This spring, Garron Elmes, the winemaker at Lake Breeze Vineyards, was given the additional title of
president by winery owners, Drew and Barbara MacIntyre.
It is a deserving accolade for Garron who was a young South
African wine school graduate when he was recruited to Lake Breeze 18 years ago.
Over those years, the winery has four ownership changes. It
says something that none of them changed winemakers. The reputation that Lake Breeze
enjoys now has been earned with the consistent quality of the wines. If anything,
the wines have become better, a combination of better viticulture, better
equipment and accumulated experience by the winemaker.
This spring, the winery released three whites under a new
designation: winemaker series. One of them, a blend called Windfall, promptly won
a gold medal and subsequently sold out at the winery.
The series also included the first Viognier from Lake Breeze .
This is one of the hottest new white varietals in the Okanagan, with more that
40 wineries now producing one. There is some evidence that Viognier, also an
aromatic white, is beginning to wean consumers away from Gewürztraminer.
The rising
popularity of Viognier “seems to be the latest trend, much like Pinot Gris
exploded a few years ago,” says Garron. Lake Breeze
released 500 cases and it is not yet sold out.
Here are
notes of wines worthy of a president.
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