Rust Winery plans to winter-proof its vineyards

Photo: Winemaker Ryan de Witte (courtesy Rust Wine Co.)

Rust Wine Co. is a sister winery to Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery but has concentrated on different varietals to set itself apart. These included a quartet of Syrah wines and a Zinfandel. Unfortunately for Rust, the January 2024 freeze devastated the winery’s sources of Syrah and Zinfandel. Winemaker Ryan de Witte has begun to make major changes in the portfolio, adding Pinot Noir and soon Sangiovese, Mondeuse and Barbera.

“Planting Sangiovese was a way of future proofing the vineyard to warmer summer temperatures as well as being hardier than the Zinfandel it is replacing,” Ryan explains. “It is mostly intended as a blending component for Solus, our halo wine but, if the vintage is good and the crops are equally generous, then we will bottle a varietal Sangiovese. It’s hard to decide what to put in premium sites as the variety needs to be one we can get a good price for (i.e. we don’t plant Pinot Gris there, but Sangiovese can fetch a fair price and is known by consumers – another problem as well). We talked about Tempranillo and some others but they were either too obscure or unlikely to make it through a severe winter.”

Ryan continues: “Mondeuse is an alpine red variety from the Savoie region of eastern France. It hits a bit like Syrah in that it ripens around the same time and can have a similar colour and weight, but it is a bit more delicate and tends to have higher acidity. Again, the hope with this is that this helps with warmer summers with its ability to retain acidity and, because it’s an Alpine grape, it will have some winter hardiness. It’s also a vanity project for me. I love the grape and have always wanted to plant it.”

As devastated as the vineyards were in 2024, they have “rebounded with aplomb” this year, Ryan reports. “We are awash with fruit and are excited to be making 100% BC wine again. We have not elected to purchase grapes from elsewhere this year but do not pass judgement on those who have elected to. We will be releasing an Oregon Pinot Noir from the 2024 vintage from the Laurelwood AVA in the coming year.” The current releases from Rust are from the 2022 and 2023 vintages. While 2022 was thought to have been the stronger vintage, Ryan did a great job with 2023. Here are my notes.

Rust Chardonnay 2022 ($N/A). This is a crisp and disciplined wine, with notes of citrus and apple mingled with minerality on the backbone. The wine was aged in French oak (20% new). 90.

Rust Chardonnay 2023 ($35). Ryan has been fine-tuning Chardonnay since joining the winery in 2019. He believes the 2023 is his best so far. The wine was aged 15 months in French oak (none new). The wine begins with aromas of apple, peach and vanilla. The creamy palate delivers rich stone fruit flavours mingled with oak. The finish is persistent. 93.

Rust Pinot Noir 2022 ($55). This is a robust wine that was aged in French and Hungarian oak (20% new). There are aromas and savoury flavours of dark cherry wrapped around a sturdy texture. 90.

Rust Pinot Noir 2023 ($N/A). Aged in neutral French oak, this wine begins with bright aromas of cherry and spice which are echoed on the lush, fruity palate. The texture is silky and the finish is long. This wine, along with the previous vintage, is made with grapes from the winery’s Three Mountain Vineyard in West Kelowna. 93.

Rust Merlot 2022 ($35). The grapes for this wine are from the winery’s Lost Horn Vineyard at Okanagan Falls. The 2022 vintage was exceptional, showing in this wine good concentration and long tannins. The wine was aged 18 months in French oak (20% new). The wine begins with aromas of dark fruits and spice leading to richly textured flavours of dark fruits. 92.

Rust Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 ($55). This wine is a tribute to the late Kane Morgan, Rust’s wine shop manager who died in a traffic accident a few years ago. It is a very fine wine – big and ripe, with a dark colour and aromas of black currant and dark cherry that are echoed on the palate. 92.

Rust Golden Mile Syrah 2022 ($44). This is the last Syrah from Rust’s home vineyard because the varietal did not survive the 2023 and 2024 freezes; and other varietals have been planted in its place. A pity, perhaps, because Rust made glorious Syrahs. This wine has aromas of plum, dark cherry and pepper which are echoed on the palate. The ripe tannins give the wine body and length. 93.

Mt. Boucherie plants Mondeuse and Trousseau vines

Photo: Winemaker Jeff Hundertmark

The current releases from Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery include an addition to the portfolio: White Summit, a partner to the winery’s flagship red blend. “Finally, after years of pleading from our wine club, we have created a white companion for our flagship Summit,” writes Jeff Hundertmark, Mt. Boucherie’s general manager and director of winemaking. “A barrel selection mimicking the process for Summit … It is a white Meritage of sorts with a twist.” That refers to the Chardonnay in the blend.

It will be interesting to see what Jeff and his team do for an encore. The backbone of the 2023 White Summit is Sémillon from the winery’s Lost Horn Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. Unfortunately, the devastating freeze of January 2024 hit the Similkameen especially hard. The Sémillon did not survive. “Harvest is going well,” Jeff told me in a recent email. “The vineyards have definitely fought back. The picture I attached is a Zweigelt cluster from our home vineyard to show how much mother nature heals herself. Overall, we lost about 40 % of our vineyards, but have replanted and the vines are doing well. I think in three to four years, we will be producing some really interesting wines from Albariño, Trousseau, Mondeuse, Sangiovese, to name a few of the varieties we pivoted with.”

Trousseau (one of its alternate names is Bastardo) is described in the Jancis Robinson book, Wine Grapes, as a “demanding variety making powerful, age-worthy wines.” It a varietal identified with Jura in eastern France but is also common in Portugal. To my knowledge, this will be the first planting of Trousseau in the Okanagan.

The Robinson book says: “Mondeuse Noir is an old variety from the Dauphiné, a former province in eastern France … .” The variety “produces wines that are aromatic, tannic and deeply coloured, with good aging potential, and, in the best sites, an Italianate bitter cherry bite.” There are a few producers of Mondeuse in California and Australia. Again, this is probably the first planting in British Columbia.

Both Albariño and Sangiovese have been grown in the Okanagan for some time. The former produces interesting white wines. One could still argue that Sangiovese does not travel well from its native Italian terroir but I look forward to what Jeff does with it and the other new varietals. Here are notes on current releases from Mt. Boucherie.

Mt. Boucherie Blaufränkisch 2023 ($27.99). The winery describes this wine as “a rare and unique medium-bodied wine that showcases notes of wild blueberries, sour cherries, and baking spices.” I cannot argue with that. I also found aromas and bright flavours of blueberries and sour cherries. 90.

Mt. Boucherie Reserve Malbec 2022 ($44.99). The fruit is from the winery’s Similkameen vineyard. The wine was aged 14 months in American and French oak (15% new). This is a richly-textured wine with aromas of blackberry leading the flavors of blackberry mingled with oak. 92.

Mt. Boucherie Reserve Syrah 2022 ($44.99). The fruit for this wine is plantings Mt. Boucherie had in the Similkameen, on the Golden Mile and in Okanagan Falls. Sadly, not all of these vines survived the devastating freezes of 2023 and 2024. However, 2022 was a great vintage and this is a great Syrah. It begins with aromas dark cherry and pepper. On the palate, the dark fruit flavours are rich and the finish is long. 93.

Mt. Boucherie Reserve Petit Verdot 2022 ($44.99). This dark, mineral-driven Bordeaux varietal is seldom made on its own because it is so useful as a backbone in Bordeaux blends. The fruit for this wine came from an Osoyoos vineyard. The wine was aged 18 months in oak (20% new). The wine has aromas and flavours of dark fruits mingled with spice and tobacco. The long wood aging has mellowed the firm tannins. 93.

Mt. Boucherie White Summit 2023 ($55). This wine is a blend of 60% Sémillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 17% Chardonnay. It was aged 15 months in barrel: 50% new French oak, 10% new Acacia wood and 40% in neutral oak. This is a sophisticated white with aromas of lime, apple and new-mown hay. The dry palate delivers citrus flavours mingled with spice and oak. 93.

Mt. Boucherie Summit 2020 ($66). This is a blend of 45% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah and 2% Malbec. The varietals were fermented separately for 14 months, mostly in French oak, both new and seasoned. The wine was aged four years in French oak (20% new.) All that time in oak has polished the long, ripe tannins and added notes of spice to the wine. It is a full-bodied wine with aromas and flavours of black cherry and black currant. There is a hint of chocolate on the persistent finish. The wine benefits from being decanted. 93.

Noble Ridge is in a mood to celebrate

Photo: Noble Ridge's Leslie and Jim D'Andrea

Jim and Leslie D’Andrea, the proprietors of Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery, remark that the last several months of the year feature many occasions to celebrate with sparkling wine. “Please help us get the Noble Ridge Sparkling story out there,” they write in a note accompanying their latest releases.

They have their own reasons for celebrating. This year has seen a recovery of wine touring as well as a revival of their Okanagan Falls vineyards. Benoit Gauthier, the winery’s chief winemaker, writes: “We’re thrilled to see that the vineyard bounced back beautifully this year. … It has been a picture-perfect growing season, with an early bud break, a warm and consistent summer and the beginning of a fall that feels more like a continuance of summer. … I now believe we will exceed our initial forecast of 50% of a typical crop, reaching closer to 65%.”

That has been a typical comment across the Okanagan. For example, Blue Mountain Vineyards, located just a stone’s throw from Noble Ridge, reported 80% of a normal harvest in the 2025 vintage. Vineyards have recovered from the 2024 freeze much better than expected, to the point that some growers have struggled to sell all their grapes this fall.

That is not the issue at Noble Ridge, which will need all of its own grapes to replenish its cellars. Noble Ridge used American grapes in 2024 just for white wines, apparently relying on red wines in its cellar from earlier vintages. If you would like to celebrate with Noble Ridge, here are three current sparkling wines.

Noble Ridge The Pink One 2020 ($34.99). This wine is made entirely with Pinot Noir (clones 114, 115 and 777). The berries are given four hours of skin contact, just enough to give the wine a delicate hue. A traditionally-made sparkling wine, it was en tirage for 42 months. There is just a hint of brioche in the aroma and on the palate, with flavours of wild strawberry. The active bubbles give the wine an especially festive appearance in the glass. 92.

Noble Ridge The One 2018 ($34.99 for 345 cases). This is 72% Chardonnay and 28% Pinot Noir. The grapes were whole cluster pressed and fermented cool. The wine was en tirage for 47 months before being disgorged. The wine has aromas of citrus and brioche; on the palate, there are flavours of lemon, pear and brioche. The mousse gives the wine a creamy texture; the finish is dry and refreshing. 94.

Noble Ridge The One Grand Reserve 2017 ($49.99 for 165 cases). This wine is also 78% Chardonnay and 22% Pinot Noir, but with 66 months en tirage. The grapes were whole cluster pressed and the wine was fermented cool. Citrus and green apple mingle with brioche in the aroma. On the palate, there is a medley of complex flavours, including apple, pear, biscuit and almond. The mousse gives the wine a creamy texture but the finish is crisply dry. 96.

Gehringer Brothers releases 2024 International red wines

Gehringer's Australian-trained Brendon Gehringer '

The latest newsletter from Gehringer Brothers Winery started off with this teaser: “We have some news that we are excited to share. Although we can't let the ‘cat out of the bag’ just yet, we would be happy to say that there's a new product that will be joining our portfolio! Stay tuned. More details next month - allow us to tinker away in the cellar and all will be revealed very soon!”

My hope is that it is a red wine aged in oak barrels. Traditionally, the winery has not had barrels in its cellar, for two reasons. Most of its wines have been whites that did not need oak aging. Secondly, the brothers – Walter and Gordon – have always been frugal. When they made reds that needed oak, they put oak staves in the stainless steel tanks and let the wine pick up some oak flavour. It does not mean that frugally-made wines are not good. Gehringer Brothers has an awesome record of medals won in various wine competitions. Yet barrel-aging takes a red wine to another level.

Walter’s son, Brendon, returned to the Oliver winery in September 2023, after spending many years in Australia. He had gone there in 2008 to train as a winemaker, and followed that up by working at several wineries, notably in the Barossa Valley. He has had plenty of experience at finishing red wines in barrel. That is why I speculate that the new wine is a barrel-aged red.

Gehringer’s 2024 wines were made primarily with grapes from California, due to the damage its Okanagan vineyards suffered from the severe freeze in January that year. It is a much better story this year, as the newsletter relates: “Vintage 2025 continues to be an exceptionally good season,” the winery reports. “Bumper crops of BC fruit with quality to match! As we have replanted almost all of our red varietals, our red wines unfortunately will not be produced this year. We have ,however, been fortunate to harvest fruit from our surviving Pinot Noir blocks. This is scheduled to be blended with our Cabernet Sauvignon to reproduce our well received 2024 Rosé style. Despite having lost certain Schönburger and Gewürztraminer blocks in the 2023/4 weather event, we have managed to source supplies to produce a re-run of our much-adored Schönburger-Gewürztraminer! It has been great to watch how these wines are evolving in the cellar this vintage!”

Here are notes on Gehringer’s 2024 reds, all of them made from California grapes.

Gehringer International Series Merlot 2024 ($N/A). This is an easy-drinking Merlot with aromas of plum and oak and flavours of plum and cherry. The oak lends a smoky note. 89.

Gehringer International Series Summer Night 2024 ($14.49). This is a blend Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It begins with aromas of blackberry and cherry which are echoed on the soft, juicy palate. 90.

Gehringer International Series Cabernet Merlot 2024 ($18.49). This blend is another easy-drinking red, with aromas of spice and flavours of red cherry and black currant. The tannins are long and soft. 89.

Gehringer International Series Pinot Noir 2024 ($18.49). This is a juicy red, showing notes of cherry and a silky texture. I would cellar this another six months to allow the oak flavours to integrate better with the fruit. 89.

Frind surprises with a Foch rosé

Frind winemaker Corrie Krehbiel

One of the few varietals to survive the Okanagan’s 2024 winter and produce grapes was Maréchal Foch, the winter-hardy French hybrid. In the grape pull-out after the 1988 harvest, most growers pulled out Foch, replacing it with various vinifera varietals deemed to make better wines. Only Quails’ Gate Estate Winery (and a few others) retained a significant acreage. Since 1994, Quails’ Gate’s Old Vines Foch has enjoyed a cult following.

Nearby Frind Estate Winery, which opened in 2019, planted a six-acre block of Maréchal Foch in the flat terrain that leads to the lakeside winery. The winery site once was the home of former Premier Bill Bennett. Winery owner Markus Frind bought the historic property in 2017. Recognizing that the low-lying area was an obvious frost pocket, Marcus planted Foch.

The happy result: Corrie Krehbiel, Frind’s winemaker, had a harvest from the flat in the fall of 2024. She made a commendable rosé that is 94% Foch. It is the first rosé from that varietal that I can ever recall tasting. Wines like this may go some way to reviving Maréchal Foch as a varietal worthy of its place again in the vineyards of the Okanagan. To give some perspective on the grape, let me quote from my 1998 book, Chardonnay and Friends, which profiled the 40 major wine varietals then growing in the Okanagan.

“French plant breeder Eugene Kuhlmann (1858-1932) was the creator of this and of several other hybrid varieties, most of which now have been phased out of vineyards in France and North America. The variety is named for a French hero of World War One, Marshall Ferdinand Foch, commander in chief of the Allied armies in 1918. (An apparent admirer of French leaders, Kuhlmann also created another blood-red variety that was named Léon Millot after a prime minister.) Like the other hybridizers of his day, Kuhlmann created new varieties by crossing native American vines with European vines in a search for productive and disease-resistant varieties. Georges Masson, an Ontario wine writer in the 1970s, wrote that Foch “makes a good wine resembling a French Burgundy.” The comparison to Burgundy, which is made with Pinot Noir, may have been inspired by the vaguely similar earthy aromas and smoky note in the finish of a Maréchal Foch wine. Other flavours include plums and spice.

“Foch was among the French hybrids that were imported to Ontario and New York State just after World War Two by wineries and growers searching for hardy, productive and disease resistant varieties that could make better wine than the North American varieties then being grown. (Almost no one then believed that the classic vinifera would survive in eastern North America.) While Foch had already been named in France, most varieties generally arrived bearing only the hybridizer’s number, such as Seibel 9549, and had names assigned to them by the wine industry in the early 1970s. The significant red hybrids besides Foch were De Chaunac, Chelois, Baco Noir, Chancellor and Rougeon. De Chaunac and Chelois largely have been dropped because the wines are light and uninteresting. The others, while less important than they once were, are hanging on or, in the case of Foch, making a comeback. As recently as 1985 Foch had accounted for a quarter of British Columbia’s grape harvest. But most of the vines were pulled out after the 1988 vintage, leaving Foch at less than two per cent of the crop. ‘To my way of thinking, that is just ridiculous,’ said Jeff Martin [the winemaker at Quails’ Gate at the time]. ‘I looked at the records for the hybrids we purchased in the 1980s. The grapes were immature. The problem was not the variety -- it was grape-growing and winemaking.’ In the early 1980s yields of ten to twelve tons an acre were common, three times the yield now demanded of those vines in the Quails’ Gate vineyard. In the 1990s the variety generally is grown more carefully.”

At the time the book was written, at last 10 wineries in British Columbia were releasing wines made with Foch. I w0uld be surprised if more than five have it in their portfolio now. However, the way the varietal handled the 2024 freeze could restore a bit of the varietal’s profile. Most of the wines in the Frind profile are made, and well made, with premium vinifera varietals and that is not likely to change, however successful the Foch rosé is. Here are notes on three current Frind releases.

Frind Rosé 2024 ($22.99). The 94.2% Foch in this wine is supplemented with 3.4% Cabernet Franc, 1.4% Pinot Noir and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes were picked deliberately for rosé. The grapes were whole-cluster pressed, fermented cool and aged nine months in stainless steel. The wine presents with a vibrant hue. There are aromas of cherry and raspberry leading to engaging flavours of red plum, strawberry and pomegranate. The finish is long and refreshing. 90.

Frind Premier Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 ($39.99). This wine includes 8% Petit Verdot and 1% Merlot in the blend. The wine was aged 13 months in French and American oak. It is a big, ripe wine from a hot vintage. It has aromas of cassis, dark cherry and plum which are echoed on the palate. The long ripe tannins give this wine good body and a long finish. 91.

Frind The Premier 2023 ($44.99). This is a blend of 68% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Tannat, aged 14 months in French and American oak. It is a bold, dark wine with aromas of plum, black cherry and blueberry. The palate delivers dark fruit flavours with a long finish. 93.