Photo: Winery president Gordon Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards specializes in very fine
sparkling wines but Gordon Fitzpatrick, the president, has been in the wine
business long enough to know there is also a solid demand for still wines.
Accordingly, the winery also produces still table wines. It has
recently released five white table wines and one red. Consumers who turn off
Highway 97 just south of Peachland to visit the winery will also be impressed
with the affordable quality of these wines.
They should be pleased to find a winery at all. In July, a ferocious
forest fire on nearby Mount Eneas roared down the hillside. The winery was
evacuated for three days. But for Highway 97 – and skillful fight fighting –
the flames might well have swept through the vineyard toward the winery. Some
embers did reach the vineyard but were put out.
The winery, formerly Greata Ranch Vineyards, had been extensively
remodelled over two years before re-opening to the public in the spring of 2017.
Fortunately, the attractive structure, with a restaurant and an underground
Champagne cellar survived.
For Gordon, the experience was déjà vu all over again. “In 2003, and the firestorm at Cedar Creek,
we were on the front lines there,” he told Global News. “So I don’t know
whether we are unlucky to have had to deal with it twice, or very lucky we came
out of it both times in not too bad of shape.”
In 2003, the massive
fire swept across Okanagan Mountain Park and ultimately destroyed more than 400
homes in Kelowna. Its progress was contained at the border of the CedarCreek
vineyard. However, the thick smoke saturated the grapes to the detriment of
their winemaking quality.
Because the 2018
Eneas Mountain fire was earlier in the season, smoke taint is unlikely to be an
issue for the Fitzpatrick winery. That will be a relief for those who have come
to enjoy the purity and the freshness of the wines here.
Here are notes
on the current releases.
Fitzpatrick The
Mischief Pinot Blanc 2017 ($18.50 for 516 cases). The wine was aged 55% in
neutral oak and 45% in stainless steel in an apparent strategy to augment the
texture while retaining the varietal’s crisp fruit. It has aromas of melon and
apple that are echoed on the palate, along with a mineral spine. The finish is
dry. 90.
Fitzpatrick The
Lookout Riesling 2017 ($18.50 for 377 cases). The wine begins with a
pleasant note of petrol mingled with citrus. On the palate, there are flavours
of lime and green apple. The wine has 20.3 grams of residual sugar which lift
the aromas and fleshes out the texture. At the same time, bright acidity
balances the palate superbly. The wine has a lively intensity on the finish. The
wine is drinking well now but will age into an even more complex wine over the
next five years. 93.
Fitzpatrick The
Unwinder Ehrenfelser 2017 ($19.50 for 265 cases). The Fitzpatrick family
established a cult following for Ehrenfelser at CedarCreek Estate Winery. They
continue to champion a wine some call “fruit salad in a glass”. It begins with
aromas of ripe pineapple and peach, leading to layers of tropical fruit
flavours. There is a touch of residual sugar but the wine is balanced toward a
dry, food-friendly finish, with a spine of minerality. 91.
Fitzpatrick Interloper Gewürztraminer 2017 ($18.50 for 512 cases). Made with estate-grown fruit, the wine begins with aromas of ginger and lychee which carry through to the flavours, along with hints of mango and ripe apple. The wine has good weight, finishing on the dry side. 90.
Fitzpatrick Sudden
Inversion Meritage 2016 ($28.50 for 992 cases). The winery sourced the
grapes from Maverick Vineyard in Osoyoos. The blend is 67% Merlot, 19% Cabernet
Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was aged 14 months in French oak (12%
new). The ripe tannins and the subtle use of oak contribute to the generous and
drinkable texture. The wine has aromas and flavours of black cherry, blueberry
and plum with spicy fruit and chocolate on the finish. 91.
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