Ailm intends to challenge Champagne with Okanagan sparkling wines

Photo: Winemaker Rowan Stewart

The newest sparkling wine producer in the Okanagan is Ailm Estate, a label that has been launched by the Stewart family, owners of Quails’ Gate Estate Winery. Ailm is shooting high. “Our intention is to compete with the best sparkling wine in the world,” winemaker Rowan Stewart says. “As people taste it, there will be a recognition of the Okanagan’s potential for sparkling wine.”

Ailm is a letter in the Irish alphabet. It was chosen for the winery in tribute to the Stewart family’s Irish roots. The first member of the family to emigrate to the Okanagan in 1908, Richard Stewart, was a horticulturist who started a tree nursery near Kelowna. In the 1950s, his son – also named Richard – developed the West Kelowna vineyard, now home to the Quails’ Gate winery, which was started by Ben and Tony Stewart, grandsons of the first member of the family to settle in the valley. Rowan is one of several great-grandchildren behind Ailm.

The sparkling wine project is based in East Kelowna, on a large property which the Stewarts acquired in 1950 and operated as a tree farm. In 2014, the family decided to plant grapes instead. Because the site is cool, it was planned to be a sparking winery, based on traditional Champagne grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Ailm’s first three vintages of traditional method sparkling wine were laid down in 2020, 2021 and 2022 while plans were made for an onsite winery, complete with a tasting room and a restaurant. That was derailed, at least for the time being, by the devastating freezes in the winters of 2023 and 2024. These caused serious damage to East Kelowna vineyards. While the surviving vines recovered to produce about 100 tons of grapes in the fall of 2025, including 35 tons for sparkling, some of the property also has had to be replanted.

“So the vineyards have recovered,” Rowan says. “We did lose some vines but most of the Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay came through.” The Stewarts decided to press on with the Ailm project but to delay building a winery and tasting room until replanting has been completed. There may be a pop-up tasting room next summer in East Kelowna but the limited volumes of sparkling wine cannot yet support the original grand plans.

While the launch wines are almost exclusively bubble, there is one red wine in the portfolio, an $80 wine previously released in the Quails’ Gate portfolio.. “We have one other wine under the Ailm label: Connemara,” Rowan says. “This was a Quails’ Gate wine but there are reasons why we pivoted it. My grandfather said the only place in Ireland he liked was Connemara. When the farm [in West Kelowna] was named in the 1950s, it was called Connemara Farms. The part that is still called Connemara is the highest point of the vineyard. The Merlot that was in our old Connemara came from that site … one of the few places north of Penticton where you could ripen world-class Merlot. The blend of this wine is Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.”

Rowan has come to his role at Ailm with considerable experience. He has a bachelor’s degree in viticulture and enology from the Nelson Marlborough Institute in New Zealand, where he graduated in 2016. While there, he worked as a vineyard hand and in the cellars are several New Zealand wineries. When he returned to Canada, he spent three years with two large producers in the Niagara region in Ontario. He has been at Quails’ Gate and Ailm for the last six years.

Here are notes on the sparkling wines, available at the Quails’ Gate tasting room.

Ailm Brut N/V ($45). This wine is 57% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier, each fermented separately in stainless steel. The wine was on the lees for 24 months. The active mousse gives the wine a good texture and an appealing presentation in the glass. There are notes of citrus in the aroma and the palate. The finish is crisp and clean. 91.

Ailm Blanc de Blanc 2021 ($65). The Chardonnay for this wine is from the winery’s Westpoint Vineyard in East Kelowna. The wine had 28 months on the lees, resulting in a fine stream of bubbles and delicate notes of brioche in the aroma and the palate, along with refreshing touches of citrus. 93.

Ailm Brut Rosé 2022 ($65). This is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 20% each of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. There is a light blush in the glass, accentuating the active mousse. The wine has aromas and flavours that hint at strawberry. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 94.

Ailm Brut Reserve 2020 ($85). This is 82% Pinot Noir and 18% Chardonnay. Extended time on the lees (40 months) has given this wine a rich texture, with aromas and flavours of brioche. This is a sophisticated sparkling wine that could well have been made by a leading Champagne producer. 96.