TIME releases family of sparkling wines

Photo: The effervescent Harry McWatters

Two years before his death in 2019, Harry McWatters was involved in making the cuvée for the sparkling wine that would celebrate his 50 vintages in the business. That wine, McWatters Collection Brut 2017, has just been released TIME Winery in Penticton, along with four other sparkling wines. It is a great tribute to Harry.

In 1989, when he was then president of Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, that winery created Steller’s Jay Brut, the Okanagan’s first sparking wine made in the traditional Champagne method. That is the technique where the bubbles are created when the wine does a second fermentation in bottle. Champagnes all get their fine bubbles and complex flavours in the bottle. For some years, award-winning Steller’s Jay Brut was one of a very few sparkling wines in the Okanagan, and one of the best. Sumac Ridge, which Harry sold in 2000, still makes the wine and it is still good.

Harry loved sparkling wine. It was, he said, the wine he drank while he was deciding what wine to drink with dinner. He also delighted in “sabering” bottles of sparkling wine. This involves breaking off the neck of the bottle with a sharp tap from a saber or a big knife. The result is a bang and a spectacular foaming of wine. I saw Harry do it dozens of times but I never mastered the trick.

Harry, whose enthusiasm for the British Columbia wine industry was boundless, launched TIME in 2015 on Black Sage Road and moved it a few years later to downtown Penticton. Nine months after his death, the project’s debts triggered the sale of the winery to new owners. They recapitalized the business while maintaining the continuity by installing Harry’s daughter, Christa-Lee, as president. They have also begun to rebrand the wines, with Chronos gradually succeeding TIME on the labels. Evolve, the budget label, has been retained. Here are notes on the wines.

Evolve Cellars Effervescence NV ($22.99 for 1,000 cases). This is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Blanc (fermented separately). This wine has active bubbles that lift the fruity aromas and flavours (citrus and peach). 89.

Evolve Cellars Pink Effervescence NV ($22.99 for 800 cases). This is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Blanc and 2% Syrah for colour). There is a touch of strawberry in this pink, easy-drinking fruity wine. 88.

Chronos Brut NV ($34.99 for 465 cases). This is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. The varietals were fermented separately and, after blending, finished fermenting in the cuvée close method. The wine has active bubbles, aromas of citrus and bread and flavours of green apple and citrus. There is bracing acidity on the finish. 90.

Time Winery Brut 2018 ($34.99). This is 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay. The base wines were fermented in neutral French oak barrels, stainless steel barrels, and stainless steel tanks. The fine bubbles give the wine a creamy texture. There are notes of brioche and lees on both the nose and palate. The finish is crisp and dry. 90.

McWatters Collection Brut 2017 ($64.99 for 480 cases). This is 65% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Blanc. The wine was made in the traditional method and was on the lees in bottle 42 months before being disgorged. The time in bottle has left this wine with a delightful note of brioche in the aroma and on the palate. The texture is creamy; the bubbles are fine; and there are flavours of citrus and apple. 93.