Terravista at the Swirl Around BC wine tasting

Photo: Terravista Winemaker Nadine Kinvig

There are some who argue that too many varietals are grown in the Okanagan. I doubt you will ever hear that complaint from patrons of Terravista Vineyards, the Naramata Bench winery with a Spanish flair. It is one of just two Okanagan producers with Albariño in the vineyard. Nadine Kinvig, Terravista’s winemaker, was pouring it at the recent Swirl Around BC tasting. She also offered two other fine whites, Roussanne and Figaro (a Roussanne/Viognier blend), along with Syrah, a recent addition to the Terravista portfolio.

The winery was established originally by Senka and Bob Tennant, co-founders of Black Hills Winery, two years after Black Hills was sold in 2007. Terravista Vineyards was based on a 1.6-hectare (four-acre) vineyard with the Okanagan’s first planting of Albariño and Verdejo, two Spanish white varieties. Terravista had achieved a cult following by the time they sold it in 2019 to Dallas and Eric Thor. The new owners ensured that there would be no slippage in the quality of Terravista wines by maintaining a consulting relationship with Senka and by hiring Nadine, a young but experienced winemaker. An Okanagan native who trained as a winemaker in New Zealand, she has previously worked at Time Winery and at Poplar Grove Winery. “She eats and breathes wine,” Eric discovered.

The Thors came into the wine business by a round-about route. Eric began as a bar manager in a Vancouver restaurant in 2000. He was showing off his wine knowledge to a guest whom he then discovered to be Harry McWatters, the founder of Sumac Ridge. Harry promptly hired Eric to work that fall’s vintage. Eric even got to put the Christmas lights on Harry’s house before work ran out at Sumac Ridge. Eric, who was born in 1978 and grew up in Penticton, went back to school to learn accounting. In 2003 he joined Point Grey Research, a technical start-up (digital cameras) launched by five University of British Columbia graduates. Eric had become the company’s chief financial officer by 2016 when Point Grey was taken over for $250 million. Eric’s share was more than enough to get him and Dallas, his wife, into the wine business. She is a teacher with a master’s degree in science and a passion for wine. In 2016, while they were buying an ocean-going catamaran in the south of France, they lived for seven weeks at the village of Canet en Roussillon, working the harvest at a small winery. They returned to Penticton to buy some land in 2017 on the Naramata Bench for a two-hectare vineyard. They planted Pinot Noir in 2019 and Syrah in 2020. They engaged the Tennants as viticultural consultants – and they joined the Terravista wine club. The relationship blossomed: when Terravista was put up for sale, it was offered to Eric and Dallas.

Here are notes on the four wines that Nadine was pouring at Swirl Around BC. Because the volumes are small, membership in the wine club best assures you can get them.

Terravista Albariño 2022 ($31). This is a crisp and fresh wine, full of aromas of lemon and grapefruit and flavours of citrus, apple and pineapple. 91.

Terravista Roussanne 2022 ($33). Made with fruit from an Oliver vineyard, the wine was fermented in barrels (some two-year-old, but mostly neutral barrels) with lees-stirring during the five months the wine aged in barrel. The wine has a generous texture with aromas and flavours of stone fruit mingled with macadamia nuts. 92.

Terravista Figaro 2022 ($38). This is a blend of 70% Roussanne and 30% Viognier. The Roussanne was barrel-fermented while the Viognier was fermented in stainless steel. The two were blended after six months. This is a richly flavoured wine, with aromas and flavours of medley of orchard fruits. There is a long finish. 92.

Terravista Syrah 2021 ($38). The fruit is from an Osoyoos vineyard, as will be subsequent Syrahs until the winery’s Syrah planting is in production. The wine was aged 18 months in French oak (20% new). This is a meaty wine, with aromas of deli meats and black cherries that are echoed on the palate, along with notes of plum and licorice. 91.