Church and State sparkling wines medal at Decanter

Photo: Church & State winemaker Arnaud Thierry

Church & State Wines recently trumpeted its success at the Decanter World Wine Awards for its sparkling wines: two silver medals and one bronze. That is a rigorous international competition. It is a credit to any winemaker to come away with medals, an notably to Arnaud Thierry, the winemaker at Church & State.

Arnaud, who joined the Okanagan winery in 2018, was trained in Champagne. It is logical, then, that the winery’s sparkling wines are well made. The 10-acre vineyard near Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island grows Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, grapes that are dedicated to sparkling wine.

Church & State, which also has 85 acres of vineyard and an elegant tasting room on Black Sage Road in the Okanagan, originated on Vancouver Island in 2002 as Victoria Estate Winery. The struggling winery was acquired two years later by tax lawyer Kim Pullen. At the recommendation of his consulting winemaker at the time, Californian Bill Dyer, he moved production to the south Okanagan a few years later rather than transporting grapes to Vancouver Island. The Brentwood Bay vineyard was reserved for varietals best suited to the cool climate and for sparkling wines.

Pullen sold the winery in 2017 to Sunocean Wineries and Estate, a Vancouver company owned by a low-profile Chinese businessman. The new owners were able to add the experienced Arnaud to their team shortly after he had moved from France to the Okanagan with his wife, Caroline Schaller, then the winemaker at Osoyoos Larose. There is a brief biographical note about Arnaud on the winery’s website: “Our winemaker, Arnaud Thierry joined the team in late 2017. He was all but born into winemaking having spent much of his youth amidst the vines of Bordeaux. His interest in biology and biochemistry, as well as a desire to understand the art of viticulture, led him to study enology in Champagne for several years. This, coupled with a love of nature, cuisine, and diverse flavors brought to life by wine brought him deeper into the world of winemaking.”

“The winemaking is quite simple and traditional,” Arnaud told me in 2021. “I am very attracted by tradition, and the respect of the fruit. Winemaking is very classic: a good expression of the fruit and freshness in the whites; and volume, fruit and spice in the reds. I want to have the varietal specificity of the grapes each time.” I have reviewed his table wines on several occasions and have always been impressed. Recently, the winery sent me the three sparking wines in its current portfolio.

Decanter scores were 89 points for Blanc de Gris, 88 points for Gris de Noir and 88 points for Blanc de Blanc, the bronze medal wine. Here are my notes. I was more impressed with the Blanc de Blanc and the Blanc de Gris than the Decanter judges, but then I was not judging a table full of sparkling wines.

Church & State Blanc de Blanc 2018 ($33.99). Made with Chardonnay from one of the winery’s Black Sage Bench vineyards, this traditional method sparkling wine spent 30 months on the lees in the Brentwood Bay cellar. The wine presents in the glass with fine, active bubbles and a light golden hue. It has aromas of brioche mingled with citrus, leading to flavours of apples and lemon. 92.

Church & State Blanc de Gris 2019 ($32.99 for 770 cases). A traditional method sparkling wine made with Pinot Gris, this aged in bottle at least 12 months. Pale yellow in hue and showing fine bubbles, the wine has aromas that begin with a hint of brioche and goes on to notes of pear. On the palate, there are flavours of stone fruits. 90.

Church & State Gris de Noir 2021 ($33.99 for 241 cases). This wine was made with Brentwood Bay Pinot Noir. It presents with a light blush and aromas of raspberry. The wine, with active bubbles, shows a playfully fruity flavour profile of red fruit. 88.