cases). With an alcohol of 12.6%, this is probably the lightest wine from Cassini in the vintage. It has pleasant fruit aromas and flavours of apricot, pineapple, pear and lemon. The wine is crisp and tangy with skein of minerality. 88.

Church & State Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($26). Just being released, this wine created something of a buzz among the tasting crowds. Made from grapes grown in Vanessa Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley, this is a ripe and elegant wine, tasting of currants, plums and chocolate; a very satisfying drink. 91.

Church & State Quintessential 2008 ($50). This is a blend of five Bordeaux varietals (the percentage of each is not available). Each varietal was aged separately in French oak for 12 months and then, after the wine was blended, it spent another 12 months in French oak. The wine soaked up the wood very well; it does not intrude on the vibrant aromas and flavours of red fruit (raspberry, cherry), with hints of mocha and red liquorice. The fine-grained tannins give the wine a supple, accessible texture. 90.

Church & State Hollenbach Pinot Noir 2009 ($26). Just being released this is a delicious, concentrated wine with lots of black cherry flavours. 88-90.

Ex Nihilo Pinot Noir 2010 ($N.A.). The winery’s first Pinot Noir is a promising start – a wine with concentrated fruit and aromas and flavours of cherries. Still firm, the wine needs another year in the bottle. 88-90.

Fort Berens Pinot Gris 2010 ($18). This wine is made in the broad, rich style of Alsace with flavours of apricot, pear and white peach. There is a honeyed hint of botrytis on the nose and on the finish. The alcohol, at 13.8%, is a little on the bold side for a white wine. I scored this 86 in the spring; time in bottle has raised it to 89.

Fort Berens Meritage 2009 ($28). This is a blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It has the soft, ripe texture of Merlot, with attractive aromas of blueberry and blackberry. The berry flavours echo these aromas. The rich, ripe tannins give the wine an early accessibility and appeal. 90.

Hester Creek Cabernet Franc Reserve 2009 ($26.99). This swaggering red with a perfume that vaulted from the glass caused a significant stir when it was served at a dinner. The fruit flavours just burst with blackberry, raspberry and cherry notes. 92.

Perseus Tempus 2009 ($28.90). This is a chewy Syrah with flavours of plum and black cherry and earthy minerals. 90.

Sonoran Jazz Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($27.90). The smooth texture of this wine reflects the fact that it spent 28 months on oak, 90% of it new. The wine has appealing currant and vanilla flavours. 89.

St. Hubertus Dry Riesling 2009 ($15.75). After squandering its mature Riesling vines for years in an off-dry style, St. Hubertus has started making what Riesling lovers would call a serious Riesling. This has the classic touch of petrol on the nose with citrus flavours. The mineral elements give the wine an excellent structure. The finish is crisp and dry. 90-91.

Stag’s Hollow GVM 2010 ($27.99). This is a novel white blend of Grenache (66%), Viognier (23%) and Marsanne (11%). Grenache is a red variety but in 2010 (and again in 2011), winemaker Dwight Sick judged the grapes not ripe enough for one of his big red blends. So he pressed it as a white grape, producing a complex, barrel-fermented wine with flavours of apples and melons. The rich texture will blossom with a few years of bottle age. 90.

Stag’s Hollow Cabernet Franc 2009 ($27.99). This is the winery’s first varietal Cabernet Franc. Youthfully firm, the wine begins with brambleberry aromas and tastes of blackberries, tobacco and chocolate. 91.

Stag’s Hollow Hart 2010 ($25 for 500 ml bottle; 78 cases released). This is a port-style wine made with very ripe Merlot and fortified to 20%. It has a delicious core of sweet fruit. The wine should be cellared for a few years. 88.

Summerhill Organic Riesling 2009 ($19.95). Winemaker Eric von Krosigk, who is also chair of the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, has made a 10.2% Riesling that takes him back to the Mosel, where he learned winemaking. The wine is tangy, with flavours of lime; it also has aromas and flavours of petrol. 90

Summerhill Organic Syrah 2008 ($39.95 for 130 cases). With an alcohol of only 12.5%, this is an elegant red with notes of pepper, chocolate, black cherry and figs on the palate and with an earthy finish. 88.

Tinhorn Creek Kerner Icewine 2010 ($29.99 for 200 ml). By packaging this wine in a small bottle, Tinhorn makes it affordable for those who would like to taste Icewine but balk at the price. This is a wine with exquisite balance of acidity and sweetness, with clean and fresh flavours of pineapple and ripe apricot. 90.

 

Photo: Serendipity Winery's Judy Kingston





Changing careers to enter the wine business has a romantic appeal to many – but it is not a walk in the park. Just ask Judy Kingston, who operates Serendipity Winery at Naramata.

For 25 years, she practised computer law with a big Toronto law firm. But in 2006 she left that career for personal reasons and bought a Naramata orchard which has since been replanted with 7 ½ acres of vines. A winery was built on the property in 2010, opening its tasting room in the spring of 2011.

Along the way, she has had to acquire a whole new set of skills, from planting and growing grapes to cellar management. Just before the 2011 vintage, Jason Parkes, her winemaker, suffered an injury which kept him out of the cellar during crush. She was largely on her own in managing the 2011 harvest.

No doubt that was daunting; but it is not the first daunting challenge she has mastered. The first may have been when she started hand-selling Serendipity’s first wines in 2011.

“I have never sold anything in my life because I’ve been a lawyer,” she told me last spring, after her first visit with samples to sommeliers in Vancouver. “I never had to.”

Her attachment to the wines is understandably possessive. “Because I planted the grapes, I have seen them all the way through and then helped put them in the bottle,” she explained. “For me, it was like I was in the bottle. It was a real funny thing for me. It was the first time I had ever done it, offering myself in a bottle to somebody.”

After running a tasting room last summer, she undoubtedly learned the art of letting go what she once referred to as her children because Serendipity has now released several new wines.

These include four ultra-premium reds made in such limited production that you need to belong to Serendipity’s wine club for a first crack at them. The reds are aggressively priced but, in my judgment, the quality is such that they don’t disappoint. These are all bold, ripe wines with alcohol levels between 14.5% and 15% but with so much substance that one is not aware of the alcohol.

Here are notes on the current releases.

Serendipity White Lie 2010 ($18). The varieties in this white blend are not disclosed on the label but my guess is that the wine is anchored with Viognier. Crisp and tangy, the wine begins with aromas of pear and pineapple. On the palate, there are flavours of green apples, green melon and apricot. The spine of minerality in the backbone is what makes me think there is Viognier here. The finish is lingering. 90.

Serendipity Private Reserve Estate Cabernet Franc 2009 ($50). Dark in colour, this wine begins with aromas of figs, plums and vanilla. It delivers layers of flavour – black currants, black cherry, coffee, chocolate and liquorice. The structure is still firm, suggesting the wine has even more to give with several years of cellaring. Hence, a point score suggesting the wine’s upside. 90-92.

Serendipity Private Reserve Estate Merlot 2009 ($50). This wine begins with aromas of blueberry and boysenberry and goes on to deliver bold, ripe flavours of black currants, blackberries and figs. The wine combines both power and elegance; it also deserves a few more years of cellaring. 90-92.

Serendipity Private Reserve Estate Syrah 2009 ($50). Only 40 cases of this Syrah were produced. Once again, this confirms the house style of Serendipity reds – big and bold. This wine has aromas and flavours of plum, black cherry, cola and vanilla, with a hint of chocolate and spice on the finish. The tannins are long and ripe, giving the wine a muscular texture. 90.

Serendipity Private Reserve Serenata 2009 ($50). This is the winery’s flagship Bordeaux blend, a complex wine with aromas of vanilla, plum and fig and with flavours of plum, figs and chocolate. The firm but ripe tannins frame a lovely core of sweet fruit flavours. The structure of this wine suggests it is a keeper with plenty of upside. 91-93.

Admiral Shorts and his fleet of ports

 

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery’s latest releases include the winery’s first port-style wine, labelled Admiral Shorts Okanagan Tawny.

Given the limited size of the market for ports, I asked the winery for its market rationale. I asked a similar question of one or two other domestic port producers. The replies confirmed that these are not always wines that the marketing department asked for. These are wines that the winemakers wanted to make.

When I put the question to a marketing executive at Mark Anthony Brands (Prospect is one of the brands), he in turn put the question to Wade Stark, the winemaker.

I was told: “He says that he’s been quietly and patiently observing the development of these almost 20 year old barrels of wine that he was lucky enough to have access to. In the last year or so they were tasting surprisingly well and he decided they were ready for bottling and sharing with the public.”

For those of us who appreciate fortified wines, we are lucky to have winemakers like Wade around. This is a delicious 90-point wine with aromas of spice and vanilla and intense cassis flavours. I enjoyed it with cheese. It would pair well with fruit cake, chocolate or walnuts, all the usual pairings with port. The price, $17.99 for a half bottle, astonishes for wine that has been barrel-aged this long.

It is available in B.C. liquor stores. Well, actually, there are 94 bottles divided among three stores – one in Kamloops, one in Burnaby and one in Kamloops. Of course, your local liquor store will bring it in for you if you ask. It will also be in the Mark Anthony stores.

That spotty distribution by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch tells something about the market for port through the LDB stores.

In the 12 months to September 30, 2011, sales of imported port in the LDB totalled $3.9 million (down two percent from a year earlier). Sales of domestic VQA port in that 12 month period were only $359,000, but that was 25% higher from a year earlier.

Sales of non-VQA domestic port in that 12 months totalled $851,000, down about 1%. The wines in this group include primarily Brights 74 ($8.59 for a full bottle) and Okanagan Cellars from Calona ($19.99 for two litres). These are brands that have been around for a long time: Brights 74 (there is an even cheaper sherry) may be the oldest Canadian wine brand. Currently, the LDB has 2,270 bottles of the port spread among 162 stores. These are not for the port connoisseur but for those who want wines that are sweet and potent.

Admiral Shorts Okanagan Tawny is a wine that a connoisseur will enjoy. The name refers to a man named Captain T.D. Shorts who operated a freight boat for a few years in the 1880s on Okanagan Lake. (Prospect Winery names all of its wines after obscure facts from Okanagan history.)

The size of the domestic market for VQA-quality domestic ports probably is larger than the LDB’s sales figures show because most of these wines are never listed by the LDB in the first place. Wineries hand sell them directly or through channels like VQA stores. When you dig through winery websites, you find a surprising number of these wines, including blackberry and other fortified fruit wines.

Some points of definition: very few are called Port. Under an agreement Canada signed a decade ago with the European Union, our wineries have had to stop using European geographic names on Canadian wine. Some Okanagan wineries are testing that. Dirty Laundry Winery proposes releasing a wine called “A Girl in Every Port” while Pentâge Winery is thinking of releasing a very good fortified Zinfandel called “A Port in a Storm.” Good luck.

Most of these wines are made like real Port, although not with authentic Port varieties, which have just been planted in the Okanagan. That means that super-ripe grapes or fruit is crushed and fermented about half way to dryness before being fortified with brandy or grain alcohol. That arrests fermentation, leaving enough natural sugar in the wine to rate between 8 and 10 on the LDB sweetness scale, with between 16% and 19% alcohol. The wines are finished in bottle or barrel before release, a process that can take years if the object is to make a tawny style.

Here, from a quick canvass of memory, notes and a few websites, are some examples of VQA or VQA-quality ports available in the LDB, VQA stores or directly from wineries (since fruit wines are not VQA eligible). All are sold in 375 ml bottles unless otherwise indicated. The La Frenz wines, and a few others, are sold out.

Fruit wines are in italics.

Averill Creek Cowichan Black ($18)
Beaufort Vineyards Black ($18)
Black Widow Vintage One ($25)
Blue Moon Winery Lunacy ($22)
Blue Moon Winery Dark Side ($22)
Burrowing Owl Coruja ($N.A.)
Calona Vineyards Sonata ($16.99)
CedarCreek Platinum “M” ($65 for 750 ml).
Cherry Point Cowichan Blackberry ($20)
Desert Hills The Ambassador ($25; $50 for 750 ml)
Elephant Island Stellaport ($28)
Elephant Island Cassis ($20)
Forbidden Fruit Plumiscuous Plum Mistelle ($26.95)
Forbidden Fruit Caught Apricot Mistelle ($26.95)
Forbidden Fruit Cerise D’Eve ($29.95)
Fort Winery Raspberry Portage ($20)
Fort Winery Wild West Blackberry ($20)
Granite Creek Fortified Merlot ($20)
Gray Monk Odyssey III ($20 for 500 ml)
Kettle Valley Caboose ($24)
La Frenz Vintage Port ($25 for 500 ml)
La Frenz NV Tawny ($20)
La Frenz NV Liqueur Muscat ($20
Quails’ Gate Fortified Vintage Foch ($23 for 375 ml)
Rustic Roots Mulberry Pear ($29)
Salt Spring Vineyards Blackberry “Port” ($24)
Stag's Hollow Hart ($25 for 500 ml)
Starling Lane Port Victoria Wild ($23)
Sumac Ridge Pipe ($25 for 500 ml)
Summerhill Chalice NV ($30)
Vista D’oro D’Oro Walnut Wine ($49.50)
Wild Goose Black Brant ($20)

Young & Wyse Collection releases 2010 reds

 

Photo: Stephen Wyse

The two red wines just released by Young & Wyse Collection proprietor Stephen Wyse are among the first 2010 reds in the market. They are a sign of good things to come from that vintage.

Much like 2011, the 2010 vintage started late, suffered cool growing conditions for much of the spring and summer and then was saved by a long, warm and dry autumn. To quote this winery: “An October heat wave rounded the vintage out beautifully and brought everything together for a fantastic harvest.”

Those growers that reduced the crop load early, so that the remaining grapes ripened, made surprisingly good wines. Judging from the taste of the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon from Young & Wyse, there was impeccable viticulture in the winery’s 10-acre Osoyoos vineyard and in that of its growers.

This boutique winery, a stone’s throw from the Osoyoos border crossing, was opened two years ago by Michelle Young and her partner, Stephen Wyse.

His surname is familiar in British Columbia wine circles. Jim Wyse, his father, started the Burrowing Owl Winery; Stephen’s brother, Chris, and his sister, Kerri, now handle much of the management at Burrowing Owl.

Stephen, who once trained as an airline pilot, got into wine as part of the construction crew that built Burrowing Owl. Then he spent a number of years in the cellar there, including three as winemaker, before he and Michelle decided to strike out on their own.

Very quickly, they have reached a production of about 4,000 cases a year, supported by contracts with several Osoyoos growers and by rising production from their young vines. The Young & Wyse vineyard grows Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, with just a little Malbec. (Frost damage a few years ago decimated Stephen’s Malbec, sadly.)

The winery has the volume to make its wines available widely in VQA and other wines stores, as well as in restaurants, and at reasonable price points.

Here are notes on the two current releases.

Young & Wyse Collection Merlot 2010 ($19.90 for a production of 1,400 cases). The wine still has the firmness one expects of a young wine; decant it if you don’t have the patience to cellar it. The wine begins with spice and berry aromas (raspberry, blueberry, cherry). On the palate, the wine has good concentration with flavours of plum and black currant, with a long finish. 89.

Young & Wyse Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ($26.90 for a production of 1,848 cases). This is a late-ripening variety but the grapes were fully ripe when picked at the very end of October and into the first few days of November, yielding a wine with 13.3% alcohol. The aromas begin with an intriguing note of spearmint (to the expected in an Okanagan Cabernet), along with nutmeg and red fruit. On the palate, there are flavours of black currant, blueberry and blackberry. The texture is concentrated with ripe tannins. Even though the wine is drinking well, it will definitely reward anyone who cellars it for about five years. 90

Remembering Dave Dhillon of Chandra Estate Winery

 

Photo: Devindar (Dave) Dhillon

The British Columbia wine industry has lost a remarkable gentleman with the passing of Devindar (Dave) Dhillon, the founder of Chandra Estate Winery in Oliver.

Dave, who opened the winery in 2oo8, died of cancer on November 26.

He had one of the more improbable backgrounds among the many who have started wineries in the Okanagan: he had a 30-year career in the Canadian penal system and had risen to senior posts before retiring. He bought a vineyard and started a winery when he grew bored of retirement.

Most of us who met this elegant and sweet-tempered man had difficulty imagining that he was once a prison warden. He got into that career by chance, as he told me in a charming interview in 2006.

He was born in India in 1939 and migrated to North America, via Kenya, to teach. After substitute teaching in California, he lined up a teaching job in British Columbia – but the immigration paperwork took so long that the job was gone by the time he arrived.

Here, in his words, is what happened next.

“This is a true story. The British Columbia Penitentiary in New Westminster, an old traditional place, advertised at time for security officers and correctional officers. I thought that is a big thing, officer. From my background in India, officer means something. So I applied without understanding what that really meant.

“And the fellow called – who became a very good friend of mine – and said, ‘Do you understand what you are applying for?’ I said, ‘To be honest, no. I’m looking for a job.’ He said: ‘Your qualifications look really interesting. Why don’t you come over and we’ll explain what this job is.’

“So I went there and he explained it to me. That was not my suit. [But] I said I need a job, so I want to do it. In the next three, four days, a vacancy came up in counselling. He said, ‘How about that?’ I asked him, ‘More money or less’, because you need money when you come to a new land. He said: ‘I think it is more money and it is in your area of training.’

“So we were preparing for that when a job came up in Prince Alberta as a teacher in corrections. He said, ‘Hey, you have a teaching degree. Would you like to do that?’

“He said [it paid] a lot more money! I said I like it.

“He said it is very cold in Prince Alberta. When I want there, it was 51 below, with the wind chill. It was February 14, the day I started. 1966. … I became school principal in the Penitentiary after three years.”

He earned additional degrees, did postgraduate work in counselling at the University of Saskatchewan, and moved up in the corrections service, ultimately to regional director general for the Prairies. He eased into his retirement in 1996 with two years running the Ferndale minimum security institution in the Fraser Valley.

He tired of travelling and of consulting by 2005 and decided to buy a vineyard. “The whole field of the wine industry is very challenging,” he told me. “That’s the kind of thing I like. I thought it can’t be any more complex than inmate behaviour.”

Because the vineyard and winery were organic, he wanted to call it Ecovitis until his family – he has two daughters and a son – said that sounded like dishwater detergent. With his good nature, Dave shrugged off the critique and agreed with the family’s name – Chandra, a Hindi word for moon. Many of Chandra’s wines had names alluding to the moon.

His mentor in viticulture and winemaking has been Karnail Singh Sidhu, the owner of Kalala Organic Estate Winery in West Kelowna. Karnail helped manage the vineyard and winery after Dave became ill.

The Dhillon family has not yet made a decision on the future of Chandra.

BC Red Icons: the fourth annual tasting

Painted Rock Estate Winery, which John and Trish Skinner opened only two years ago, is on a roll.

In the recent Canadian Wine Awards, Painted Rock was first among British Columbia wineries for the Winery of the Year award and third overall, just pipped by two Ontario wineries.

Painted Rock entered 13 wines in competition and came away with three gold medals, four silvers and six bronzes. One of the three golds was the winery’s 2009 Red Icon, which finished second as the top British Columbia red after Church & State’s Coyote Bowl Syrah 2009.

And at Sip Wines fourth annual tasting of B.C. Iconic Reds, Painted Rock Red Icon 2009 was scored in first place among the 19 great Okanagan and Similkameen blends.

Sip Wines is a VQA wine store in Richmond. The first three tastings of “iconic reds” were held in the store. This year, the demand of Sip’s customers was so great that the tasting was moved to a room at the Richmond Country Club big enough to handle a sit-down tasting for more than 100.

This is a very professionally-run tasting. To begin with, the wines were all decanted several hours before the tasting. These were all young wines made, in general, to be cellared for 10 or so years, in the tradition of great Bordeaux reds. Decanting the wines and letting them breathe accelerates their development and enables us to enjoy them sooner.

The wines were served blind, one at a time, and in good stemware. No one, other than Sip proprietor Simon Wosk – who did not have a vote - had any idea what the order was until all the wines had been tasted and all the ballots were tallied.

Guests at the event were able to order their favourite wines. When a winery agrees to enter its wine, Simon makes every effort to get an allocation set aside for attendees at the tasting. For the most part, these wines are produced in small volumes, with sales limited to the winery and to very few wine stores.

There was one wine here that I had never even heard of. I suspect most of the attendees have not tasted most of these wines because they are so hard to get.

For collectors of fine British Columbia wine, this tasting should be one of the highlights of the year. None of these wines disappoint. Only three of the wines has less than 90 points on my score card (one 88 and two 89s). The others ranged from 90 to 95: impressive winemaking!

Here are my notes on the 19 wines in the order that they were ranked by the attendees.

Painted Rock Red Icon 2009 ($55). This is a big, unfiltered red, a blend of Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (29%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Petit Verdot (15%) and Syrah (1%). This is the third vintage of Red Icon and the first with no Malbec in the blend. It begins with aromas of spice, blackberry, black currant and dark cherry. It shows a rich texture with flavours of berries, plums, dark chocolate and vanilla. This is a wine, while still youthful and in need or cellaring, which has both power and elegance.




Church & State Quintessential 2008 ($50). This is a blend of five Bordeaux varietals (the percentage of each is not available). Each varietal was aged separately in French oak for 12 months and then, after the wine was blended, it spent another 12 months in French oak. The wine soaked up the wood very well; it does not intrude on the vibrant aromas and flavours of red fruit (raspberry, cherry), with hints of mocha and red liquorice. The fine-grained tannins give the wine a supple, accessible texture.






Laughing Stock Portfolio 2008 ($40). The wine is 53% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. This is a big, satisfying wine with 14.6% alcohol. It shows spicy red berries and vanilla on the nose, flavours of plum and black cherries and ripe tannins that make the wine rich on the palate.




Mission Hill Oculus 2007 ($70). This is 50% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. It is a big wine with muscular, but ripe, tannins, a structure to enable to wine to age 10 or 15 years. The wine offers layer upon layer of flavour. The initial aromas were primarily oak and dark chocolate; plum and cherry aromas developed with time. On the palate, the flavour layers revealed plum, currants, figs, chocolate, with a hint of spice on the finish.




Poplar Grove Legacy 2007 ($50). This is 71% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is a wine that spent two years in barrel and another two in bottle before release. Even with all that barrel and bottle age, it retains vibrant flavours of currants and blackberries, aromas of plum and vanilla. The fine-grained tannins contribute to a full texture.




CedarCreek “Colbert Edition” Platinum Reserve Meritage 2006 ($45 for a production of 144 cases). This is a blend of 40% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. There are aromas of cassis, spice, vanilla leading to plum flavours with a hint of eucalyptus. The texture is still firm enough to suggest aging this wine a few more years.

Why Colbert Edition? A few years ago, CedarCreek managed to buy 40 very expensive barrels made from a 350-year-old oak in the French forest of Bertrange. The story has it that the trees were planted under the directions of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister to Louis XIV. Four of those barrels were used to age this wine for 19 months.




Lake Breeze Tempest 2008 ($35). This is 50% Merlot and 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine begins with an attractive perfume of blueberries and cassis. Rich on the palate, it tastes of plum and black currant and red liquorice. The wine is elegant and balanced.






Hester Creek The Judge 2007 ($50 for a production of 220 cases). This is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon with about two years of barrel age and more than a year of bottle aging before release. It is a big wine with firm tannins, with mint, vanilla and black currants on the nose and with a complex flavour profile – currants, black pepper, figs, with a hint of liquorice on the finish. The 2008 vintage of The Judge has just been released through the winery’s website.




Nk’Mip MəR’R’IYM 2009 ($50). This wine is a blend of 45% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. In keeping with the winery’s name – which means marriage – this struck me as quite a pretty wine with sweet aromas of cherry and blueberries and with flavours of cherry and blackberry.




Mission Hill Compendium 2008 ($40). This is 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. This is a richly satisfying wine, beginning with appealing aromas of black cherries, vanilla and spice. On the palate, there are flavours of black currants and plums with notes of sage and tobacco.








Fairview Cellars Bear’s Meritage 2008 ($35 but sold out). The blend is not available on the label but the minty note on the nose suggests this might be built around Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate, the fruit flavours are vibrant, with notes of black currant and liquorice. There is also a taste of black chocolate in this interesting wine.

The following two wines were tied.



Black Hills Nota Bene 2009 ($53). This is 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, a fairly classic blend. Those who collect this wine will find this ripe, rich vintage reflects the house style that has been consistent throughout its history. There is vanilla, eucalyptus and dark fruits on the nose, with flavours of plum, black cherry and chocolate. The ripe tannins give the wine an immediate accessibility but it certainly will cellar well over the next five years.




Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2007 ($45). This is 70% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. I tasted this wine recently in a more leisurely setting at home and I reproduce those notes. This is a dark, concentrated wine with aromas of red fruit and cedar and with a complex palate of black currants, plums, coffee, chocolate, liquorice and cedar. On first opening, the tannins were firm and even a bit bitter on the finish, which is quite normal for a young red made in the Bordeaux style. Half a bottle was reserved for re-tasting on the second day, by which time the wine had rounded out to a rich palate with Christmas pudding flavours. If you must open the wine now, please decant it an hour or two ahead of time. If you can, put it away until at least 2015.




Clos du Soleil Signature 2009 ($39.90 for a production of 275 cases). This is a blend of 41% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. It presents a delicious array of red fruit flavours – currants, black cherries – with the added complexity of chocolate, fig and tobacco notes. The 18 months spent in French oak added a touch of cedar and vanilla.




Mission Hill Quatrain 2008 ($45). This wine is either sold out or not released yet because it is not on the winery website. This is a blend of 34% Merlot, 29% Syrah, 22% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The two Cabernets in this interesting blend seem to give the wine aromas of mint and cassis while the other two give the blend a lovely core of fruit – plum, black cherry, black currant. There is also a note of mocha. The wine still has a firm structure.





LaStella Fortissimo 2009 ($35). This is 67% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Sangiovese. This wine has appealing aromas of black fruit and vanilla and these carry through on the flavours. The wine is still firm and a long way from peaking – but it will with patient cellaring.




Herder Josephine 2008 ($50 with a production of 3,180 bottles). This is a blend of 81% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. Stated alcohol is 14.8%, again not an issue, given the fullness of the fruit and texture. The wine begins with dramatic aromas of spicy blackberries and blueberries. On the palate, there are flavours of blackberry and black currant, with the cedar notes often found in a Bordeaux-style red that has been aged in good oak.




Clos du Soleil Eclipse 2009 ($Not released yet). The winery made just four barrels, about 100 cases, of this blend of 50% Merlot, 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine is quite Bordeaux in style, with concentrated textures, aromas of spice and mint and flavours of currant and blackberry.

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2008 ($100 for the magnum). This is a blend of 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. Don’t be alarmed that this wine was at the end of the ratings. The wine is too young to reveal its potential, especially when served from a magnum. But this magnum will be spectacular in 2020. I thought it already better than this last place finish suggested, with a powerful aroma of dark fruit and plum jam. On the palate, there are notes of currants, dark chocolate, pepper and minerals. The texture is nicely concentrated.

As it happens, Laughing Stock has just released the 2009 vintage, suggesting the 2008 could be hard to find. The wine was not in the Sip tasting but here are my notes on it.

Laughing Stock Portfolio 2009 ($42 for a production of 1,990 cases). This is 36% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 14% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot, with an alcohol of 14.4%. In the style one has come to expect of Portfolio, this is a big ripe wine with aromas of red fruit, mocha and the oak that comes from its 19 months of barrel aging. Generous in texture, it has layers of flavour – plum, black currant, black liquorice – with ripe but firm tannins. This wine will cellar well. 92.