John Schreiner on wine

The disappearing VQA symbol

2012-02-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

BC VQA (top) has replaced the familiar VQA symbol (bottom)

Since October 2011, wineries in British Columbia have been prohibited from using the VQA medallion that has been on bottles and labels since 1990. Instead, five letters - BC VQA - appear in small type on the labels.

It is a little surprising that the Vintners Quality Alliance designation has become inconspicuous considering its contribution to the success of BC wines. Sales of VQA wines have risen from 600,000 litres in 1990 when the VQA program began to 7.8 million litres in 2010.

The medallion directed consumers to those wines made from grapes grown in British Columbia, distinguishing them from the "cellared in Canada" wines made with imported bulk wines. As it is, the CIC wines grab $250 million in sales annually in BC, against $193 million in sales of VQA wines. It is debatable that BC wines would have anywhere near that market share without the VQA program.

VQA was imported from Ontario in 1990, where it had been launched a few years earlier. Consumers interpreted the VQA symbol as an indicator of quality. In fact, the panels that taste wines submitted for VQA do not taste for quality. Their role is to screen out faulty wines.

The current VQA assessment form lists only faults. Wines with technical faults are rejected; wines without faults are VQA-eligible. A mediocre wine can pass if it has no technical faults. Fortunately, most VQA wines are not mediocre.

There is an explanation why consumers understood VQA to be a seal of quality. Before 1990, most BC wines were made with such inferior grapes that wineries had to add water and/or sugar at times to make palatable wines. Most of the inferior hybrid varieties were pulled out in 1988; and the rules for VQA winemaking forbade adding water or an unreasonable amount of sugar.

The grape varieties remaining after the 1988 pull-out were almost entirely vinifera. At first, only wines made with vinifera were even eligible for VQA. As it happens, these were also better wine grapes. For example, the European Riesling grapes always made better wine that the Okanagan Riesling hybrid. The VQA wines tasted better because they were made with better grapes. Hence, consumers understood VQA to mean better quality.

In the two decades since VQA was introduced, many acres of premium vinifera have been planted. At the same time, vineyard and winemaking practices have become vastly more professional, resulting in dramatic improvements in wine quality. That has reinforced the perception that VQA means quality.

BC VQA wines can only be made from grapes grown in BC. The wide acceptance of VQA wines has allowed vineyards to flourish. Without VQA, I suspect wines from grapes grown here would have been crushed by the the volume of low-priced CIC wines because consumers would have had no simple way to identify local wines and support them.

There are also many excellent wines from BC grapes that do have have the BC VQA symbol, since the program still is voluntary. But even the wineries not applying for VQA benefit from it because VQA created such broad acceptance of homegrown wines.

So why has the symbol been banished? That decal belongs to VQA Canada (effectively, VQA Ontario). BC and Ontario have never been able to agree to the same national wine standards. Arguably, the BC wine standards are just as effective but because they are not the same, BC no longer is allowed to use VQA medallion.

For the time being, BC wineries replaced it with the letters, BC VQA.

They could use the wine glass symbol of the BC Wine Authority. No one seems to be bothering, perhaps because the authority, as it said in an industry bulletin last fall, is developing "a more enduring certification mark" for BC VQA wines. The authority expects "it will take some time before that mark is developed, reviewed and ready for industry usage."

It remains to be seen whether this switching of a trademark will set back sales of grown-in-BC wines.

Winter wine festival at Sun Peaks

2012-01-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

Photo: Okanagan Wine Festivals Society chair Eric von Krosigk

When the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society launched a winter wine festival 14 years ago, the focus was on Icewine.

As iconic a wine style as that is, it was somewhat limiting. The winter festival quickly opened up to embrace all styles of Okanagan and Similkameen wines. The 27 wineries at Sun Peaks Resort this year were pouring everything – sparkling wine, table wine, fruit wine, port-style wine and, of course, Icewine.

The resort, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, has always been the venue for the winter wine festival. The Wine Festivals Society has resisted pressure to move it to Kelowna or Penticton. There, the wineries would be preaching to converted locals since the Okanagan gets few tourists in winter.

At Sun Peaks, however, the wineries are much more likely to be exposing their products to consumers relatively new to British Columbia wines. Sun Peaks draws both local and international visitors, many of whom take time off from skiing to attend winemaker dinners and other festival events. This interaction extends the brand of British Columbia wines.

The resort is about 45 minutes north of Kamloops (there is a shuttle from the airport). The compact and friendly village nestles at the base of good ski runs. There is a good chance that guests get to ski with long-time resident and Olympic champion Nancy Greene Raine. These days, however, she splits her time between the resort and the Senate in Ottawa.

Sun Peaks has none of the pretentions of Whistler. The restaurants, for example, manage to satisfy without over-the-top wine cellars (and prices).

Of course, Whistler’s Cornucopia each November is a far bigger food and wine festival because it draws on a bigger market and includes imported wines as well as British Columbia wineries. However, it is not a hardship to have to taste only British Columbia wines.

Whereas the big Cornucopia tastings are all in a large conference centre, the major tasting at Sun Peaks encompasses the village. This year, the wineries were spread among 14 locations. Tasters, wine glasses in hand, stomped through the snow from one hotel lobby or shop to another. The experience is both intimate and merry, as groups of tasters exchange recommendations as they pass each other.

To sum it up, this is wine festival manages to be serious at the same time as it is casual and fun. It works for me.

Here are notes on some of the wines I thought noteworthy. I should add that get to every winery’s table, so there certainly are noteworthy wines I missed.

Black Hills Syrah 2009 ($35 for a production of 1,200 cases). This is the first Syrah from Black Hills and seems an obvious companion to Nota Bene. Dark in colour, the wine begins with aromas of pepper, black cherries and game meat. On the palate, the flavours are generous, with flavours of plums and figs and the spiciness of good deli meats. The wine is full, with the textural elegance of ripe tannins. 90.

Cassini Syrah Collector’s Series 2009 ($34). A robust Syrah in the Cassini style, the wine has meaty and dark fruit aromas with flavours of black cherry, plum, fig, liquorice and pepper and an almost earthy finish. 90.

Cassini Viognier 2010 ($19 for a production of 425 cases). With an alcohol of 12.6%, this is probably the lightest wine from Cassini in the vintage. It has pleasant fruit aromas and flavours of apricot, pineapple, pear and lemon. The wine is crisp and tangy with skein of minerality. 88.

Church & State Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($26). Just being released, this wine created something of a buzz among the tasting crowds. Made from grapes grown in Vanessa Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley, this is a ripe and elegant wine, tasting of currants, plums and chocolate; a very satisfying drink. 91.

Church & State Quintessential 2008 ($50). This is a blend of five Bordeaux varietals (the percentage of each is not available). Each varietal was aged separately in French oak for 12 months and then, after the wine was blended, it spent another 12 months in French oak. The wine soaked up the wood very well; it does not intrude on the vibrant aromas and flavours of red fruit (raspberry, cherry), with hints of mocha and red liquorice. The fine-grained tannins give the wine a supple, accessible texture. 90.

Church & State Hollenbach Pinot Noir 2009 ($26). Just being released this is a delicious, concentrated wine with lots of black cherry flavours. 88-90.

Ex Nihilo Pinot Noir 2010 ($N.A.). The winery’s first Pinot Noir is a promising start – a wine with concentrated fruit and aromas and flavours of cherries. Still firm, the wine needs another year in the bottle. 88-90.

Fort Berens Pinot Gris 2010 ($18). This wine is made in the broad, rich style of Alsace with flavours of apricot, pear and white peach. There is a honeyed hint of botrytis on the nose and on the finish. The alcohol, at 13.8%, is a little on the bold side for a white wine. I scored this 86 in the spring; time in bottle has raised it to 89.

Fort Berens Meritage 2009 ($28). This is a blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It has the soft, ripe texture of Merlot, with attractive aromas of blueberry and blackberry. The berry flavours echo these aromas. The rich, ripe tannins give the wine an early accessibility and appeal. 90.

Hester Creek Cabernet Franc Reserve 2009 ($26.99). This swaggering red with a perfume that vaulted from the glass caused a significant stir when it was served at a dinner. The fruit flavours just burst with blackberry, raspberry and cherry notes. 92.

Perseus Tempus 2009 ($28.90). This is a chewy Syrah with flavours of plum and black cherry and earthy minerals. 90.

Sonoran Jazz Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($27.90). The smooth texture of this wine reflects the fact that it spent 28 months on oak, 90% of it new. The wine has appealing currant and vanilla flavours. 89.

St. Hubertus Dry Riesling 2009 ($15.75). After squandering its mature Riesling vines for years in an off-dry style, St. Hubertus has started making what Riesling lovers would call a serious Riesling. This has the classic touch of petrol on the nose with citrus flavours. The mineral elements give the wine an excellent structure. The finish is crisp and dry. 90-91.

Stag’s Hollow GVM 2010 ($27.99). This is a novel white blend of Grenache (66%), Viognier (23%) and Marsanne (11%). Grenache is a red variety but in 2010 (and again in 2011), winemaker Dwight Sick judged the grapes not ripe enough for one of his big red blends. So he pressed it as a white grape, producing a complex, barrel-fermented wine with flavours of apples and melons. The rich texture will blossom with a few years of bottle age. 90.

Stag’s Hollow Cabernet Franc 2009 ($27.99). This is the winery’s first varietal Cabernet Franc. Youthfully firm, the wine begins with brambleberry aromas and tastes of blackberries, tobacco and chocolate. 91.

Stag’s Hollow Hart 2010 ($25 for 500 ml bottle; 78 cases released). This is a port-style wine made with very ripe Merlot and fortified to 20%. It has a delicious core of sweet fruit. The wine should be cellared for a few years. 88.

Summerhill Organic Riesling 2009 ($19.95). Winemaker Eric von Krosigk, who is also chair of the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, has made a 10.2% Riesling that takes him back to the Mosel, where he learned winemaking. The wine is tangy, with flavours of lime; it also has aromas and flavours of petrol. 90

Summerhill Organic Syrah 2008 ($39.95 for 130 cases). With an alcohol of only 12.5%, this is an elegant red with notes of pepper, chocolate, black cherry and figs on the palate and with an earthy finish. 88.

Tinhorn Creek Kerner Icewine 2010 ($29.99 for 200 ml). By packaging this wine in a small bottle, Tinhorn makes it affordable for those who would like to taste Icewine but balk at the price. This is a wine with exquisite balance of acidity and sweetness, with clean and fresh flavours of pineapple and ripe apricot. 90.

2012-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Photo: Serendipity Winery's Judy Kingston

Changing careers to enter the wine business has a romantic appeal to many – but it is not a walk in the park. Just ask Judy Kingston, who operates Serendipity Winery at Naramata.

For 25 years, she practised computer law with a big Toronto law firm. But in 2006 she left that career for personal reasons and bought a Naramata orchard which has since been replanted with 7 ½ acres of vines. A winery was built on the property in 2010, opening its tasting room in the spring of 2011.

Along the way, she has had to acquire a whole new set of skills, from planting and growing grapes to cellar management. Just before the 2011 vintage, Jason Parkes, her winemaker, suffered an injury which kept him out of the cellar during crush. She was largely on her own in managing the 2011 harvest.

No doubt that was daunting; but it is not the first daunting challenge she has mastered. The first may have been when she started hand-selling Serendipity’s first wines in 2011.

“I have never sold anything in my life because I’ve been a lawyer,” she told me last spring, after her first visit with samples to sommeliers in Vancouver. “I never had to.”

Her attachment to the wines is understandably possessive. “Because I planted the grapes, I have seen them all the way through and then helped put them in the bottle,” she explained. “For me, it was like I was in the bottle. It was a real funny thing for me. It was the first time I had ever done it, offering myself in a bottle to somebody.”

After running a tasting room last summer, she undoubtedly learned the art of letting go what she once referred to as her children because Serendipity has now released several new wines.

These include four ultra-premium reds made in such limited production that you need to belong to Serendipity’s wine club for a first crack at them. The reds are aggressively priced but, in my judgment, the quality is such that they don’t disappoint. These are all bold, ripe wines with alcohol levels between 14.5% and 15% but with so much substance that one is not aware of the alcohol.

Here are notes on the current releases.

Serendipity White Lie 2010 ($18). The varieties in this white blend are not disclosed on the label but my guess is that the wine is anchored with Viognier. Crisp and tangy, the wine begins with aromas of pear and pineapple. On the palate, there are flavours of green apples, green melon and apricot. The spine of minerality in the backbone is what makes me think there is Viognier here. The finish is lingering. 90.

Serendipity Private Reserve Estate Cabernet Franc 2009 ($50). Dark in colour, this wine begins with aromas of figs, plums and vanilla. It delivers layers of flavour – black currants, black cherry, coffee, chocolate and liquorice. The structure is still firm, suggesting the wine has even more to give with several years of cellaring. Hence, a point score suggesting the wine’s upside. 90-92.

Serendipity Private Reserve Estate Merlot 2009 ($50). This wine begins with aromas of blueberry and boysenberry and goes on to deliver bold, ripe flavours of black currants, blackberries and figs. The wine combines both power and elegance; it also deserves a few more years of cellaring. 90-92.

Serendipity Private Reserve Estate Syrah 2009 ($50). Only 40 cases of this Syrah were produced. Once again, this confirms the house style of Serendipity reds – big and bold. This wine has aromas and flavours of plum, black cherry, cola and vanilla, with a hint of chocolate and spice on the finish. The tannins are long and ripe, giving the wine a muscular texture. 90.

Serendipity Private Reserve Serenata 2009 ($50). This is the winery’s flagship Bordeaux blend, a complex wine with aromas of vanilla, plum and fig and with flavours of plum, figs and chocolate. The firm but ripe tannins frame a lovely core of sweet fruit flavours. The structure of this wine suggests it is a keeper with plenty of upside. 91-93.

Admiral Shorts and his fleet of ports

2012-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery’s latest releases include the winery’s first port-style wine, labelled Admiral Shorts Okanagan Tawny.

Given the limited size of the market for ports, I asked the winery for its market rationale. I asked a similar question of one or two other domestic port producers. The replies confirmed that these are not always wines that the marketing department asked for. These are wines that the winemakers wanted to make.

When I put the question to a marketing executive at Mark Anthony Brands (Prospect is one of the brands), he in turn put the question to Wade Stark, the winemaker.

I was told: “He says that he’s been quietly and patiently observing the development of these almost 20 year old barrels of wine that he was lucky enough to have access to. In the last year or so they were tasting surprisingly well and he decided they were ready for bottling and sharing with the public.”

For those of us who appreciate fortified wines, we are lucky to have winemakers like Wade around. This is a delicious 90-point wine with aromas of spice and vanilla and intense cassis flavours. I enjoyed it with cheese. It would pair well with fruit cake, chocolate or walnuts, all the usual pairings with port. The price, $17.99 for a half bottle, astonishes for wine that has been barrel-aged this long.

It is available in B.C. liquor stores. Well, actually, there are 94 bottles divided among three stores – one in Kamloops, one in Burnaby and one in Kamloops. Of course, your local liquor store will bring it in for you if you ask. It will also be in the Mark Anthony stores.

That spotty distribution by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch tells something about the market for port through the LDB stores.

In the 12 months to September 30, 2011, sales of imported port in the LDB totalled $3.9 million (down two percent from a year earlier). Sales of domestic VQA port in that 12 month period were only $359,000, but that was 25% higher from a year earlier.

Sales of non-VQA domestic port in that 12 months totalled $851,000, down about 1%. The wines in this group include primarily Brights 74 ($8.59 for a full bottle) and Okanagan Cellars from Calona ($19.99 for two litres). These are brands that have been around for a long time: Brights 74 (there is an even cheaper sherry) may be the oldest Canadian wine brand. Currently, the LDB has 2,270 bottles of the port spread among 162 stores. These are not for the port connoisseur but for those who want wines that are sweet and potent.

Admiral Shorts Okanagan Tawny is a wine that a connoisseur will enjoy. The name refers to a man named Captain T.D. Shorts who operated a freight boat for a few years in the 1880s on Okanagan Lake. (Prospect Winery names all of its wines after obscure facts from Okanagan history.)

The size of the domestic market for VQA-quality domestic ports probably is larger than the LDB’s sales figures show because most of these wines are never listed by the LDB in the first place. Wineries hand sell them directly or through channels like VQA stores. When you dig through winery websites, you find a surprising number of these wines, including blackberry and other fortified fruit wines.

Some points of definition: very few are called Port. Under an agreement Canada signed a decade ago with the European Union, our wineries have had to stop using European geographic names on Canadian wine. Some Okanagan wineries are testing that. Dirty Laundry Winery proposes releasing a wine called “A Girl in Every Port” while Pentâge Winery is thinking of releasing a very good fortified Zinfandel called “A Port in a Storm.” Good luck.

Most of these wines are made like real Port, although not with authentic Port varieties, which have just been planted in the Okanagan. That means that super-ripe grapes or fruit is crushed and fermented about half way to dryness before being fortified with brandy or grain alcohol. That arrests fermentation, leaving enough natural sugar in the wine to rate between 8 and 10 on the LDB sweetness scale, with between 16% and 19% alcohol. The wines are finished in bottle or barrel before release, a process that can take years if the object is to make a tawny style.

Here, from a quick canvass of memory, notes and a few websites, are some examples of VQA or VQA-quality ports available in the LDB, VQA stores or directly from wineries (since fruit wines are not VQA eligible). All are sold in 375 ml bottles unless otherwise indicated. The La Frenz wines, and a few others, are sold out.

Fruit wines are in italics.

Averill Creek Cowichan Black ($18)
Beaufort Vineyards Black ($18)
Black Widow Vintage One ($25)
Blue Moon Winery Lunacy ($22)
Blue Moon Winery Dark Side ($22)
Burrowing Owl Coruja ($N.A.)
Calona Vineyards Sonata ($16.99)
CedarCreek Platinum “M” ($65 for 750 ml).
Cherry Point Cowichan Blackberry ($20)
Desert Hills The Ambassador ($25; $50 for 750 ml)
Elephant Island Stellaport ($28)
Elephant Island Cassis ($20)
Forbidden Fruit Plumiscuous Plum Mistelle ($26.95)
Forbidden Fruit Caught Apricot Mistelle ($26.95)
Forbidden Fruit Cerise D’Eve ($29.95)
Fort Winery Raspberry Portage ($20)
Fort Winery Wild West Blackberry ($20)
Granite Creek Fortified Merlot ($20)
Gray Monk Odyssey III ($20 for 500 ml)
Kettle Valley Caboose ($24)
La Frenz Vintage Port ($25 for 500 ml)
La Frenz NV Tawny ($20)
La Frenz NV Liqueur Muscat ($20
Quails’ Gate Fortified Vintage Foch ($23 for 375 ml)
Rustic Roots Mulberry Pear ($29)
Salt Spring Vineyards Blackberry “Port” ($24)
Stag's Hollow Hart ($25 for 500 ml)
Starling Lane Port Victoria Wild ($23)
Sumac Ridge Pipe ($25 for 500 ml)
Summerhill Chalice NV ($30)
Vista D’oro D’Oro Walnut Wine ($49.50)
Wild Goose Black Brant ($20)

Young & Wyse Collection releases 2010 reds

2011-12-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

Photo: Stephen Wyse

The two red wines just released by Young & Wyse Collection proprietor Stephen Wyse are among the first 2010 reds in the market. They are a sign of good things to come from that vintage.

Much like 2011, the 2010 vintage started late, suffered cool growing conditions for much of the spring and summer and then was saved by a long, warm and dry autumn. To quote this winery: “An October heat wave rounded the vintage out beautifully and brought everything together for a fantastic harvest.”

Those growers that reduced the crop load early, so that the remaining grapes ripened, made surprisingly good wines. Judging from the taste of the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon from Young & Wyse, there was impeccable viticulture in the winery’s 10-acre Osoyoos vineyard and in that of its growers.

This boutique winery, a stone’s throw from the Osoyoos border crossing, was opened two years ago by Michelle Young and her partner, Stephen Wyse.

His surname is familiar in British Columbia wine circles. Jim Wyse, his father, started the Burrowing Owl Winery; Stephen’s brother, Chris, and his sister, Kerri, now handle much of the management at Burrowing Owl.

Stephen, who once trained as an airline pilot, got into wine as part of the construction crew that built Burrowing Owl. Then he spent a number of years in the cellar there, including three as winemaker, before he and Michelle decided to strike out on their own.

Very quickly, they have reached a production of about 4,000 cases a year, supported by contracts with several Osoyoos growers and by rising production from their young vines. The Young & Wyse vineyard grows Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, with just a little Malbec. (Frost damage a few years ago decimated Stephen’s Malbec, sadly.)

The winery has the volume to make its wines available widely in VQA and other wines stores, as well as in restaurants, and at reasonable price points.

Here are notes on the two current releases.

Young & Wyse Collection Merlot 2010 ($19.90 for a production of 1,400 cases). The wine still has the firmness one expects of a young wine; decant it if you don’t have the patience to cellar it. The wine begins with spice and berry aromas (raspberry, blueberry, cherry). On the palate, the wine has good concentration with flavours of plum and black currant, with a long finish. 89.

Young & Wyse Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ($26.90 for a production of 1,848 cases). This is a late-ripening variety but the grapes were fully ripe when picked at the very end of October and into the first few days of November, yielding a wine with 13.3% alcohol. The aromas begin with an intriguing note of spearmint (to the expected in an Okanagan Cabernet), along with nutmeg and red fruit. On the palate, there are flavours of black currant, blueberry and blackberry. The texture is concentrated with ripe tannins. Even though the wine is drinking well, it will definitely reward anyone who cellars it for about five years. 90

Remembering Dave Dhillon of Chandra Estate Winery

2011-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

Photo: Devindar (Dave) Dhillon

The British Columbia wine industry has lost a remarkable gentleman with the passing of Devindar (Dave) Dhillon, the founder of Chandra Estate Winery in Oliver.

Dave, who opened the winery in 2oo8, died of cancer on November 26.

He had one of the more improbable backgrounds among the many who have started wineries in the Okanagan: he had a 30-year career in the Canadian penal system and had risen to senior posts before retiring. He bought a vineyard and started a winery when he grew bored of retirement.

Most of us who met this elegant and sweet-tempered man had difficulty imagining that he was once a prison warden. He got into that career by chance, as he told me in a charming interview in 2006.

He was born in India in 1939 and migrated to North America, via Kenya, to teach. After substitute teaching in California, he lined up a teaching job in British Columbia – but the immigration paperwork took so long that the job was gone by the time he arrived.

Here, in his words, is what happened next.

“This is a true story. The British Columbia Penitentiary in New Westminster, an old traditional place, advertised at time for security officers and correctional officers. I thought that is a big thing, officer. From my background in India, officer means something. So I applied without understanding what that really meant.

“And the fellow called – who became a very good friend of mine – and said, ‘Do you understand what you are applying for?’ I said, ‘To be honest, no. I’m looking for a job.’ He said: ‘Your qualifications look really interesting. Why don’t you come over and we’ll explain what this job is.’

“So I went there and he explained it to me. That was not my suit. [But] I said I need a job, so I want to do it. In the next three, four days, a vacancy came up in counselling. He said, ‘How about that?’ I asked him, ‘More money or less’, because you need money when you come to a new land. He said: ‘I think it is more money and it is in your area of training.’

“So we were preparing for that when a job came up in Prince Alberta as a teacher in corrections. He said, ‘Hey, you have a teaching degree. Would you like to do that?’

“He said [it paid] a lot more money! I said I like it.

“He said it is very cold in Prince Alberta. When I want there, it was 51 below, with the wind chill. It was February 14, the day I started. 1966. … I became school principal in the Penitentiary after three years.”

He earned additional degrees, did postgraduate work in counselling at the University of Saskatchewan, and moved up in the corrections service, ultimately to regional director general for the Prairies. He eased into his retirement in 1996 with two years running the Ferndale minimum security institution in the Fraser Valley.

He tired of travelling and of consulting by 2005 and decided to buy a vineyard. “The whole field of the wine industry is very challenging,” he told me. “That’s the kind of thing I like. I thought it can’t be any more complex than inmate behaviour.”

Because the vineyard and winery were organic, he wanted to call it Ecovitis until his family – he has two daughters and a son – said that sounded like dishwater detergent. With his good nature, Dave shrugged off the critique and agreed with the family’s name – Chandra, a Hindi word for moon. Many of Chandra’s wines had names alluding to the moon.

His mentor in viticulture and winemaking has been Karnail Singh Sidhu, the owner of Kalala Organic Estate Winery in West Kelowna. Karnail helped manage the vineyard and winery after Dave became ill.

The Dhillon family has not yet made a decision on the future of Chandra.

BC Red Icons: the fourth annual tasting

2011-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

Painted Rock Estate Winery, which John and Trish Skinner opened only two years ago, is on a roll.

In the recent Canadian Wine Awards, Painted Rock was first among British Columbia wineries for the Winery of the Year award and third overall, just pipped by two Ontario wineries.

Painted Rock entered 13 wines in competition and came away with three gold medals, four silvers and six bronzes. One of the three golds was the winery’s 2009 Red Icon, which finished second as the top British Columbia red after Church & State’s Coyote Bowl Syrah 2009.

And at Sip Wines fourth annual tasting of B.C. Iconic Reds, Painted Rock Red Icon 2009 was scored in first place among the 19 great Okanagan and Similkameen blends.

Sip Wines is a VQA wine store in Richmond. The first three tastings of “iconic reds” were held in the store. This year, the demand of Sip’s customers was so great that the tasting was moved to a room at the Richmond Country Club big enough to handle a sit-down tasting for more than 100.

This is a very professionally-run tasting. To begin with, the wines were all decanted several hours before the tasting. These were all young wines made, in general, to be cellared for 10 or so years, in the tradition of great Bordeaux reds. Decanting the wines and letting them breathe accelerates their development and enables us to enjoy them sooner.

The wines were served blind, one at a time, and in good stemware. No one, other than Sip proprietor Simon Wosk – who did not have a vote - had any idea what the order was until all the wines had been tasted and all the ballots were tallied.

Guests at the event were able to order their favourite wines. When a winery agrees to enter its wine, Simon makes every effort to get an allocation set aside for attendees at the tasting. For the most part, these wines are produced in small volumes, with sales limited to the winery and to very few wine stores.

There was one wine here that I had never even heard of. I suspect most of the attendees have not tasted most of these wines because they are so hard to get.

For collectors of fine British Columbia wine, this tasting should be one of the highlights of the year. None of these wines disappoint. Only three of the wines has less than 90 points on my score card (one 88 and two 89s). The others ranged from 90 to 95: impressive winemaking!

Here are my notes on the 19 wines in the order that they were ranked by the attendees.

Painted Rock Red Icon 2009 ($55). This is a big, unfiltered red, a blend of Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (29%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Petit Verdot (15%) and Syrah (1%). This is the third vintage of Red Icon and the first with no Malbec in the blend. It begins with aromas of spice, blackberry, black currant and dark cherry. It shows a rich texture with flavours of berries, plums, dark chocolate and vanilla. This is a wine, while still youthful and in need or cellaring, which has both power and elegance.

Church & State Quintessential 2008 ($50). This is a blend of five Bordeaux varietals (the percentage of each is not available). Each varietal was aged separately in French oak for 12 months and then, after the wine was blended, it spent another 12 months in French oak. The wine soaked up the wood very well; it does not intrude on the vibrant aromas and flavours of red fruit (raspberry, cherry), with hints of mocha and red liquorice. The fine-grained tannins give the wine a supple, accessible texture.

Laughing Stock Portfolio 2008 ($40). The wine is 53% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. This is a big, satisfying wine with 14.6% alcohol. It shows spicy red berries and vanilla on the nose, flavours of plum and black cherries and ripe tannins that make the wine rich on the palate.

Mission Hill Oculus 2007 ($70). This is 50% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. It is a big wine with muscular, but ripe, tannins, a structure to enable to wine to age 10 or 15 years. The wine offers layer upon layer of flavour. The initial aromas were primarily oak and dark chocolate; plum and cherry aromas developed with time. On the palate, the flavour layers revealed plum, currants, figs, chocolate, with a hint of spice on the finish.

Poplar Grove Legacy 2007 ($50). This is 71% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is a wine that spent two years in barrel and another two in bottle before release. Even with all that barrel and bottle age, it retains vibrant flavours of currants and blackberries, aromas of plum and vanilla. The fine-grained tannins contribute to a full texture.

CedarCreek “Colbert Edition” Platinum Reserve Meritage 2006 ($45 for a production of 144 cases). This is a blend of 40% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. There are aromas of cassis, spice, vanilla leading to plum flavours with a hint of eucalyptus. The texture is still firm enough to suggest aging this wine a few more years.

Why Colbert Edition? A few years ago, CedarCreek managed to buy 40 very expensive barrels made from a 350-year-old oak in the French forest of Bertrange. The story has it that the trees were planted under the directions of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister to Louis XIV. Four of those barrels were used to age this wine for 19 months.

Lake Breeze Tempest 2008 ($35). This is 50% Merlot and 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine begins with an attractive perfume of blueberries and cassis. Rich on the palate, it tastes of plum and black currant and red liquorice. The wine is elegant and balanced.

Hester Creek The Judge 2007 ($50 for a production of 220 cases). This is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon with about two years of barrel age and more than a year of bottle aging before release. It is a big wine with firm tannins, with mint, vanilla and black currants on the nose and with a complex flavour profile – currants, black pepper, figs, with a hint of liquorice on the finish. The 2008 vintage of The Judge has just been released through the winery’s website.

Nk’Mip MəR’R’IYM 2009 ($50). This wine is a blend of 45% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. In keeping with the winery’s name – which means marriage – this struck me as quite a pretty wine with sweet aromas of cherry and blueberries and with flavours of cherry and blackberry.

Mission Hill Compendium 2008 ($40). This is 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. This is a richly satisfying wine, beginning with appealing aromas of black cherries, vanilla and spice. On the palate, there are flavours of black currants and plums with notes of sage and tobacco.

Fairview Cellars Bear’s Meritage 2008 ($35 but sold out). The blend is not available on the label but the minty note on the nose suggests this might be built around Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate, the fruit flavours are vibrant, with notes of black currant and liquorice. There is also a taste of black chocolate in this interesting wine.

The following two wines were tied.

Black Hills Nota Bene 2009 ($53). This is 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, a fairly classic blend. Those who collect this wine will find this ripe, rich vintage reflects the house style that has been consistent throughout its history. There is vanilla, eucalyptus and dark fruits on the nose, with flavours of plum, black cherry and chocolate. The ripe tannins give the wine an immediate accessibility but it certainly will cellar well over the next five years.

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2007 ($45). This is 70% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. I tasted this wine recently in a more leisurely setting at home and I reproduce those notes. This is a dark, concentrated wine with aromas of red fruit and cedar and with a complex palate of black currants, plums, coffee, chocolate, liquorice and cedar. On first opening, the tannins were firm and even a bit bitter on the finish, which is quite normal for a young red made in the Bordeaux style. Half a bottle was reserved for re-tasting on the second day, by which time the wine had rounded out to a rich palate with Christmas pudding flavours. If you must open the wine now, please decant it an hour or two ahead of time. If you can, put it away until at least 2015.

Clos du Soleil Signature 2009 ($39.90 for a production of 275 cases). This is a blend of 41% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. It presents a delicious array of red fruit flavours – currants, black cherries – with the added complexity of chocolate, fig and tobacco notes. The 18 months spent in French oak added a touch of cedar and vanilla.

Mission Hill Quatrain 2008 ($45). This wine is either sold out or not released yet because it is not on the winery website. This is a blend of 34% Merlot, 29% Syrah, 22% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The two Cabernets in this interesting blend seem to give the wine aromas of mint and cassis while the other two give the blend a lovely core of fruit – plum, black cherry, black currant. There is also a note of mocha. The wine still has a firm structure.

LaStella Fortissimo 2009 ($35). This is 67% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Sangiovese. This wine has appealing aromas of black fruit and vanilla and these carry through on the flavours. The wine is still firm and a long way from peaking – but it will with patient cellaring.

Herder Josephine 2008 ($50 with a production of 3,180 bottles). This is a blend of 81% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. Stated alcohol is 14.8%, again not an issue, given the fullness of the fruit and texture. The wine begins with dramatic aromas of spicy blackberries and blueberries. On the palate, there are flavours of blackberry and black currant, with the cedar notes often found in a Bordeaux-style red that has been aged in good oak.

Clos du Soleil Eclipse 2009 ($Not released yet). The winery made just four barrels, about 100 cases, of this blend of 50% Merlot, 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine is quite Bordeaux in style, with concentrated textures, aromas of spice and mint and flavours of currant and blackberry.

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2008 ($100 for the magnum). This is a blend of 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. Don’t be alarmed that this wine was at the end of the ratings. The wine is too young to reveal its potential, especially when served from a magnum. But this magnum will be spectacular in 2020. I thought it already better than this last place finish suggested, with a powerful aroma of dark fruit and plum jam. On the palate, there are notes of currants, dark chocolate, pepper and minerals. The texture is nicely concentrated.

As it happens, Laughing Stock has just released the 2009 vintage, suggesting the 2008 could be hard to find. The wine was not in the Sip tasting but here are my notes on it.

Laughing Stock Portfolio 2009 ($42 for a production of 1,990 cases). This is 36% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 14% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot, with an alcohol of 14.4%. In the style one has come to expect of Portfolio, this is a big ripe wine with aromas of red fruit, mocha and the oak that comes from its 19 months of barrel aging. Generous in texture, it has layers of flavour – plum, black currant, black liquorice – with ripe but firm tannins. This wine will cellar well. 92.

Black Hills founders launch Terravista

2011-11-26T14:04:00.001-08:00

Figaro is available at Marquis Wine Cellars in Vancouver

The couple that brought you the Black Hills winery and Nota Bene are back in the wine business.

Senka and Bob Tennant have just released the first wine, a white called Figaro, from Terravista Vineyards, their new winery high on the Naramata Bench.

The Tennants, along with Susan and Peter McCarrell, opened Black Hills in 2001 and sold it in 2007 when the McCarrells retired.

After taking a few years off, the Tennants returned to wine growing in 2009 when they began to plant a 1.6-hectare (four-acre) and to develop a winery with an unusual focus for the Okanagan. Terravista Vineyards has only Albariño and Verdejo, two Spanish white varieties never grown before in the Okanagan – and probably not in Canada. The couple travelled in Spain during the 2008 vintage there, picking the brains of growers and winemakers.

They also buy white Rhône varieties and are launching the winery with two blended whites.

“If you are doing this again, you might as well go for it,” Senka says of the decision to plant the Spanish varieties. “I felt we couldn’t plant Merlot clone 181.” She is referring to the most widely planted varietal in the Okanagan. “That would have been rather redundant.”

It was not easy to get even the small quantities of vines they needed. The University of California had just released disease-free stock; nurseries were scrambling to build up stocks of vines to meet the strong demand for these somewhat exotic varieties. The Tennants received just enough vines in 2009 to plant a quarter of the vineyard and some of those vines were killed in a freeze that fall. It was not until 2011, with their new winery under construction, that they got enough vines to finish planting Terravista.

Photo: Senka and Bob Tennant

The 600-square-metre (2,000 square-foot) winery, set into a hillside and partly below ground, is designed exclusively for producing only small volumes of white wine, with production capped at less than 2,000 cases a year.

“It was nice getting back to the grassroots,” Senka says. “Black Hills got so big. This is great because Bob and I do everything ourselves.”

The winery and vineyard are uphill from the Kettle Valley Trail and offer dramatic views of the Naramata Bench. However, there is no wine shop, nor are there plans to open one. The fans of Senka Tennant’s winemaking will just have to pick up the telephone (778-476-6011) and order.

“Our intent is to sell our wine through our agents to restaurants and stores, and to people who are interested in ordering from us,” Bob says.

The first release is 220 cases of Figaro 2010 ($24 a bottle), made with grapes purchased from neighbouring vineyards and also from a grower in Osoyoos. This is blend of Roussanne, Viognier and Marsanne.

The white blend from their Spanish varietals, due for release next year, will be called Fandango.

Both wines are made in a crisp, dry style, suiting the varieties and also suiting the palates of the owners.

“You may as well make what you like,” Bob reasons. “Can you imagine making a wine and saying it is not really what I like but the public likes it?”

Intersection Winery releases its first wines

2011-11-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Photo: Bruce Schmidt

Vancouver businessman and angel investor Bruce Schmidt has just opened the Okanagan’s newest winery, Intersection Wines, by hand-selling its two first releases to restaurants and wine enthusiasts.

Bruce is hardly a stranger to the British Columbia wine industry. He was the national marketing manager at Calona Wines in the early 1980s when Schloss Laderheim became the best-selling domestic white wine in Canada.

In the early 1990s, he ran a company that helped raise financing for the start of Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars. He remained a Blue Mountain shareholder for 18 years and regards that winery as an example of how to do things correctly in the wine business.

In his non-wine life, he has run start-up life sciences companies. He is currently chief executive of Carrus Capital and plans to continue in that business as well as run the winery. “I have way too much fun in science to give it up at this point,” he says. “Also, the winery can tolerate that now. We don’t have such a large production now.” Intersection opened with about 1,000 cases of wine and is targeting 2,500 cases when its vineyard is in full production.

Bruce, who has a silent partner in the winery, began looking for Okanagan vineyard property in 2002, buying a former orchard, with a packing house, at the intersection of Highway 97 and Road 8 in 2007. The location inspired the winery’s name, along with the bright X on the labels and the website, which is www.xwine.ca (still under development).

The property now has 20,000 closely-packed vines on four hectares (10 acres). Half of the vines are red varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Franc) and the other half are whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Riesling).

The wines are made by Summerland wine consultant Philip Soo. The wines released so far are good and quite fairly priced for their quality.

“At this point the wines are only available directly from the winery,” Bruce says. “As I am back and forth from Vancouver on a regular basis, I can easily arrange to get people some wine. Once we have a bit more inventory, we will certainly seek some private store listings.” The current telephone number for ordering wine is 604.760.0160.

Here are notes on the wines.

Intersection 2010 Mile’s Edge White ($20). This is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier (the blends may change from vintage to vintage). Fermented in stainless steel, the wine begins with appealing floral and fruity aromas (apricots, pineapples). On the palate, there are flavours of green apple, melon and citrus, with the defining mineral spine that Viognier brings to the party. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 90.

Intersection 2009 Unfiltered Merlot ($25). Bruce believes that his vineyard delivers quite unique terroir notes in the Merlot. This elegant wine’s appeal begins with its lovely dark hue and its smoky aroma, mingled with aromas of blueberry, black currant and black cherry. These are echoed on the palate, which is bold and concentrated. This wine deserves to be cellared for a few more years to reach its full potential. 90-92.

Cassini Cellars - current releases

2011-11-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

Photo: Adrian Cassini

Since opening in 2009, Cassini Cellars has been releasing solid and interesting wines.

There is, it seems to me, a house style. The white wines deliver lovely and focused fruit flavours while the reds are generous in flavour and texture. In short, satisfying wines.

The winery was established on a vineyard south of Oliver by Adrian Cassini, an immigrant from Romania with a healthy streak of entrepreneurship and a love of wines.

As a winemaker, he retained Philip Soo, the Summerland-based consultant with a stable of good wineries in his professional portfolio (Noble Ridge, Dirty Laundry, Gold Hill, to name just a few). It is difficult to understand how he juggles his clients but the fact is that all are making good wine.

The reviews that follow are from wines that Cassini released this year. Alas, by the time I got around to reviewing them all, some were sold out at the winery. But it is probable that even those wines might still be on the shelf in a private wine store or two; or on a restaurant list.

Here are my notes.

Cassini Chardonnay 2010 ($19 for a production of 400 cases). This wine, I am informed, sold out quickly. This is a textbook unoaked Chardonnay. I know that I have disparaged unoaked Chardonnay occasionally as cocktail wines … but this is a very good wine. It begins with aromas of pear, citrus apples and pineapple, all of which are duplicated on the palate. The finish is crisp and fresh. 90.

Cassini Chardonnay Reserve 2009 ($29). This is the wine for those who love Chardonnays that have had the full treatment. I might have liked a hair less oak but my neighbour, with whom I shared the bottle, raved about it. Gold in colour, the wine has aromas and flavours of coconut, butterscotch, vanilla, tangerine and ripe pear. The wine is rich on the palate and has a long finish. 88.

Cassini Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($19 for a production of 181 cases). Think of Graves, not New Zealand. The wine has aromas of pear, herbs and citrus that carry through to the palate. The finish is crisp and dry, with mineral notes. 88.

Cassini Mama Mia Pinot Gris 2010 ($19 for a production of 620 cases). It is good that production is substantial because this is a crowd-pleaser with just over 15 grams of residual sugar but a fairly moderate acidity. As a result, the wine is juicy with flavours of pears and ripe apples and a lingering sweetness on the finish. 88.

Cassini Viognier 2010 ($19 for a production of 425 cases). With an alcohol of 12.6%, this is probably the lightest wine from Cassini in the vintage. It has pleasant fruit aromas and flavours of apricot, pineapple, pear and lemon. The wine is crisp and tangy with skein of minerality. 88.

Cassini Nobilus 2008 Merlot Collector’s Series ($39 for a production of 290 cases). This big red (14.9% alcohol) announces itself with a dramatic aroma of black currants, lingonberry, black cherry and raspberry jam. The richly textured palate presents flavours of blackberry, dark chocolate, figs, spice and cedar. A generous and satisfying Merlot, it has the structure and concentration to justify cellaring it a few more years. 91.

Cassini Red Carpet Pinot Noir 2010 ($20 for a production of 1,049 cases). This easy-drinking wine has to be one of the best value Pinot Noirs in the Okanagan. It is made from grapes grown near Osoyoos, which is generally not regarded as ground zero for Pinot Noir. Yet the grapes were obviously well grown. This is a nice ripe, medium-bodied wine with 14% alcohol (which is unobtrusive). It has aromas and flavours of cherries and spice cake, with a hint of chocolate. 90.

Cassini Pinot Noir Reserve 2009 ($29 for a production of 115 cases). In his notes on the wine, Adrian Cassini pays credit to the grower, a friend called Lino Barbbieri, who grows low-tonnage Pinot Noir in a small vineyard north of Oliver. “Rich soil, perfect sun exposure, cool nights and the meticulous Lino makes the perfect formula for the moodiest grape on Earth,” Adrian writes. The result is a very good Pinot Noir with vibrant flavours of raspberry and cherry and a bright, silky palate. 90-91.

Cassini Maximus 2009 Collector’s Series ($34). Another big ripe 14.9%-alcohol wine, this is a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec. This begins with aromas of currants and blackberry. It has complex layers of flavour – black currants, plum, spice, sage – with long ripe tannins and a concentrated texture. I would not hesitate to lay this down at least until 2015. 90-92.

Cassini Syrah Collector’s Series 2009 ($34). A robust Syrah in the Cassini style, the wine has meaty and dark fruit aromas with flavours of black cherry, plum, fig, liquorice and pepper and an almost earthy finish. 90.

Cassini Malbec 2009 Collector’s Series ($29 for a production of 85 cases). Full-bodied, even chewy in texture, this is a wine with aromas and flavours of blackberry, cherry, peppery spice and vanilla. 90.

Cassini Cabernet Franc 2009 Collector’s Series ($NA). This is a big rustic wine that needed plenty of time to open its aromas and its spicy, herbal flavours. 88.

Tom DiBello becomes a Canadian

2011-11-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

Photo: Tom DiBello

Now it is confirmed: winemaker Tom DiBello is a keeper.

Early in November, Tom and Tari, his wife, became Canadian citizens, erasing any concern that Tom would eventually resume his winemaking career in the United States where he grew up.

Tom is still close enough to his citizenship exam to delight in stumping native Canadians with some of the questions.

Example: Who was Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine? Answer: in 1842, he was the first Canadian to become prime minister of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible government in Canada.

I had to admit to Tom that I didn’t know that.

As if to celebrate becoming a citizen, his DiBello Wines has just released two more wines. This spring, he released the first wine on his own label, 87 cases of $33 Viognier. It has now flowered wonderfully in the bottle to become a luscious white with layers of tropical flavours.

It has now been joined with a Chardonnay and a Merlot; and a Syrah will be along as soon as it has had a bit more bottle age.

Tom was born in 1957 in New York, Tom grew up in California’s Newport Beach, acquiring a lifelong love of surfing. After vacillating between medicine and business, he qualified as a winemaker at the University of California. His first job in 1983 was at Napa’s respected Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where he became director of cellar operations.

“Warren Winiarski is a tough taskmaster,” DiBello said of the owner of Stag’s Leap. “He’s a demanding perfectionist.” Some of that may have rubbed off on Tom, even though he hides it behind a laid-back personality.

He left Stag’s Leap for Australia in 1987 where he had the pick among several choice winemaker jobs. He went to Cape Mentelle, a highly-regarded producer at Margaret River in Western Australia. “It’s right on the beach,” DiBello explained the choice. “Margaret River has one of the best surfing beaches in the world and that’s what I looked on from my house there.”

He came back to California a year later (for economic and romantic reasons) and spent two years as a wine salesman. In 1989 he joined a small new winery at Temecula in southern California, Clos de Muriel, which won medals for its wines but was under-financed and closed after the 1992 vintage.

He went from there to do a vintage in Virginia and then spent four years with a winery in Arizona. In 1996 he joined Claar Cellars, a new Washington State winery. He made two vintages there and another two at a winery called Washington Hills before being recruited by CedarCreek. He came to the Okanagan in the summer of 2000 and stayed at CedarCreek for a decade before leaving to consult.

He is currently associated publicly with Alto Wine Group in Okanagan Falls and with Perseus Winery in Penticton. He also has a list of clients with lower profiles.

And he has his own label, DiBello Wines. (Actually, the labels are designed by Tari, a good artist.) Here, he produces small lots of interesting wines for sale to key restaurant clients and wine enthusiasts. The DiBello website also lists a wine store in Vancouver and another in the Okanagan that carry the wines.

Here are my notes on the current releases.

DiBello Chardonnay 2010 ($27.90 for a production of 110 cases). This is lovely crisp Chardonnay. The subtle use of oak supports but does not mask the fresh, tangy flavours of citrus and peach. There is a touch of butteriness, just enough to flesh out the palate. 90.

DiBello Merlot 2010 ($29.90 for a production of 110 cases). The grapes for this wine come from an Osoyoos vineyard from which Tom has secured Merlot since 2000. He believes it is a special site and the flavours of the wine confirm that. It has a lovely aroma and flavour of black currants, with long ripe tannins but also with that fine backbone that gives Okanagan Merlot the structure to age. This is an elegant wine. 91.

DiBello Syrah 2010 ($29.90 for a production of 140 cases). Not yet released but very promising, this robust wine is also made with Osoyoos grapes. It has a touch of pepper on the aroma and on the palate, along with flavours of dark fruits and black chocolate. 90-92.

Can Clos du Soleil's icon wines repeat?

2011-11-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

A year ago, Clos du Soleil Winery, a low-profile Similkameen winery, emerged as a giant killer with the winning wine in the third annual tasting of iconic reds sponsored by SIP Wines, Richmond’s VQA store.

It is hardly surprising to learn that Clos du Soleil has entered two wines in SIP’s fourth annual icon tasting, scheduled for November 29 at the Richmond Country Club.

Previous tastings were all in the cozy quarters of the wine store. This has become the most prestigious tasting of British Columbia’s top reds, so popular that it has been moved to larger quarters at the country club. The $50 event also is a sit-down tasting for the first time.

I believe the event is virtually sold out. For those who can’t get there, I will again post a blog on the results. To get started, however, I am offering notes on three Clos du Soleil wines I have tasted recently, including one of the two it has entered for the upcoming icon tasting.

Clos du Soleil Signature 2009 ($39.90 for a production of 275 cases). One of the wines entered in the icon tasting, this is a blend of 41% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. This wine should show well in competition. It presents a delicious array of red fruit flavours – currants, black cherries – with the added complexity of chocolate, fig and tobacco notes. The 18 months spent in French oak added a touch of cedar and vanilla. 91.

Clos du Soleil Célestiale 2009 ($$22.90 for a production of 200 cases). The winery describes this as a wine for “everyday enjoyment.” It is a blend 43% Cabernet Franc, 39% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% each of Petit Verdot and Malbec. The wine is a little less concentrated than Signature, with 13.7% alcohol, or half a percent lower than its big brother. It is a pleasant, uncomplicated wine with aromas and flavours of blackberry and raspberry. The wine benefits from being decanted. 88.

Clos du Soleil Fumé Blanc 2010 ($22.90 for a production of 100 cases and now sold out). Crisp and flinty in a style recalling Graves, this wine begins with aromas of herbs and citrus. On the palate, there are hints of grapefruit. The finish is dry, even a bit austere. 88.

I still need to review Clos du Soleil Saturn 2010 ($28.85 for a half bottle). This is a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc with a touch of botrytis. It is rare to see such dessert wines from the Okanagan.

I have a clutch of dessert wines that I plan to review together.

As for the icon tasting, here is a list of the wines that SIP has assembled. All of them sell for at least $40 a bottle.

CedarCreek "Colbert Edition" Platinum Reserve Meritage 2006

Church & State Quintessential 2008 (pre-release)

Fairview Cellars The Bear's Meritage 2008

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2007/2008

La Stella Fortissimo 2009 (pre-release)

Clos Du Soleil Eclipse 2009 (pre-release)

Clos Du Soleil Signature Red 2009

Mission Hill Compendium 2008

Laughing Stock Portfolio 2008

Painted Rock Red Icon 2008

Lake Breeze Tempest 2008

Black Hills Nota Bene 2009

Poplar Grove Legacy 2007

Mission Hill Quatrain 2008

Mission Hill Oculus 2008

Herder Josephine 2008

NK'Mip Mer'r'iym 2009

Hester Creek The Judge 2007

Cornucopia's wine and winery finds

2011-11-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

Photo: The end of vintage

This year, Cornucopia, the annual food and wine festival in Whistler, definitely marked the end of the very late 2011 vintage in British Columbia.

With some wineries still picking in mid-November, there were perhaps not as many winemakers behind the winery tables as usual. Other winery staff or agents stood in for the winemakers, and quite ably, dispensing the wines and the information that makes this one of the leading wine festivals of the year.

It has always been the last major wine tasting festival of the year. From now until early January, everyone in the industry is too occupied with keeping shelves and restaurants supplied. The rest of us are too busy with the demands of the holidays.

The wine tasting drought lifts in Vancouver on January 24 with the Taste of British Columbia, organized by Liberty Wines. That tasting will be at the Four Seasons Hotel, a change of venue for an event that has been held at a different hotel for years. I have no idea why Liberty changed the venue. Could it be because the Four Seasons has better stemware?

Cornucopia gets a lot of things right, including the provision of decent wine glasses.

This year, there were about 70 domestic and international wineries at Cornucopia’s trade and consumer tastings, far more than any person can cover, however diligent. But let me share a few of the things I did discover.

One was a winery from Lake Chelan in Washington, Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards, run by a jolly couple named Don and Judy Phelps.

Lake Chelan is a resort community a couple of hours due south of the Okanagan. With growing conditions not unlike the south Okanagan, this was officially designated as a viticultural area in 2009. There are at least 16 wineries in the area, none of which – to the best of my knowledge - has ventured into the Canadian market until now.

Hard Row to Hoe is a bit of a mouthful but there is a story. In the 1930s a local resident with a row boat established a taxi service across the lake, ferrying miners from one side to a brothel on the other.

For the owners, who did their first commercial crush here in 2005, this is a second career. Judy, who has a master of science degree in zoology, retired in 2006 from a research and development post at Pfizer Inc. and then got a certificate in winemaking from the University of California. Don has a master’s in civil engineering and has a private consulting practice (water resources) in Chelan.

Much like Summerland’s Dirty Laundry Winery (which was also at Cornucopia), Hard Row to Hoe has embellished the names of its wines with double entendres alluding to the dubious connection to the brothel. There is Burning Desire (for Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot). There is Iron Bed Red, Nauti Buoy, Good in Bed Brut, Shameless Hussy and Double Dip (it doesn’t mean what you think).

My favourite of the wines they showed at Cornucopia was a terrific 2010 Marsanne. Here’s hoping that Don and Judy found themselves an agent.

KWV, the big South African wine producer, did have an agent looking after its table. I stopped because I have not tasted Roodeberg in years. This was everybody’s favourite South African red in the days when South African wines had a bigger market share. It is still a pretty solid wine, well-priced at $13.99 a bottle.

The find at the KWV table, however, was a wine called Café Culture Pinotage 2009 ($14.99 in private wine stores). This is meant to be a new style of Pinotage – a generous red with tons of berry flavours and with the smoky finish of a good cigar.

The New Zealand contingent at Cornucopia included Oyster Bay Wines which has just shaved $2 from the price of each bottle between now and the end of January. Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($18) and Oyster Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir 2010 ($23) are very good value.

Summerhill Pyramid Winery’s Eric von Krosigk was among the winemakers at Cornucopia and not still stomping grapes. He was pouring a 2009 Organic Riesling ($19.95) that was impressive for its classic notes of citrus and petrol. One expects good Riesling from Eric who began his winemaking career with six years of study and practice in Germany.

Kettle Valley’s Bob Ferguson was also at Whistler and was relaxed because Tim Watts, his partner, was back in the Okanagan, dealing with the last grapes of the vintage. The winery’s Old Main Vineyard, a westward-facing slope that grows Bordeaux reds near Okanagan Lake, has one of the longest seasons of any vineyard on the Naramata Bench. Kettle Valley’s flagship Old Main Red 2008 ($38) was one of my favourite reds at the tasting.

At the Quinta Ferreira table, where owners John and Maria Ferreira presided, one of the solid value wines was the 2009 Cabernet Merlot ($21.90). But the star here was the 2009 Syrah ($29.90). This is the successor to the 2008 which won the Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence this year … and I think the 2009 is even better.

Cornucopia incorporates a wine judging each year and the winners are designated with a “Top 25” award. Two are singled out as wines of the year.

The top white was a Chenin Blanc 2009 ($25), from Bellingham, a very fine South African winery. The red wine of the year was the Nk’Mip Cellars QQ Syrah 2008 ($35).

No one was more overjoyed to have Top 25 recognition than Cliff Broetz, one of the owners of a Salt Spring Island winery called Mistaken Identity. The wine is a white blend, Abbondante Bianco 2010 ($20), an appealingly fragrant and crisp wine. The winery only opened two years ago and recognition like this confirms that the winery is off to a strong start.

Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Meyer Family

2011-11-14T14:29:00.000-08:00

Photo: Winemaker Chris Carson

Meyer Family Vineyards opened early in 2008 and initially produced only Chardonnay from its Old Main Vineyard on Naramata Road.

Then JAK Meyer bought the Mclean Creek Road Vineyard at Okanagan Falls late in 2008 and, shortly after that, hired winemaker Chris Carson, a Canadian trained in New Zealand, who is passionate about Pinot Noir.

The result is the addition of several Pinot Noirs to the portfolio, along with more Chardonnay and, on occasion, Gewürztraminer because the Mclean Creek Road Vineyard includes varieties other than the two core varieties for Meyer.

The latest releases reflect good grape growing and good winemaking. Chris’s general approach with Pinot Noir involves pressing the grapes gently and leaving about a quarter of the clusters whole. After several days of cold soak, fermentation is begun with a mix of indigenous and cultured yeasts. He allows the ferment to progress slowly, peaking at a warm 33ºC. He opts for post-ferment maceration before pressing off the wine and transferring it to French oak (a mix of new and used barrels) for about 10 months. Malolactic fermentation takes place naturally in the late spring.

This is fairly typical winemaking with Pinot Noir in the many places where the wine is made.

Here are my notes.

Meyer 2010 Mclean Creek Road Vineyard Chardonnay ($35 for 216 cases). This appealing Chardonnay is focussed with laser-like purity of fruit, the result no doubt of a long, cool fermentation in stainless steel before finishing its ferment in French oak barrels. The wine spent 10 months in barrel, on the lees but without stirring. The wine begins with aromas of citrus and light butterscotch. On the palate, there are flavours of citrus and apple, very subtly supported by oak. The finish is crisp and bright. 91.

Meyer 2010 Old Main Vineyard Chardonnay – Tribute Series ($35 for 660 cases). Each vintage, the winery releases one Chardonnay that gives tribute to a British Columbia achiever, with some of the proceeds directed to an associated cause. This wine is dedicated to Sonja Gaudet, a national and world champion wheelchair curler. With this wine, they have done her proud. It is made from grapes grown on 15-year-old vines in the Meyer vineyard on Naramata Road. The winemaking here is similar to that of the Mclean Creek Chardonnay. The wine has a hint of toast mingled with the citrus aromas. On the palate, the fruit is lush – citrus, ripe apple, a touch of butterscotch – without any of the heaviness one sometimes finds on oaked Chardonnay. This wine is bright and fresh and also shows a laser-like purity. 92.

Meyer 2009 Mclean Creek Road Vineyard Pinot Noir ($40 for 52 cases). This wine will be released in the spring of 2012 because the winery thinks it needs still more bottle age to show its best. Provided it is decanted now and allowed to breathe, the wine is already impressive. Dark in hue, it has a rich, fruity aroma of cherries and raspberries. On the generous palate, there are layers of fruit including cherry and plum. On the finish, there is a note of spice and sage. 92.

Meyer 2010 Mclean Creek Road Vineyard Pinot Noir ($40 for 168 cases). This vineyard grows five different clones of Pinot Noir, giving the winemaker options for building a complex wine. This again is a fine, dark-hued Pinot Noir, with aromas of spice and cherries. On the palate, the vibrant fruit again is layered, with notes of strawberry and cherry. The texture is generous with the classic suppleness of this varietal. The wine is still youthful and should be cellared for a few years to reach its potential. 91.

Meyer 2010 Reimer Vineyard Pinot Noir ($40 for 196 cases). This wine is made from grapes grown in a vineyard in East Kelowna. This has bright and spicy aromas and flavours of raspberry and cherry. The texture is generous, with good concentration and length of fruit. 90

Meyer 2010 Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir ($24.90 for 550 cases). The grapes for this wine are from the Canyon View Vineyard, which is on a terrace overlooking Trout Creek Canyon at Summerland. The wine is a medium-bodied charmer with a vibrant ruby hue and bright aromas strawberry verging on cherry. On the palate, the wine has the variety’s silky texture with flavours of spice and strawberry. 90.

Quails' Gate raises the bar on Pinot Noir

2011-11-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Photo: Picker in the Quails' Gate vineyard

The latest release from Quails’ Gate Estate Winery is a rather odd coupling again.

I grumbled last year about a similar pairing but the fact is that Quails’ Gate’s best red and its most rustic reds are ready for release at the same time.

The winery has long had a cult following for its Old Vines Maréchal Foch – so much so that it makes two such wines each year, one from its vineyard in West Kelowna and another from a vineyard near Osoyoos.

The winery also has a strong following, deservedly so, for its Pinot Noirs.

I suspect these are varietals that appeal largely to different consumers. Elegant Pinot Noir is a cerebral wine (think of people who appreciate ballet and the opera). Robust Maréchal Foch jumps from the glass and smacks you in the mouth (think of patrons of football, if not mixed martial arts).

Succeeding in the wine business, obviously, is a matter of satisfying a range of tastes. There is no doubt that Quails’ Gate is a successful winery.

Maréchal Foch is a French hybrid variety that once was widely grown in British Columbia. Most of it was pulled out in 1988 to make way for vinifera varieties. Not all plantings, however, were pulled out (and there are a number of new plantings of this winter hardy workhorse). The two blocks that Quails’ Gate owns were 46 years old and 27 years old in 2009, the vintage of these two releases.

There are few plantings of any variety in British Columbia that are that old. Vintners tend to prize old vines because the grapes usually are much more intense in flavour compared with grapes from young vines.

The trio of wines just released include both Maréchal Foch wines as well as the most polished Pinot Noir that Quails’ Gate has ever released. The winery certainly has raised the bar for Pinot Noir.

Here are my notes.

Quail’s Gate Pinot Noir Dijon Clone Selection 2008 ($55 for a production of 440 six-pack cases). Quails’ Gate grows seven or eight clones of Pinot Noir but for this wine, winemaker Grant Stanley chose what the winery considers the best and oldest (12 years) Dijon clones in the vineyard – clones 115 and 667. The result is a wine of exceptional elegance and purity. It begins with alluring cherry aromas. On the silky palate, there is layer after layer of sweet berry flavours – cherry, strawberry, raspberry. There is a backbone of fine tannins, suggesting that this wine will age well. Unfortunately, it is so seductive and charming already that very few bottles are likely to be cellared. 94.

Quails’ Gate Old Vines Foch Reserve 2009 ($40 for a production of 2,045 six-bottle cases). This wine is from the 46-year-old West Kelowna block. The winery has been producing an Old Vines Foch from this block since 1994 when their winemaker at the time, Australian Jeff Martin, patterned the flavour profile on old vines Shiraz. This release is a typically bold, dark and brooding red with 15% alcohol. It begins with an almost meaty aroma; the spicy overtones reminded me of a good pâté. As the wine breathes, aromas of plum, fig and chocolate also emerge. On the palate, there are flavours of fig and plum, with a hint of mocha subtly supported by oak. A cut-with-your-knife wine, it demands a pepper steak. 90.

Quails’ Gate Old Vines Foch 2009 ($25 for a production of 2,072 cases).This is from 27-year-old Foch grown in the winery’s Osoyoos vineyard. Perhaps it is the extra heat or the sandy soil, but these grapes never quite develop the power of the West Kelowna Foch even if this is also 15% alcohol. No doubt, there are palates which will prefer the slightly leaner style. This wine begins with the variety’s gamey aromas. On the palate, there are flavours of black cherry and chocolate with spicy fruitcake on the finish. 88.

Painted Rock releases a quintette of fine wines

2011-11-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Photo: John Skinner

John Skinner retired from the brokerage business more than a year ago to dedicate himself entirely to running his Painted Rock Estate Winery near Okanagan Falls.

Considering the turmoil in the markets this year, you have to admire John for his timing.

I am betting he might be taking some heat from clients if he were still managing portfolios. But I doubt has is getting much, if any, from the Painted Rock customers because the winery is delivering the results than wine lovers want.

At the recent Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards, Painted Rock won three gold medals, four silver and six bronze. That ranked the winery first among the British Columbia competitors and third among Canadian competitors. That is a pretty convincing performance.

This fall’s wine release includes four from the 2009 vintage, a year that produced a lot of good wines in the Okanagan, and 2010 Chardonnay. The 2010 vintage was a bit challenging for reds but it was one of the best white wine vintages in a decade.

Here are my notes.

Painted Rock Chardonnay 2010 ($30). Here is a Chardonnay that re-defines finesse. It begins with dramatic tropical aromas of citrus, spice and a hint of barrel (this is a barrel-fermented Chardonnay). On the palate, the flavours are lively, with notes of grapefruit and mandarin orange, with almost imperceptible oak. It has just the right note of acidity to give the wine a bright, vibrant finish. 92.

Painted Rock Merlot 2009 ($40). This wine begins with aromas of blackberry, cassis and new oak, continuing to flavours of black currants, raspberries and pomegranate. The texture is concentrated and firm (even after decanting), suggesting the wine has the power and the structure to cellar for another seven or eight years. 91.

Painted Rock Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($40). Dense and concentrated, this is a very well-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. It begins with attractive aromas of ripe berry fruit and cassis, On the palate, there are flavours of black currant, blackberry and plum, with a finish of sage, spice, cedar, even hints of tobacco. The ripe but firm tannins suggest a wine capable of aging at least 10 years. 92.

Painted Rock Syrah 2009 ($40). Here is a big brooding Rhone-style Syrah, beginning with aromas of plum, ripe fig and oak (the wine was aged in new oak, 70% French, 30% American). On the palate, there are meaty and earthy flavours of fig, tobacco, pepper. 91.

Painted Rock Red Icon 2009 ($55). Here is a big, unfiltered red already throwing a bit of sediment. That’s no big deal because you will be decanting this wine anyway, if only to let it open and show its complex aromas and flavours. It begins with aromas of spice, blackberry, black currant and dark cherry. I decanted this wine and tasted it over two days. As it opens up, it shows a rich texture with flavours of berries, plums, dark chocolate and vanilla. This is a wine with both power and elegance. 93-95

It is a blend of Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (29%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Petit Verdot (15%) and Syrah (1%). This is the third vintage of Red Icon and the first with no Malbec in the blend. The blend is done under the eye of Alain Sutre, a wine guru from Bordeaux. He knows what he is doing.

Burrowing Owl's new Athene and Cabernet Franc wines

2011-10-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Photo: Bertus Albertyn

It was once something of a tradition in Europe to make wines that were referred to as field blends.

Those wines resulted either when varieties were intermingled in the same vineyard or when grapes from adjoining blocks were picked and fermented together.

In the new world, the practice has been to pick and ferment varieties separately, blending them many months after the vintage. There is some logic to that. Not all varieties ripen at the same time.

If there is ever a winery on the Okanagan that epitomizes the best of new world winemaking, it is surely Burrowing Owl Estate Winery.

It came as a surprise to learn from Bertus Albertyn, the winemaker, that one of Burrowing Owl’s best blends, a red called Athene, actually is a field blend.

It happened by chance and it was started by one of the predecessor winemakers. Bertus decided it was worth continuing the practice.

The winery has two blocks of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon which began bearing fruit in the 2006 vintage. There was not much fruit that year or the next. The grapes were fermented together and the resulting wine ended up in various other Burrowing Owl wines.

But the winery noted that the wine was quite interesting. So in 2008 and again in 2009, this co-fermented blend was barrel-aged on its own and released as Athene.

The 2009 Athene is 52% Syrah, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes from the two blocks were fermented together on their skins for more than two weeks. Between the time of fermentation and the maceration after ferment, the wine was on the skins for 25 days, picking up great colour and intense flavours. The wine spent 16 months in French and American oak before being bottled.

The result is impressive. Here are notes on that one and on Burrowing Owl’s Cabernet Franc, both of which have just been released.

Burrowing Owl 2009 Athene ($35). The winery’s tasting notes, prepared by a Master of Wine, aptly describe this as a “dark, brooding wine.” This is quite simply a ripe, full-bodied red (14.9% alcohol) that is already drinking well but will age well for perhaps 10 more years. It begins with attractive aromas of plum, black cherry, vanilla, coffee and spice. On the palate, there is a core of sweet berry flavour – blackberry, black currant – with a long and complex finish of red liquorice, chocolate and pepper. 92.

Burrowing Owl 2009 Cabernet Franc ($33). Most tasters agree that Burrowing Owl consistently makes one of the best Cabernet Francs in the Okanagan. This is another big ripe red (alcohol of 14.5%) with the classic brambly aromas and flavours of the variety. The aromas recall blackberries and black currant jam. On the palate, there are flavours of black cherry, plum and fig. The tannins are plush and ripe. 91.

JoieFarm's siblings from the 2009 vintage

2011-10-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

The JoieFarm winery on the Naramata Bench releases most of its wines in the spring and the releases are wines from the vintage just completed..

But it has two wines that involve barrel aging; these are released in the fall, almost two years after the vintage in which they were grown.

Here are notes on the two recent releases.

JoieFarm Reserve Chardonnay 2009 ($29.90 for a production of 502 cases). This wine presents a creamy richness to the palate, reflecting both the warm vintage and the pains taken with the grapes in the winery, beginning with pressing whole clusters and berries. The wine was fermented in French barrels and puncheons (12% new, 36% one year old, 52% neutral). A quarter of the wine was fermented with natural yeast. All the wine went through malolactic fermentation and then was aged nine months in oak. The lees were stirred regularly, promoting the rich texture on the palate.

The wine begins with aromas of orange and other citrus fruit. It has layered flavours of good marmalade and ripe pears, with a delicate touch of cloves on the finish. 91-93.

JoieFarm PTG 2009 ($25.90 for a production of 900 cases). This is a blend of 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Gamay. It is worth noting that 10% of 2010 Gamay was blended into this to brighten the fruit flavours. PTG stands for “Passetoutgrain” – the term used in Burgundy for red wines made by blending these two grapes. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then aged in a combination of French barrels and puncheons (13% of the oak was new).

The result is what one looks for in a PTG – a cheerful, almost playful red beginning with aromas of spice, strawberries and cherries. On the palate, there are notes of cherries. My tasting companion found a hint of red liquorice which may be the same as what the winery, in its own notes, refers to tamarind. 89-90.

Black Hills confirms it will launch second label

2011-10-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Along with its latest releases, Black Hills Estate Winery has disclosed that it will definitely launch a second label next June.

The new label will be called Cellarhand. There is no information yet on the wines but there will certainly be a red wine.

The role of Cellarhand is to be a home for the wines that are left over when Nota Bene and other blends have been assembled.

This is standard practice among wineries with icon wines. When the winemaker signs off on what he considers is the very best blend for the icon wine, there will always be a few barrels of this or that left over. These are not necessarily lesser quality wines. In fact, they are often quite good wines. It is just that adding them all to the icon blend will change it from what the winemaker considers the optimal blend.

Some wineries sell the extra wine in bulk to other wineries. But it is more profitable to bottle it and sell it as a second label.

The consumer, however, gets a bargain. For example, the second wine at Osoyoos Larose sells for $25 a bottle, almost half the price of Le Grand Vin. One would expect Cellarhand wines will also be lower priced that the Black Hills wines.

The current range of Black Hills wines includes the winery’s first Syrah and its second Viognier. I have reviewed several of these before from a tasting this spring at the winery. However, I include notes on all the wines. Nota Bene is technically sold out at the winery but there are bottles available in private and VQA wine stores.

Here are my notes.

Chardonnay 2009 ($30). The barrel-fermented Chardonnay is a lovely and complex wine, especially if it is not overly chilled, which will mask some of aromas and flavours. It begins with aromas of citrus and pears, with a touch of breadiness from the lees. The flavours follow through with notes of apple, citrus and a touch of butterscotch. The bright but balanced acidity leaves a crisp, refreshing finish. 90.

Viognier 2010 ($30). This is the winery’s second vintage of Viognier. This wine begins with aromas of grapefruit, pineapple and apricot and delivers layers of those flavours, especially stone fruit, to the palate. It has that delicate backbone of tannin that makes Viognier such a special white wine. The acidity assures a bright, crisp finish. 90.

Alibi 2010 ($25). A blend of Sauvignon Blanc (about 75%) and Sémillon, this is a lovely aromatic wine, with floral and herbal notes, and with flavours of grapefruit and lime. The crisp, refreshing finish lingers. 90.

Carmenère 2009 ($50). Black Hills was the first winery in Canada to release a Carmenère (from the 2005 vintage). This is a late-ripening red now most often seen among the wines of Chile. This wine’s 12.2% alcohol tells you that the grapes would have preferred to stay on the vine a few weeks beyond the October 13 harvest date of that vintage. The winery had no choice since a hard early freeze closed the door on an otherwise fine 2009 vintage. When there are no leaves remaining on the vines, ripening stops.

To his credit, winemaker Graham Pierce pulled off a good medium-bodied Carmenère. It begins with aromas of pepper and red fruit and delivers flavours of cherry, mocha and pepper. 88.

Nota Bene 2009 ($53). This wine, one of the best Nota Bene wines since the first vintage in 1999, was released in the spring. I repeat my notes from tasting it at the winery. This is 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, a fairly classic blend. Those who collect this wine will find this ripe, rich vintage reflects the house style that has been consistent throughout its history. There is vanilla, eucalyptus and dark fruits on the nose, with flavours of plum, black cherry and chocolate. The ripe tannins give the wine an immediate accessibility but it certainly will cellar well over the next five years. 93.

Syrah 2009 ($35 for a production of 1,200 cases). This is the first Syrah from Black Hills and seems an obvious companion to Nota Bene. Dark in colour, the wine begins with aromas of pepper, black cherries and game meat. On the palate, the flavours are generous, with flavours of plums and figs and the spiciness of good deli meats. The wine is full, with the textural elegance of ripe tannins. 90.

Sandhill and friends: a tasting with Howard Soon and his team

2011-10-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Photo: Winemaster Howard Soon

After Andrew Peller Ltd. took over Calona in 2005, three major labels were brought into that sprawling winery.

This is the home of Calona Vineyards, Peller Estates and (until, and if, a separate winery is built on Black Sage Road), Sandhill Wines.

The wines from the three labels are remarkable distinct. Calona, where the winemaker is Sandy Leier, gets most of its grapes in the north Okanagan, producing wines that, for the most part, are fruity, uncomplicated and seldom oak-aged.

Peller Estates, where the winemaker is Stephanie Leinemann, has one tier of wines that is affordable and a higher tier that, while still affordable by Okanagan standards, is more complex. The grapes are drawn from both Okanagan and Similkameen vineyards that are either owned by Peller or under contract to Peller.

Sandhill, whose winemaker is Howard Soon, produces strictly single vineyard wines. The object is to showcase the individual terroirs. Sandhill never blends wines from more than one vineyard.

Sandhill now has five single vineyard designations. The largest is the 174-acre Sandhill Estate Vineyard (SEV) on Black Sage Road, the likely home of the long-planned standalone winery. The 43-acre King Family Vineyard near Penticton, is owned by the Don and Rod King, who grow Pinot Gris for Sandhill.

The seven-acre Phantom Creek Vineyard and the adjacent 12-acre Osprey Ridge Vineyard are owned by veteran vineyard managers who have been associated with Sandhill ever since the wines were launched in 1999.

Finally, Sandhill has released its first wine, a Cabernet Merlot, from the 104-acre Vanessa Vineyard in the Similkameen. This vineyard, owned by a Vancouver developer, was planted about five years ago. It now sells all of its grapes to the Peller group of wineries.

I have been able to taste many of the wines from these three producers at two recent tastings with the talented winemaking team. The quality is excellent to outstanding. Here are my notes.

Photo: Calona winemaker Sandy Leier

Calona Artist Series Chardonnay 2010 ($13.99). This is a charming and focussed fruit-forward Chardonnay, with clean, fresh flavours of citrus and peaches. 89

Calona Artist Series Gewürztraminer 2010 ($13.99). The spicy rose petal aromas of this wine jump from the glass. There are flavours of grapefruit with a spicy finish. 88.

Calona Artist Series Sovereign Opal 2010 ($13.99). This is a Calona exclusive, a white wine with exotic spice on the nose and palate. It is produced from a varietal developed at the research station in Summerland. Only one vineyard grows it. The wine is selling so well that the plantings are being increased from six acres to nine acres. This is a mouthful of fruit – peach and pink grapefruit – with just a hint of sweetness on the balanced finish. 89.

Calona Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($14.99). This is a medium-bodied, easy drinking red with soft tannins and flavours of cherries and red currants, with a touch of chocolate. 88.

Photo: Peller winemaker Stephanie Leinemann

Peller Private Reserve Dry Riesling 2010 ($15.99). Here is a textbook Riesling, with a touch of petrol on the nose, tangy flavours of lime and grapefruit and a spine of minerals in the texture. The wine has a long, refreshing finish. 90.

Peller Private Reserve Pinot Gris 2009 ($16.99). The wine begins with aromas of spice and apples. On the palate, there are layers of fruit flavours – apples, pears, grapefruit. The finish is crisp. 89.

Peller Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($19.99). The wine begins with aromas of sage and red berries. It has flavours of currants and blackberries, with hints of chocolate and tobacco on the finish. The texture is generous. 89.

Sandhill SEV Chardonnay 2010 ($17.99 for a production of 3,244 cases). This wine was half fermented in barrel, half in stainless steel. The result is an excellent Chardonnay where the oak notes are subtle and in the background, with the fruit aromas and flavours – citrus, apples, pears, spice – out in front. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 90.

Sandhill SEV Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($18.99 for a production of 937 cases). Howard Soon confides that this is the best Sauvignon Blanc he has made. I would not dispute that. The zesty freshness of the wine takes one away to New Zealand, at least in style. The wine has aromas and flavours of lime, grapefruit, with an accent of herbs and minerals. The clean, fresh finish lingers forever. 92.

Sandhill King Family Pinot Gris 2010 ($18.99 for a production of 4,634 cases). This is a lovely glass of fruit – aromas and flavours of pears, apples, melon and peaches. With just a trace of residual sugar to balance the acidity, the wine has an appealing texture and a long finish. 90.

Sandhill Small Lots SEV Single Block Chardonnay 2009 ($30 for a production of 190 cases). This wine is made from grapes grown on a specific block on the Sandhill Estate Vineyard and kept aside because of the special quality of the fruit and the wine. This wine was fermented in barrels and aged for eight months in new French oak. The toasty bacon fat aromas of the new oak add complexity without overshadowing the rich tangerine and butter flavours of the wine. 92.

Sandhill Small Lots Osprey Ridge Vineyard Viognier 2010 ($28 for a production of 615 cases). This full-bodied wine begins with floral and apricot aromas. In the palate, there are intense flavours of melon, apricot and pineapple.92.

Sandhill SEV Rosé 2010 ($17.99). This is an unusual blend of Cabernet Franc, Barbera and Sangiovese. The juice was drawn from the crushed skins after four days of cold soak. That resulted in a lovely dark wine with mouthfilling flavours of strawberry, cherry, watermelon and tea. The finish is dry. 90

Sandhill SEV Merlot 2009 ($19.99 for a production of 3,000 cases). Juicy and delicious, this wine begins with aromas of blueberries, blackberries and plums and delivers all of those flavours to the palate. The tannins are ripe and supple. 90.

Sandhill SEV Cabernet Merlot 2009 ($19.99 for a production of 3,800 cases). This is a blend of 58.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39.3% Merlot and 2.5% Cabernet Franc. A full-bodied red, it has aromas of black currants and flavours of black currants and black cherry, with a hint of chocolate and earthiness on the finish. 90. This wine is released to restaurants and other licensees.

Sandhill Vanessa Vineyard Cabernet Merlot 2009 ($19.99 for a production of 5,800 cases). This release, which is currently available in 122 Liquor Distribution Branch stores in B.C., is Sandhill’s first release from a Similkameen vineyard. The wine has sweet berry aromas and flavours, with spicy black cherry flavours on a note of vanilla. 88.

Sandhill Small Lots SEV Sangiovese 2008 ($30 for a production of 430 cases). This is the only Sangiovese VQA wine grown and produced in Canada. What this wine shares with Chianti is the classic aromas of dried fruits and cigar box. On the palate, there are flavours of cherry, pomegranate and spice. The wine is finished to total dryness. 90.

Sandhill Small Lots SEV Single Block Merlot – C8 2008 ($40 for a production of 119 cases). This is a dense, concentrated wine, built to be cellared a few years. It has aromas of black currants, coffee and tobacco with flavours of plums, cherries and spice and a hint of cedar on the finish. 92.

Sandhill Small Lots Phantom Creek Vineyard Petit Verdot 2009 ($30 for a production of 175 cases). This wine, not yet released, begins with the alluring perfumed bouquet of this variety, continuing to flavours of cherry and mocha. The tannins are firm but ripe. 91.

Sandhill Small Lots Phantom Creek Vineyard Syrah 2009 ($40 for a production of 150 cases). This is a big, ripe wine with alcohol of 15.1% but with so much fruit and texture that the alcohol is in balance. There is pepper both in the aromas and on the finish, with gamey, meaty flavours, along with black cherry and fig. 92.

Sandhill Small Lots Phantom Creek Vineyard One 2008 ($35 for a production of 498 cases). This vintage, which is sold out at the winery, is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Petit Verdot, 9% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Merlot. The Cabernet Sauvignon delivers a core of sweet fruit to a wine with aromas of black berry, black currant and spice and flavours of cassis, cherry, blueberry, with a note of oak on the finish. 94.

Sandhill Small Lots SEV Two 2008 ($35 for a production of 336 cases). This is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. Once again, there is an appealing core of sweet fruit, with aromas and flavours of black currants and spice. There are notes of leather and tobacco on the finish and the structure is firm. 92.

Sandhill Small Lots SEV Three 2008 ($35 for a production of 266 cases). This is Sandhill’s version of a Super Tuscan wine, a blend of 55% Barbera, 36% Sangiovese, 9% Merlot. The Barbera gives this generous red a rustic personality, with flavours of red fruit and mocha and a touch of earthiness in the mid-palate texture. 91.

Plume Winery: Quails' Gate's Napa Valley winery

2011-10-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Photo: Daniel Zepponi (left) and Tony Stewart

In what is a first for an Okanagan wine producer, Quails’ Gate Estate Winery president Tony Stewart has launched a Napa winery in a joint venture with Daniel Zepponi, a member of a prominent California wine family.

The venture is called Plume Winery, a name meant to evoke the image of “a feather in your cap.” The first wine has just been released: a 2009 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon which is appearing in wine stores for $29.99 a bottle.

That vintage - 1,200 cases are being released – was made in a custom crush winery in the Napa Valley, as was the 2,200-case 2010 vintage (still in barrel) and as will be the 2011 vintage, which will be about 6,000 cases.

However, Stewart and Zepponi are close to buying property in Napa and building a stand-alone winery for Plume.

The Stewart family, which has been involved in Okanagan horticulture since the early 1900s, opened Quails’ Gate in 1989. It was managed originally by Ben Stewart, the older of the two Stewart brothers, who is now a member of the British Columbia legislature.

Tony Stewart was a commodities broker when he agreed to join the winery in 1992, first as a business manager and eventually as the president. Quails’ Gate has arguably been the most successful of the so-called farm gate wineries that opened around 1990. The winery, near West Kelowna, is based on a vineyard where Tony’s father, Richard, began planting grapes in 1963. He planted perhaps the first commercial Pinot Noir vines in Canada in 1975.

Today, Quails’ Gate produces about 50,000 cases year and is a leading Canadian Pinot Noir producer.

Several years ago, Tony Stewart began considering investing in a winery outside Canada, perhaps in Australia. Dan Zepponi persuaded him to invest in California, which is closer and which has a better domestic wine market.

In an interview last year with The Globe & Mail newspaper, Stewart explained the rationale for this investment. “It is strategic because Quails’ Gate has got to a certain size,” he said. “Having a U.S. operation of a similar size means there can be synergies in viticulture; and oenology team members can move back and forth. It provides the opportunity to gain access to the U.S. market. And we’re a partner in a wine distribution agency for Western Canada” which would get California wines for its portfolio.

Stewart and Zepponi knew each other because Zepponi spent two years (2007 to 2009) as president of Mission Hill Family Estate Winery and its holding company, Artisan Wine Company.

Zepponi’s family arrived from Italy to grow grapes in California about the same time that Stewart’s grandfather emigrated from Scotland to the Okanagan. Zepponi’s father partnered with the deLeuze family to open ZD Winery. Ultimately, the Zepponi family sold its interest in the winery but Dan and his siblings have continued in wine careers. Prior to coming to Mission Hill, Dan had been the senior vice-president for production at Beringer Estates.

“In California, I managed twice the Okanagan vineyard area,” he told me in a 2008 interview. “I crushed almost 300,000 tons, which is almost three times as much as they grow in the country of Canada.”

He brings that strong California background, with contacts throughout the industry, to Plume. The two partners only decided on the project about a month before the 2009 vintage. Even on short notice, Zepponi was able to pry choice grapes from his grower contacts throughout Napa for that first vintage. He also lined up a “well-known winemaker” whose name he cannot disclose.

“We want to focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and do it right,” Zepponi said this week. It is a variety that, as he puts it, “has found its terroir in the Napa.” Other varietals may be added in the future after the brand has been established with the Napa’s best-known varietal.

Plume Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, fleshed out with Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Malbec and a dash of Merlot. The wine spent 18 months in barrel (most of them used barrels) and is structured to be accessible now with the ability to age for five or six more years. The aromas and fruit flavours (cherry, red plum) are bright and spicy. The wine shows the classically ripe flavours of Napa Cabernet. 90.

3 Cru Wines debuts with Traveller and Nomad

2011-10-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

There is a new British Columbia wine that you can give to friends who are either equestrians or Civil War buffs.

A Merlot-dominated red blend called Traveller, it is one of two wines just released under a new label – 3 Cru Wines. The other is a Gewürztraminer-dominated white called Nomad. Priced at $20 each, they are made by and sold through Kalala Estate Organic Winery in West Kelowna.

3 Cru is the label of Mariposa Vineyard Limited Partnership, a new organic winery project being developed in the Similkameen Valley. A 20-acre vineyard was planted this year by the three partners: Jacques LeCavalier, a Kelowna education consultant; Thomas Kinahan, a Kelowna physician; and Karnail Singh Sidhu, the principal owner of Kalala.

The connection between the red wine and equestrianism is unintended coincidence. It is unlikely that the partners behind the winery knew that they had named a wine for perhaps the most famous horse in American military history.

Traveller was the horse of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. There is an engaging 1988 novel called Traveller by Richard Adams, the author better known for Watership Down, a novel in which rabbits are the protagonists. It is a “first person” novel told, convincingly, in the voice of Traveller.

The horse, originally named Jeff Davis, was born three years before the Civil War began and became a military horse only after one of his owners joined the Confederate Cavalry. It was there that the horse caught the eye of General Lee, who purchased him and renamed him Traveller.

The general rode the horse in numerous battles. After the war, when Lee became president of a college in Virginia, he took the horse with him. By that time Traveller was so well known that souvenir seekers pulled hairs from his tail.

When Lee died in 1870, Traveller was in the funeral procession behind the caisson, his saddle and bridle draped in black crepe. The horse died of tetanus the following year and was buried on the grounds of the college. Bizarrely, the bones were unearthed, bleached and put on display in Rochester, New York, until 1907, when they were returned to the college and displayed in a museum there. Because the students began carving their initials in the skeleton, it was moved to the basement. Finally in 1971 the skeleton was buried near the Lee family crypt, also on the college campus.

It is a fascinating story but, of course, it has nothing to do with the wine. “We also want to take a more serious angle on the travelling theme,” LeCavalier says. “As the business becomes able to start giving back to the community, we'd like to do what we can to support the improvement of conditions for travelling vineyard and farm workers.”

Traveller, which I have not tasted yet, and Nomad, which I have tasted and enjoyed, were released last month at a special Kelowna tasting dedicated to the organic wines made by Kalala.

In the past decade, Karnail Singh Sidhu, who opened Kalala in 2008, has become one of British Columbia’s leading authorities on organic viticulture.

He was consulted for his expertise a few years ago when LeCavalier asked him to look at raw land in the south Similkameen that had come up for purchase. Sidhu advised that it would be an excellent vineyard and then agreed to partner with LeCavalier and Kinahan in developing the project.

The Kelowna tasting also included some of Kalala’s current releases. Here are notes on several of wines.

Kalala Pinot Gris 2009 ($17.95). This is a soft, fruit wine with aromas and flavours of cantaloupe and apples and with an herbal, spicy note on the finish. 87.

Kalala Riesling 2008 ($16.95). This dry Riesling has both the aromas and the flavours that tasters call, for want of a better term, “petrol”. This is a style that appeals to Riesling connoisseurs. 87.

Kalala Gewürztraminer 2009 ($17.95). The delicious dry Gewurz has classic spicy aromas and intense flavours of lychee and grapefruit. 88.

Kalala Rosé 2009 ($17.95). The wine, which has a good dark hue, begins with aromas of plum and cherry. It has flavours of cherry, with an austerely dry finish. The alcohol, at 13.8%, is a hair high for rosé. 86.

Kalala Pinot Noir 2008 ($18.95). Here, the 12.8% alcohol makes for a more charming wine, with lovely sweet aromas of cherries and red berries that carry on to the flavours. The texture shows that velvet finesse of the variety. 88.

Kalala Zweigelt 2008 ($19.95). This is a medium-bodied interpretation of this Austrian variety, with aromas and flavours of blackberry, black currant and spice. 87.

Kalala Merlot 2008 ($28.95). Full and juicy on the palate, this wine has flavours of plums, black currants and black berries, with a long finish. 89.

Promotions and new releases at Tinhorn Creek

2011-10-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Photo: Sandra Oldfield (credit to Chris Mason Stearns)

Just in time for the fall Okanagan Wine Festival, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards has released its three premium red wines and its regular Merlot.

The regular Cabernet Franc, also reviewed here, was released in August.

These are all first-rate wines and they come in what has been an eventful year at this south Okanagan winery.

Two developments stand out in particular. In June the winery announced quietly (on its website and not with a widely distributed news release) that winemaker Sandra Oldfield had also become the winery’s president and chief executive.

This may actually be a new position at Tinhorn Creek. A corporate profile that the winery published in 2007, for example, showed Kenn Oldfield, Sandra’s husband, as general manager while Calgary partners Bob and Barbara Shaunessy are listed as proprietors and Sandra as winemaker.

In 2008 Shaun Everest, the winery’s former marketing manager, became general manager. Judging from a reference in a winery news release last year, Kenn Oldfield’s new title is chairman.

Since the management at Tinhorn Creek has always been somewhat collegial, perhaps one need not attach that much weight to titles. Even so, Sandra’s title of CEO underlines the leadership she has brought to the British Columbia wine industry.

Born in California but a Canadian citizen since 2002, Sandra became Tinhorn Creek’s winemaker in 1995 while still studying at the University of California in Davis. She finally found time in 2002 to complete the work needed for her master’s degree in enology.

The other development at Tinhorn Creek this year was the opening in April of Miradoro Restaurant at the winery. Operated in partnership with Vancouver restaurateur Manuel Ferreira (owner of La Gavroche), Miradoro has been busy all summer, serving excellent cuisine in a room with a view to die for.

The new restaurant has solidified Tinhorn Creek’s status as a destination winery.

For most consumers, the wines are reason enough to visit this hillside winery. Cleverly, the restaurant is licensed to sell the wines for takeout at tasting room prices when the wineshop is closed.

The winery releases its wines in two tiers, with the reserve tier under the label, Oldfield Series. Here are my notes.

Tinhorn Creek Merlot 2009 ($18.99 for a production of 8,878 cases). This is a big, ripe red with more than enough fruit and richness to absorb the 14.8% alcohol without a trace of hotness. It begins with aromas of currants, blackberries and sage. The palate has layers of fruit flavours – blackberry, black cherry, plums – with a touch of sweet tobacco on the finish. The wine manages to be accessible as well as complex. While it is drinking well now, it will cellar nicely for three or four years. 90.

Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc 2009 ($19.99 for a production of 5,172 cases). On occasion, Sandra has remarked that this is her favourite red. The winery’s Cabernet Francs have been consistently tasty (with the exception of the 1999, a really tough vintage for everyone). This is a big ripe 14.8% alcohol red, with brambly aromas and flavours. The winery’s own notes speak of “forest floor” characteristics. I grew up on the Prairies where there were no forests. I find raspberries and red currants and an appealing vibrancy. 89.

Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series 2Bench Red 2008 ($34.99 for a production of 731 cases. The second vintage of Tinhorn Creek’s new Bordeaux red, this is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, each of which was fermented separately and blended later. The wine had 18 months in new French oak and was aged in bottle another 18 months before release. This is a rich and concentrated red, with 15% alcohol that, once again, is not obtrusive. It begins with aromas of mint, black currants and black berries and has flavours of plum, cherry and cassis. Prairie people will also recognize a robust hint of chokecherry. 91.

Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series Merlot 2008 ($27.99 for a production of 1,200 cases). This is a blend of 87% Merlot enhanced with 11% Cabernet Franc and 2% Syrah. The wine also had 18 months in French oak (a mix of new and old) and about 15 months in bottle before release. Rich and with 15% alcohol, this is a sturdy wine, as I discovered by chance. I began making notes prior to a bit of travelling and then a head cold. A partial bottle went into the refrigerator. To my delight, it was still delicious week later. The wine begins with a dramatic aroma of herbs, plums and currants and delivers juicy flavours of plum, currants, black cherry, blueberry, chocolate, leather. There is even a hint of pepper on the finish. 92.

Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series Syrah 2008 ($34.99 for a production of 528 cases). The winery has only begun making Syrah in recent years, with very good results. This dark-hued wine (alcohol is 14.1%) begins with the classic aroma of pepper and red fruit. On the palate, there are flavours of black cherry and fig, with leather, black liquorice and pepper on the finish. Think of the elegance and minerality of a Rhone Syrah. 92.

Cowichan Valley celebrates its food and wine

2011-09-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Photo: Vineyard at Averill Creek with bird netting

It takes a few years for a wine festival to establish itself.

The Okanagan Wine Festival was a modest affair for about a decade after being created in 1982. Now it consists of four festivals a year, culminating in the 10-day-long fall festival that ends each year on Thanksgiving. It draws thousands of wine tourists and tasters to the Okanagan each year.

The Cowichan Valley Wine & Culinary Festival has just completed its seventh festival. Also quite modest when it began, it has started to attract crowds to the wineries of the Cowichan Valley. The festival still has untapped potential for development but a good start has been made.

The festival idea also has been picked up elsewhere. This weekend, there is an inaugural food and wine festival on Salt Spring Island, even though the island has only three wineries. However, they all have good wine and the island has many culinary treasures.

In the Cowichan Valley, this year’s festival included launch of a number of wines and the opening of Unsworth Vineyards, the valley’s newest winery. It is located at 2915 Cameron-Taggart Road, Mill Bay.

Photo: Tim Turyk

The winery has been launched by Tim and Colleen Turyk, who were first attracted to the region because they have had a summer home in nearby Shawnigan Lake and their son, Christopher, worked for a time in Amusé Restaurant in that community. That fired an interest in both food and wine to the point of developing the winery and persuading the restaurant to relocate to the winery property.

Born in Victoria in 1951, Tim started a career in fishing through a summer job in a Prince Rupert packing house while he was completing an economics degree at the University of British Columbia. In 1972, Tim bought a boat and spent the next four years as a commercial fisherman. His partner was Colleen, whose father was in the fishing business as well. In 1978, with his father-in-law, he founded Bella Coola Fisheries, based in Delta, now the fourth largest fish packer on the coast. Now he is easing into a new lifestyle.

Unsworth Vineyards is on a 13-hectare (32-acre) farm not far from Shawnigan Lake and within sight of the Merridale Estate Cidery. A previous owner had planted about a hectare of Maréchal Foch in 2006 but sold the property to Tim just as the vines were producing a first crop. There is a substantial area of new plantings there as Tim and Daniel Cosman, the winemaker, ramp up the business.

Unsworth (it is an old family name) opened with two wines. The Pinot Gris 2010 is fresh and crisp, with aromas and flavours of citrus (88 points). Symphony 2009 is a blended red, equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Libre. Deep in colour, the wine begins with the dusty, smoky aroma typical of Cabernet Libre. On the palate, the rich, sweet berry flavours of Merlot take over (88).

Tasting room guests were also given samples of Ovation, the winery’s port-style wine. That wine is not ready to be released yet, as Tim acknowledged, because it needs time in barrel and bottle for the fruit and the spirits to knit.

Photo: Andy Johnston and his wine releases

Averill Creek’s Andy Johnston also used the occasion of the festival to release new vintages, beginning with the Averill Creek Pinot Gris 2009. The wine, which is barrel fermented, begins with spicy aromas and offers a rich palate packed with fruit flavours – pear, peach and apricot. The winery has released 1,200 cases at $20 a bottle (90 points).

Averill Creek Foch Cabernet Reserve 2009 ($39.99) is a dark, swaggering blend of 65% Maréchal Foch and 35% Cabernet Foch (the latter, like Cabernet Libre, is a Blattner hybrid). The wine has ripe flavours of figs and black cherries, with a rustic undertone of olives and even earth. It is rich and round on the palate and altogether satisfying (90).

Averill Creek Pinot Noir 2009 ($26 for 1,300 cases). This variety is the flagship at Averill Creek and this wine is from a good recent island vintage. The wine has vibrant fruit, with notes of strawberry and cherry and with the classic Pinot Noir texture (89).

Averill Creek Pinot Noir Reserve 2009 ($60 for 200 cases). This wine was made from grapes that were allowed to hang on the vines an extra two weeks because the fermenter was already full. It was a really fortunate accident. This dark wine begins with an appealing aroma of spice and cherry. On the palate, it is rich in texture, with flavours of black cherry and mocha and with spice on the long finish (92).

Photo: Xavier Bonilla

At Cherry Point Estate Wines, owners Xavier and Maria Bonilla started guests to a winery dinner with glasses of Cherry Point Ortega-Siegerrebe 2010 (88 points), a blend that combines the fruity flavours of the Ortega with the elevated aromatics of the Siegerrebe.

At that time, the winery released its latest take on Cherry Point Bête Noir, a label created four or five years ago for a big, full-bodied wine made with the Agria grape. The current release is quite a different interpretation, being a blend of 2007 Pinot Noir, 2009 Agria and 2009 Castel. Xavier says the wine reminds him of a Rioja red with its earthy berry and oaky aromas and its mature flavours.

Photo: Jeff MacLeod

At 22 Oaks Winery near Duncan, Jeff MacLeod also had new releases. The 22 Oaks Pinot Gris 2010 is made in a style that reminded me of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. By leaving the juice on the skins for two days, Jeff extracted vivid aromas and flavours of lime and lemon. The bright acidity gives the wine a refreshing finish (89).

He also had a blend called 22 Oaks Drink You Pretty 2010. It is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. It is a wine with citrus flavours and a texture of minerality to give it a firm structure (88).

Photo: Roger Dosman

Alderlea Vineyards rarely opens its tasting room. However, Roger and Nancy Dosman opened the doors to the benefit of festival wine tourists. The releases included Alderlea Pinot Gris 2010 ($21), a lovely wine with notes of grapefruit and peaches and with a bright and crisp finish (89).

Alderlea Pinot Noir Reserve 2007 ($35) has the fullness of a maturing wine on the palate, with flavours of cherry and spice (90)

Alderlea Clarinet ($26) is the winery’s first-rate Maréchal Foch, a big, juicy red with flavours of cherry and plum, and with the touch of smokiness on the nose and finish that this variety sometimes gives (89).

Photo: Brock Windsor sabering a bottle of bubbly

The numerous dinners around the Cowichan Valley during the festival also showcase the region’s wines. I was fortunate to be at the Stone Soup Inn near Lake Cowichan where chef Brock Windsor paired five wines with exceptional food. In the few years that Brock has had this restaurant (and B&B) open, his food has been acclaimed across the country.

He built his dinner around five excellent island wines. Venturi-Schulze Brut Naturel 2008, which accompanied a salad, is as fine as Champagne. (Why do we not see more island sparkling wines?). Brock added to the appeal by sabering four bottles for his guests.

A chanterelle and corn soup was paid with Rocky Creek Ortega 2010. The Ortega grapes is one of the most reliable varieties for the island. Rocky Creek captures its citrus and melon flavours in its dry version.

Smoked salmon was paired with Blue Grouse Pinot Gris 2008. This winery is recognized by its peers for producing an elegant Pinot Gris, with a fine core of sweet fruit on the palate and a dry finish.

Tenderloin of beef was paired with Averill Creek Pinot Noir 2008. This vintage is a little fuller than the 2009, at this stage in its evolution.

Poached pear was put beside Alderlea Hearth 2005, a very satisfying Port-style wine.

I did not score the wines during dinner (how geeky do you think I am?) but there is nothing there under 90. Ditto for the cuisine.

Icon wine releases from four producers

2011-09-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Even in a time of economic uncertainty, some British Columbia wineries continue to produce icon wines – that is, wines selling for around $50 a bottle (or more) and rated at 90 points or more.

The fact is that there is always a demand for these wines from collectors and from those who need something great for a special occasion. No one would cellar Two Buck Chuck (even if it were available in Canada) or consider it more than an honest wine with burgers.

So if you collect wines or have a special event coming up, here are new releases to consider from boutique producers Foxtrot Vineyards, LaStella, Le Vieux Pin and Seven Stones Winery.

George and Vivianne Hanson, the owners of Seven Stones in the Similkameen Valley, might not think of themselves as boutique producers because most of their wines are made in good volume and sell at less than icon prices (good value?).

However, for several years now, the winery has been releasing about 100 cases of a super-premium Bordeaux blend immodestly called The Legend. The new release is due in a few weeks.

Seven Stones The Legend 2009 ($45), a selection from the winery’s best barrels, is a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc. The wine begins dramatically in the glass with aromas of red fruit, vanilla and chocolate. On the palate, this is a muscular wine with long ripe tannins and with a very complex array of flavours: currants, plums, coffee and cedar. The wine finishes with flavours reminiscent of spice cake. 91.

Foxtrot Vineyards has an established reputation as a leading Pinot Noir producer. In recent vintages, it has begun to release equally fine Chardonnay wines.

Foxtrot Chardonnay 2010 ($45) is a textbook example of how to make good Chardonnay where the fruit glows within a subtle frame of oak – and not the other way round. This begins with appealing aromas of tangerines. On the palate, there are layers of citrus and tropical fruit flavours, lifted by the wine’s refreshing acidity. The finish is long and elegant, with a delicate note of cloves. 92.

Le Vieux Pin and LaStella are sister wineries in the south Okanagan, both producing a number of icon wines, generally from single vineyards and in very small volumes. The release of these wines begins with the fall equinox later this month. Collectors will need to move quickly to get some.

Le Vieux Pin Équinoxe Cabernet Franc 2008 ($120 for a production of 25 cases). This is one barrel of wine from a single row in the winery’s Feuille D’Or vineyard south of Oliver, cropped very low and aged 22 months in new French oak. The berries were destemmed entirely by hand before fermentation, a treatment some would think over the top but effective in making a top wine. The result is a wine with 15.1% alcohol and with the power of Amarone. It begins with a dramatic aroma of figs, black currants, liquorice and spice. On the big rich palate, there are flavours of blackberries, prosciutto, leather, cedar, finishing with layers of red fruit. 93.

Le Vieux Pin Équinoxe Merlot 2008 ($70 for a production of 120 cases). These grapes are also from the Feuille D’Or vineyard. (This was the vineyard that was partially destroyed last year in the landslide.) The wine was aged 21 months in French oak, 60% of it new. This wine has a chewy, concentrated texture, with aromas of lingonberries and flavours of black currants and blackberries. 92.

Le Vieux Pin Équinoxe Syrah 2008 ($70 for a production of 70 cases). This is a remarkably charming wine, considering it comes from three year old vines. One wonders what this Golden Mile vineyard will deliver at 10 or 20 years. The wine has a fresh, inviting aroma of red fruit, with flavours of cherry, red liquorice and with a hint of pepper. The youthfulness of the vines likely accounts for the vibrant freshness of the wine. 91.

LaStella Allegretto 2008 ($45 for a production of 188 cases). The winery is also releasing 30 cases of half bottles, aimed at restaurants. This is a Merlot from grapes grown near Osoyoos. The wine begins with jammy blueberry aromas and has flavours of plums, black currants; with sage notes on the finish. 90.

LaStella Maestoso 2008 ($90 for a production of about 150 cases). This is another Merlot, a big, hedonistic wine with dramatic aromas of blueberries and sweet red fruit. On the palate, the wine is hugely rich, with every-changing flavours of spice, game meats, sage and blueberry. This is a wine that almost struts its personality. 95.

Gray Monk releases its first Meritage

2011-09-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Photo: Gray Monk Estate Winery

I don’t recall who said that the first duty of wine is to be red but it certainly was not George and Trudy Heiss, the founders of Gray Monk Estate Winery.

The winery opened in 1982 as a producer, almost exclusively, of white wines, only edging into red wines in the 1990s to respond to a rising demand for reds.

The winery continues to make white wines, and very good ones, as well as sparkling wines. But this year, the winery has staked out a serious presence as a red wine producer with a quartet of reds under its premium Odyssey label, including the winery’s first Meritage.

As I discovered at a recent tasting in the winery, these are impressive wines.

One of the original estate wineries, Gray Monk’s early focus on white wines reflected the white varietals that the Heiss family planted in their Okanagan Centre vineyard. They sent their son, George Jr., to wine school in Germany to learn how to make wine from those varietals.

He learned well. In the 1980s Gray Monk wines consistently won awards at Okanagan wine competitions. The popularity of those wines laid the foundation for the success that Gray Monk is today, with a production of 60,000 to 80,000 cases a year, depending on the harvest.

The whites have remained popular because of their appealing, fruit-forward style, the result of fermenting the wines cool in stainless steel tanks and then getting them into bottle quickly to preserve the freshness.

George Sr. was not a great fan of oak initially. He sometimes cracked that if people wanted oak in wine, they could always chew on a 2X4.

How times have changed! Today, there are about 400 barrels in the Gray Monk cellar. The winery first learned to deal with barrels by employing Christine Leroux, a Bordeaux-trained consulting winemaker. Then in 2005, the winery added winemaker Roger Wong to its team, both for his expertise with sparkling wines and his experience with barrels.

The addition of red wines to the portfolio required Gray Monk to contract growers, primarily in the South Okanagan, who have the reds the winery needs. Several of excellent 2009 Bordeaux reds are made with grapes grown in Harry McWatters’s Black Sage Vineyard.

As well, Gray Monk recently purchased an Osoyoos orchard, converting the 15 acres into what the winery calls its Paydirt Vineyard. The vineyard, which began producting grapes last fall, is planted primarily to the red Bordeaux varieties.

The real first duty of wine – wine, red or sparkling – is to taste good. Gray Monk is doing its duty.

Here are notes on the wines.

Gray Monk Pinot Auxerrois 2010 ($16.99). This Alsace variety is one of the varieties that the Heiss family imported from France. While a number of other wineries grow it, or did grow it, the variety has not developed a significant following even though the wines are attractive. Perhaps consumers have difficulty with the pronunciation: I actually had a server in a good Okanagan restaurant ask me recently how to say it. It is ox-er-wah. What really matters is what is in the glass. This wine begins with clean, fresh aromas of herbs and apricots. On the palate, there are flavours of melon and apricots, with an herbal spice on the dry finish. 88.

Gray Monk Pinot Gris 2010 ($16.99). This was another variety that Gray Monk imported from Alsace. The consumers have fallen in love with Pinot Gris, now the most widely planted white in British Columbia. This wine is the classic Gray Monk style: it has a slight bronze hue from the skin contact and flavours of pink grapefruit and citrus. The texture is appealingly juicy. 88.

Gray Monk Ehrenfelser 2010 ($17.99). This wine has aromas and flavours of peaches and apricots, with a core of sweet fruit and raisins on the middle of the palate and a juicy texture, with a hint of residual sweetness. The finish lingers. 89.

Gray Monk Kerner 2010 ($17.99). This delicious wine, which also has a slight hint of residual sugar, is juicy on the palate, with tropical flavours of mango and citrus and with tropical fruit aromas. 90.

Gray Monk Chardonnay Unwooded 2010 ($16.99). This luscious wine has aromas and flavours of citrus, peaches and melons, with a finish that is crisp and fresh. 89.

Gray Monk Rotberger 2010 ($15.99). This is a Gray Monk exclusive, a wine made from a true rosé grape grown only by this winery. It has lovely aromas and flavours of strawberry, raspberry and cranberry. The flavours are plumped with 15 grams of residual sugar but nicely balanced with acidity to achieve a refreshing and almost dry finish. 90.

Gray Monk Estate Merlot 2009 ($17.99). It would be hard to find a better Merlot in this price range. The wine has aromas of lingonberry and blueberry and delivers big plush berry flavours to the palate. It is a satisfying red. 89-90.

Gray Monk Odyssey Pinot Noir 2009 ($26.99). This is a single vineyard wine, made from grapes grown by Bill Collings in his Sumac Slope Vineyard at Okanagan Falls. Deep in colour for a Pinot Noir, the wine has aromas and flavours that made me think of spice cake with black cherries. The texture is still a touch firm, suggesting the wine will benefit with a year or two in the cellar. 89.

Gray Monk Odyssey Merlot 2009 ($23.99). This robust, concentrated wine is rich and tasty, with aromas of blueberries and nutmeg and with flavours of plums and figs, with a hint of chocolate. 91.

Gray Monk Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($N.A.). Here is something new for Gray Monk; and not yet released. The wine has a dense, chewy texture with cassis and vanilla aromas and with flavours of black currant, figs and olives. The wine is still firm, with a potential to age well for five years at least. 91.

Gray Monk Odyssey Meritage 2009 ($34.99). This is a blend of about 56%, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. I know it does quite add up but the winemaker was working from memory. It is a rich, generous wine with aromas of black currants, chocolate and vanilla and flavours of dark plum, figs and chocolate. The finish is long with earthy and smoky notes. This is another wine with aging potential. 92.

Seven Stones and Friends: Random tastings

2011-09-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Photo: Gewurztraminer grapes at vintage time

From time to time, tasting notes accumulate or so not necessarily support a narrative.

But that is no reason for sitting on notes of good wines. Indeed, as the notes below show, a few are made in small enough volume that they are sold out at the winery. You might get lucky at your favourite wine shop.

Here is a romp through some wines I have enjoyed this summer.

Domaine de Chaberton Canoe Cove Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($20.25). Here is a Cab from a solid vintage that is drinking well now. It begins with vanilla, spice and plum on the nose and in the finish, with a tasty scoop of sweet fruit on the mid-palate. 88.

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Council’s Punch Bowl 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (restaurants only). Think of Graves. This dry, even flinty, white has aromas of herbs and peach and flavours of citrus and sage, with a spine of minerals. 87.

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Birch Bark Canoe Pinot Blanc 2010 ($12.99). This wine has appealing aromas of apples, with flavours of apples and citrus. The clean, refreshing finish is lingering. 89.

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Ogopogo’s Lair Pinot Grigio 2010 ($12.99). This has a pleasant fruity aroma and flavours of peach, apple and citrus, with a delicate fruity finish. 88.

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Larch Tree Hill Riesling 2010 ($12.99). This wine begins with appealing citrus aromas and delivers juicy flavours of peach and lime. It relies on a little too much residual sugar to plump up the texture and lift the flavours but a lot of consumers like their Rieslings this way. 87.

Laughing Stock Blind Trust Red 2009 ($29). This winery has two blends, a red and a white, that are released as Blind Trust. The components of the blends, which change each year, are hidden under the capsule. The idea is to challenge consumers to guess before peaking. This red is 70% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec. It is a delicious, voluptuous red, tasting of blackberry, black currant and lingonberry, with soft, ripe tannins. 90.

Laughing Stock Syrah 2009 ($34). The 14.8% alcohol on the label signals that this wine, from a ripe year, will be muscular. However, there is so much intense fruit that the alcohol is nicely in balance. It begins dramatically with aromas of black cherry, lingonberry, mocha and vanilla. The chewy, earthy palate has flavours of plum and cherry, with a good grippy structure around the scoops of sweet fruit. 90.

Laughing Stock Rosé 2010 ($N.A.). Here is a fine dry rosé for summer, with aromas and flavours of strawberry and cranberry. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 88.

Osoyoos Larose Pétales d’Osoyoos 2007 ($25). This is the “second” label of Osoyoos Larose, echoing a Bordeaux tradition to making a more accessible second wine either from the fruit of young wines or from the barrels that are left over when the premium blend has been put together. These are not inferior wines and usually are good value. This is a juicy and elegant red, with aromas of red currant and cherry and vanilla and with flavours of red berries. There is a hint of cedar and oak tannin on the finish. 89.

Road 13 Rockpile 2009($24.99). This is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It is big and bold, with aromas of plum, blackberry, black currant, vanilla and chocolate, all of which the wine delivers to the palate. The texture is concentrated, even muscular, but ripe and the finish is long. 90.

Seven Stones Speaking Rock Syrah 2008 ($ Sold out). This is a satisfying, chewy red, beginning with aromas of meat and cherries. On the palate, there are layers of flavour – plum, black cherry, chocolate. It finishes with hints of spice and pepper. 91.

Seven Stones Standing Rock Meritage 2008 ($31.99). This is a blend of 58% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The wine begins with appealing aromas of raspberries, blackberries, olives and vanilla. The generous flavours include blackberry, plum, mocha, coffee and vanilla, with a long finish of spicy berry flavours. 91

Seven Stones Row 128 Merlot 2009 ($24.99). This is a vivacious Merlot, beginning with the striking berry aromas, supported by vanilla and mocha from the 17 months barrel-aging. On the palate, the wine shows a concentrated texture, with flavours of blackberries, blueberries and plums. 91.

Seven Stones Cabernet Franc 2009 ($28). This is a lively, brambly red, a swashbuckling expression of the variety. There are aromas and flavours of blackberries, currants, cherries and red plums, with an earthy edge to the long finish. 89.

Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($N.A.). Here is an exceptional Similkameen Cabernet Sauvignon, with a hint of mint and layers of sweet fruit – blackberry, plum, mocha, black cherry. The wine has long ripe but firm tannins and will cellar very well for seven to 10 years. 91.

Sperling Vineyards Pinot Gris 2010 ($19 for a production of 261 cases). This is crisp and dry, with flavours of melon and apples. It has what the winery calls "grip" on the palate, along with a backbone of minerals. This is a food wine if ever there is one. 90.

Sperling Vineyards Gewurztraminer 2010 ($24 for a production of 224 cases). Old vines make a difference. This wine is made from 25-year-old vines and that accounts for its rich texture and its rich flavours. There is spice, lychee, event a hint of peach, with a good dry finish. 90.

Stag’s Hollow Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($19.99). The winery’s notes on this wine trumpet that it does not have “any of the usual overbearing personality issues of some Sauvignon Blanc wines.” I would agree, even if I prefer a Sauvignon Blanc that swaggers. This wine has delicate herbal and peach aromas and flavours of peach and citrus. The soft acidity leaves the impression that the wine has residual sugar (it has hardly any). This is an eminently quaffable wine even if it could do with a bit of personality. 88.

Stag’s Hollow Con-Fusion 2009 ($17.99). This is 63.0% Gewürztraminer, 12.5% Sauvignon Blanc, 9.0% Riesling, 7.0% Pinot Gris, 6.0% Viognier, 2.5% Muscat. It is an elegant white, with aromas of spice, herbs and melons. On the palate, there are flavours of melons, pears and grapefruit. The blend has tamed the Gewürztraminer characters and produced an elegant white with a long finish. 90.

Stag’s Hollow The Heritage Block 2008 ($24.99. This is a blend of 47% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Cabernet Franc. It is a big, generous red with aromas of cassis, plums, sage and cedar. The palate is a medley of bright red fruit, with a dash of sweet fruit on the mid-palate. The tannins are ripe but firm enough to give this five or so years of cellaring potential. 90.

Tinhorn Creek Pinot Gris 2010 ($17.99). This is a wine that never lets you down. It delivers flavours of pears and citrus with a crisp, refreshing finish. 88.

Van Westen Vivacious 2010 ($18.90) This is Pinot Blanc with a dash of Pinot Gris to lift the fruity aroma. The wine is tangy and refreshing with flavours of crisp, ripe apples. 88.

Van Westen Vino Grigio 2010 ($18.90)Here is a wine with a brilliant, laser-like focus, with citrus aromas, flavours delicately of lime and a spine of minerals. 90

Stoneboat Vineyards releases for 2011

2011-09-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Photo: Lanny Martiniuk with a young vine

Since this family winery opened in 2007, Stoneboat Vineyards has released consistently good wines, vintage after vintage, winning three Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence.

How do you get to be an overnight success in the wine business? Well, it takes time and experience. Lanny Martiniuk, the scion of the family, began growing grapes on a vineyard south of Oliver about 1984.

Today, he manages three vineyards for Stoneboat and, in his vast expanse of greenhouses, he propagates thousands of vines each year for other growers and wineries.

If anybody understands how to grow good grapes, it is surely Lanny.

Wanting to be fully integrated in the wine business, he launched the winery with his wife Julie and their three sons. One of those sons, Chris, is becoming a commercial pilot. His brothers, who are twins, are both involved in the winery, Jay as an emerging winemaker and Tim as the marketing manager. Because Jay is still working on his enology studies, Stoneboat has tapped various consulting winemakers as well.

Some of the wines in the portfolio reflect Lanny’s history as a grape propagator. His vineyard is one of the few in British Columbia that still grows Müller-Thurgau, a German variety that was brought to the Okanagan about 40 years when the wineries wanted to make Germanic wines. Most vineyards now have pulled it out because it is hard to grow and can yield bland wines. Stoneboat retains Müller-Thurgau because the variety is a critical part of Chorus, the winery’s delicious white blend.

Stoneboat also has one of the largest blocks (seven acres) of Pinotage in the Okanagan. On its website, the winery asserts that the variety has great potential for the Okanagan. At least three other wineries also make Pinotage: Lake Breeze. Hillside and The View Winery.

This variety was developed in South Africa, a cross of Cinsault and Pinot Noir. It was first brought to the Okanagan about 20 years ago by the original owner of Lake Breeze. Lanny propagated those vines and developed his own vines from that source as well.

Here are notes on the current releases.

Stoneboat Chorus 2010 ($17.90 for a production of 1,532 cases). This excellent white is a six-grape blend: Pinot Blanc, Müller-Thurgau, Schönburger, Kerner, Pinot Gris and Viognier. It begins with herbal, floral and citrus aromas, and has crisp refreshing flavours of lime and green apple. Light and lively, it dances on the palate, finishing with clean fruity flavours. 91.

Stoneboat Faux Pas Rosé ($18.90 for a production of 135 cases). This is a delicious rosé of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. It begins with an appealing aroma of strawberries and delivers flavours of strawberries and rhubarb, with a slight hint of spice on the dry finish. This is a crisp and refreshing wine. 90.

Stoneboat Pinot Noir 2009 ($24.90 for a production of 1,054 cases). This is a charming wine (a winner of a Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence) with a light color that hides a fairly common surprise with Pinot Noir: a palate far richer than the colour suggests. The wine begins with aromas of strawberries and raspberries. The flavours include strawberries, truffles and a touch of chocolate. 90.

Stoneboat Pinotage 2009 ($24.90 for a production of 1,013 cases). This wine is dark in colour and begins with aromas of vanilla and mocha. On the palate, there are flavours of plum, blueberry, lingonberry and mocha, with a lingering spicy finish. 90.

Stoneboat Pinot Blanc Very Late Harvest 2008 ($24.90 for a 375 ml bottle, with a production of 160 cases). This sensational dessert wine is an Icewine in all but name and price. It was harvested and crushed on December 18, 2008, at -10°C, which is ideal for Icewine. The wine begins with lovely aromas of honey and botrytis. It is sensuous on the palate, with flavours of baked apples, pears, honey and even a touch of tobacco. The wine has the charm and the length of good Sauternes, with an exquisite balance that allows the wine, sweet as it is, to have a tangy, fresh finish. 92.

Class of 2011: 40 Knots Winery

2011-09-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

Photo: Bill Montgomery

Vancouver Island’s newest winery, 40 Knots Winery in Comox, has just released its first four wines.

You will need to move smartly to get some. The winery produced only 185 cases in 2009 and 219 cases in 2010.

However, there is a large and professional managed vineyard here as well as a staff winemaker. Expect to see more production in the future.

I profiled the winery in John Schreiner’s BC Coastal Wine Tour Guide, which was released this spring by Whitecap Books. Here is the entire profile, followed by notes on the four wines.

Occasionally, extra drama in this vineyard is provided by the thunder overhead of CF-18s, taking off or landing at the nearby Canadian Forces Base at Comox. Bill Montgomery and Michal, his wife, have grown accustomed to the roar of military aircraft since buying this property in 1990 but it still is a thrill for visitors and for those tending the 32,000 vines here.

Growing wine is quite a departure from Bill’s previous career. He grew up in Prince Rupert, where he was born in 1949. His father owned a towboat company there. Subsequently, Bill established his own towboat company, Burrard Towing, based in the Port of Vancouver. He and his wife moved to Comox after selling the company and for many years were hobby farmers with a few head of cattle. Bill delayed ordering grape vines for a number of years when, as he recalls, his wife said, “You can’t do that—you have to be born into the industry.” But most other new entrants into the wine business were hiring advisors and Bill decided to do the same.

He prepared the six-hectare (15-acre) vineyard on a gravel-rich plateau above the Powell River ferry dock, burying drain tiles so that the vines, supplied by a nursery in France, would not have so-called wet feet. The vines were planted in 2007 and 2008. About a quarter of the vineyard is in Pinot Noir. The other varieties include Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gamay and Merlot. The latter was a surprising choice for this cool growing region, a choice showing that advisors do not always get it right. Subsequently, Bill has begun converting that block to early ripening Auxerrois and Siegerrebe.

40 Knots’s winemakers, Natasha Ponich and consultant Christine Leroux, produced the first vintage, a few thousand litres, from a small harvest in 2009. “We made a very good Pinot Gris,” Bill says. He expects to have wine for public sale in 2011, depending how the vines produce fruit as they become established. “I am not rushing this,” he says.

The winery and tasting room have been installed in a renovated former barn that overlooks the vines. The new structure is so grand that you would think Bill was, in fact, born into the wine business.

Here are my notes on the wines.

40 Knots Pinot Gris 2009 ($22 for a production of 30 cases). Clean and fresh, this wine has aromas and flavours of apples, citrus and peach. The wine has good weight on the palate and has a tangy, lingering finish. 88.

40 Knots Chardonnay 2009 ($23 for a production of 115 cases. The wine was fermented in a combination of stainless steel and French oak. The winemaker was carefully to keep the oak subtle, showcasing the delicate citrus flavours and the floral aromas. The hint of butteriness on the palate suggests that the wine went through malolactic fermentation to achieve its soft acidity. 87.

40 Knots Rosé 2010 ($21 for a production of 60 cases). This is a Merlot rosé (with the addition of 10% Pinot Noir and 5% Chardonnay). I have only once before tasted a Merlot rosé from an island winery and this one is head and shoulders better. It has a lovely salmon pink hue, aromas of strawberry and strawberry jam and flavours of strawberries and red plums. The wine gets an extra punch of flavour from 20½ grams of residual sugar; yet it is well balanced and does not come off as a sweet rosé. 89.

40 Knots Pinot Noir 2009 ($25 for a production of 56 cases). This wine, which has a fine dark colour, spent nine months in new French oak before being bottled. It begins with aromas of spice and red berries. On the palate, there are flavours of cherry, chocolate and spice, with the gamey, earthy undertones that are sometimes called “forest floor.” The texture is still firm and I would recommend cellaring this for another year to let it develop all its complexity. 88.

40 Knots Winery
2400 Anderton Road
Comox BC V9M 4E5
Telephone 250-941-8810

Pentâge Winery releases in 2011

2011-08-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Photo: Julie Rennie, Paul Gardner

Nine years after Paul Gardner and Julie Rennie opened Pentâge Winery, they finally are close to opening a tasting room as well.

In fact, the city of Penticton had a sign up in July, prematurely, directing visitors to the new access to the winery. The entrance is at 4551 Valleyview Road.

Until now, the winery address was 4400 Lakeside Road. Paul and Julie had considered, briefly, putting the tasting room and wine shop into or near their home, which is below the vineyard. That idea was vetoed, in part because getting there requires driving up a long and steep driveway. The Valleyview Road access is easier.

The tasting room has a better location at the top of the vineyard. The view over the vines and Skaha Lake is dramatic. The tasting room also is next to the remarkable 5,500 square foot cellar that was recently completed at Pentâge. It is a cool man-made cavern dug from the rock, with a thick concrete lid. The huge glass doors at the front, which roll up like aircraft hangar doors, give visitors good views of the barrel stacks inside.

Recently, Adam Pearce, the Pentâge winemaker, led me through a tasting of some of the wines in those barrels. After that, I came away with review samples of the current releases.

Winemaker Adam Pearce

Adam was about the bottle several of the wines. There is a 50-case barrel-fermented Rhone blend (57% Viognier, 36% Roussanne and 17% Marsanne), an appealing wine with aromas and flavours of apricots, melons and citrus (90 points).

There is a 50-case barrel-fermented 2009 Chardonnay, with a good core of butter and tangerine flavours and an appealing aroma of citrus and butter. (89).

The barrel sample of the 2009 Cabernet Franc is a lively wine with flavours of blackberry and raspberry and with a little more concentration that the 2008, reviewed below. (89).

The winery has 200 cases of 2009 Syrah Reserve, not yet released. It is a classic meaty, gamey Syrah with the peppery aroma of a delicatessen and with flavours of plum and black cherry. The rich texture adds to its appeal. (90).

Also not yet released in the 2009 Hiatus, a $20 blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This is an easy-drinking Bordeaux blend with flavours of black currant, with notes of cedar and tobacco. (88).

Other gems in the cellar include a 2010 Malbec, a 2010 Petite Sirah, a barrel-fermented Icewine and 2010 Zinfandel port. There are small quantities of all these wines; and all rate 90 points plus.

If this seems like a long portfolio for a winery now making 5,000 cases, that’s the way Paul Gardner likes it. “I would rather make small lots of interesting wine than big tanks full of wine,” Paul once told me.

Here are notes on the current releases.

Pentâge Chardonnay Reserve 2007 ($20). Here is a wine for lovers of the mainstream California Chardonnay style, with no apologies for giving the wine as much oak as its rich fruit flavours can carry. There is citrus and butterscotch on the nose, followed by flavours of tangerine and butterscotch. The texture has a creamy weight and intensity. 90.

Pentâge Gewürztraminer 2010 ($17.50). This is a textbook example of the dry, rich (almost oily) Alsace-inspired Gewürztraminer. The wine is intense from beginning to end – intense spice and citrus aromas, intense flavours of grapefruit and lychee. The lingering finish could be timed with a stopwatch. 91.

Pentâge Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($19.50). Crisp and zesty, this wine recalls the New Zealand style (which I happen to prefer). Beginning with grassy, citrus aromas, it has flavours of lime and grapefruit rind. It has a nice spine of minerals and the bright acidity wakes up the taste buds. 89.

Pentâge Skaha White 2009 ($16). Here is a complex but budget-priced six grape blend: 41% Pinot Gris, 30% Chenin Blanc, 12% Viognier, 6% Chardonnay, 6% Riesling, 5% Sémillon. The 2010 blend, already being sold as bag-in-the-box, is significantly different in composition but I did not have a chance for a side-by-side comparison. The 2009 has stone fruits and citrus aromas, with flavours of cantaloupe, citrus and apricot. Its texture gives it good heft on the palate. 88.

Pentâge Viognier 2009 ($19.50). The toasty aromas and flavours of apricots and pineapple, with an undertone of nuts, suggest that the wine may have been barrel-fermented. It is dry and even austere on its own but rich and delicious when paired with food (which is the point, after all). 90.

Pentâge Cabernet Franc 2008 Denmarc Vineyard ($26). This wine begins with aromas of red liquorice, spice and raspberries and has flavours of blackberries, black currants and even a hint of cranberry. It is a medium-bodied wine with a backbone of ripe but firm tannins. 88

Pentâge Gamay Noir 2010 ($19.50). Not many wineries have yet released 2010 reds but this wine is ready. It is a lively red, a Beaujolais with weight. Dark in colour, it has aromas of black cherries and flavours of cherries and plums. 88

New life for Lang, Soaring Eagle and Stonehill

2011-08-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Photo: Sunset on the Naramata Bench

The three prime Naramata Bench wineries in the bankrupt Holman Lang group are now open or close to re-opening under strong ownership.

The three are Lang Vineyards, Soaring Eagle Winery and Stonehill Winery.

Only Lang Vineyards continues to operate under that name. One of the original Naramata wineries, it was opened in 1990 by Günther Lang. He sold the winery in 2005 to Keith Holman, remaining in management for some months until he and Holman parted ways.

Günther is now back as a consultant to the general manager and winemaker, Richard Kanazawa, and the new owner, Chinese businessman Yong Wang. His company, Bravo Enterprises, bought the winery for $2.2 million in February in a court-supervised auction.

Under the failing Holman Lang group, the winery had run out of cash to bottle wines and to maintain the property. Wang, said to be the chief executive of a mining company, bought what had become a shell. He was attracted to the property because it is beautifully situated, with views across its vineyard over Okanagan Lake and the valley.

Photo: Richard Kanazawa

Once he had acquired the property, Wang decided to return it to wine production. In May, he hired Kanazawa, the former winemaker at Blasted Church Vineyards and gave him the budget to re-equip the winery. He has now opened a remodelled tasting room selling, at bargain prices, wine from recent vintages. A total re-launch with new wines is planned for next spring.

Alone among the seven Holman Lang wineries, Lang emerged from the bankruptcy with its brand relatively undamaged. Lang Farm Reserve Riesling was, for many years, regarded as one of the Okanagan’s best Rieslings. “We will continue to make the Riesling,” Kanazawa says. “It is the one wine that has always been successful, no matter what winemaker has come through here. It has always been a really good seller here.”

Kanazawa also is arranging to purchase grapes since the Lang vineyard is relatively small. Depending on the volume of grapes that he purchases, Lang’s 2011 production could reach 8,000 cases and some of that will be exported to China.

The Soaring Eagle Winery has recently been acquired by Paradise Ranch Wines Corp. and is becoming Paradise Ranch. The Soaring Eagle brand has been retained, at least for now, with the recently re-opened wine shop offering so-called Intermission Series wines.

Those are, for the most part, wines that were made under the auspices of the receiver, in part to use the grapes from the 2010 vintage and in part to preserve the winery asset as a going concern. The wines were made by consultant Michael Bartier with Soaring Eagle’s in-house cellar master, Anthony Buchanan.

With this deal, Paradise Ranch has come full circle. The winery was opened in 1998 by Vancouver lawyer Jim Stewart and Penticton doctor Jeff Harries. It was conceived as an Icewine specialist with grapes from the Harries family Naramata Road vineyard, which was called Paradise Ranch.

In 2003 the family sold the vineyard to Mission Hill. The Icewine business and the Paradise Ranch brand were taken over by Stewart. The winery continued to make and sell Icewines, first using the facilities of other wineries and then, several years ago, setting up in a Kelowna building licensed as commercial winery.

Stewart’s long term strategy was to return Paradise Ranch to Naramata Road after buying a small vineyard there several years ago. The opportunity to buy the 30-acre Soaring Eagle property and brand for $3 million this spring accelerated that plan. It also gave Paradise Ranch a more viable land-based winery license.

Photo: Jim Stewart and Peter Wille

Stewart brought in a partner: Peter Wille, a 23-year veteran of wine sales with Mission Hill. Born in Denmark, Peter came to Canada as a young child. He began a career in beverage sales with Coca Cola and then Okanagan Springs Brewery before joining Mission Hill in 1988. His posts there have included director of sales for Canada and, for the past three years, director of exports.

Photo: Shana and Gavin Miller

The third winery is the former Stonehill Estate Winery which is re-emerging under the proposed name, Upper Bench Estate Winery. This will be the third name for this winery which opened in 2001 as Benchland Winery.

This winery was acquired for $1.6 million by a retired pulp and paper executive, Wayne Nystrom, who, with his wife, Margareta, already owns a small vineyard and an orchard on the Naramata Bench. His partners are winemaker Gavin Miller and Gavin’s wife, Shana, a former cheese maker at Poplar Grove. Miller is the former winemaker at Painted Rock and, before that, Poplar Grove.

The winery, which is at the outskirts of Penticton, has undergone a substantial renovation this summer to accommodate the different business model planned by Nystom and Miller. Cheese-making facilities have been installed in the rear of the winery, in an area formerly used to distil spirits for wine fortifying. (The two stills and the spirits inventory were purchased by Merridale Cidery on Vancouver Island). Shana would like to begin selling cheese this fall.

Next spring, when the winery reopens fully, it will also have a fruit stand marketing the products of Nystrom’s orchard.

“I am really pleased we got this winery,” Miller says. “I always thought it had good bones, this place. It was never used to its potential.”

Burrowing Owl is a model of consistency

2011-08-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

Photo: Bertus Albertyn

Since its first vintage in 1997, Burrowing Owl Winery has had a remarkably consistent house style, most notable in the generous, mouth-filling flavours of its red wines.

Part of that is due to terroir. The sandy vineyard here is one of the hottest in Canada. It is hard to imagine any place better suited to growing big, fleshy wines.

The other explanation for the consistent style is the continuing influence of California winemaker Bill Dyer. Even though he left in 2004, the winery has not abandoned his winning formula, even through three successive winemakers.

“If it is not broken, then do not fix it,” acknowledges Bertus Albertyn, the South African who has been the winemaker there since October, 2009. That is a refreshing absence of ego in a profession that usually is not short on ego.

Bertus, who was born in 1978, has an enology degree from Stellenbosch University and a good wine pedigree. While his father was a bank manager, an uncle is a senior viticulturist at KWV, South Africa’s wine giant, and his grandfather was a grape grower.

When Bertus finished wine school, he worked for a major co-operative and then, in 1994, he became the winemaker at a family winery called Avondale, which is about twice the size of Burrowing Owl.

“While I was working in South Africa, I did one vintage in California, at Geyser Peak winery,” he says. “I did one vintage in France at Domaine des Anges in Provence [where the general manager is a South African]. I did one vintage in Hermitage and another in a small cellar near Venice. Winemaking is about experience. The more wine you make, the easier it is to make the correct decisions.”

He came to the Okanagan early in 2009, having married childhood friend who now has a medical practice in Osoyoos. He spent much of that year working on the vineyard that Donald Triggs is developing. Triggs, the former chief executive of Vincor, is planning a winery in the south Okanagan. But since it is a few years down the road, Bertus joined Burrowing Owl to replace Jeff Del Nin, who was moving to Church & State.

The current releases from Burrowing Owl include wines that Jeff made and Bertus saw into the bottle, as well as wines Bertus made entirely on his own. If there was a hick-up in the winemaking style, I have not come across it yet.

Here are notes on the wines.

Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris 2010 ($20 for a production of 4,200 cases). The winery has made a great name for itself with this varietal and it is easy to see why. This is a lovely wine, with aromas of herbs, citrus and tropical fruit and with flavours of spicy ripe pear. It has good weight on the palate and a long finish. 90

Burrowing Owl Pinot Noir 2009 ($30 for a production of 1,086 cases). Pinot Noir were first grapes that Bertus dealt with when he joined Burrowing Owl just as the vintage was getting under way. The vintage produced ripe grapes full of flavour. This wine is dark in colour, with its 14.5% alcohol the result of the ripeness of the fruit. The wine has aromas of spice and black cherries. On the palate, there is more black cherry and red plum, with spice on the rich finish. This may be muscular compared with most Okanagan Pinot Noirs but it is tasty nonetheless. 89.

Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($38 for a production of 1,456 cases). This would blow away a lot of California Cabernets. It begins with aromas of spice, cassis, mulberries and vanilla. On the rich palate, there are flavours of plum, fig, liquorice, with a dollop of sweet fruit on the mid-palate. This is a very generous and satisfying wine, without any note of greenness. 91.

Burrowing Owl Meritage 2008 ($45 with a production of 969 cases). This is sold out at the wine shop and not available on line but it might be worth calling up a few high-end private stores. This is an elegant and complex blend: 50% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot. The alcohol is 14.9% but there is so much concentrated fruit here that you don’t notice the alcohol. It begins with brambly, spicy aromas of black currants and blackberries, with mineral and tobacco undertones. The flavours include currants, truffles and chocolates. The tannins are long and silky, reflecting both the ripeness of the grapes and the 22 months this wine spent in barrel. It is an impressive blend. 92.

Fort Berens hires winemaker Bill Pierson

2011-08-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Photo: Fort Berens vineyard in Lillooet

With the first harvest from its Lillooet vineyard expected this fall, Fort Berens Estate Winery has appointed a staff winemaker.

Bill Pierson, who spent four years making wine with Tom DiBello at CedarCreek Estate Winery, anticipates that the Fort Berens vineyard will produce about 35 tons in its ground-breaking inaugural vintage.

“This is the first commercial production of grapes in this climate,” Bill says. “It is a new region. There will be more vineyards planted and it will develop as an appellation.”

The vineyard was planted in 2009 by Rolf de Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek, two former Dutch bankers who emigrated to start a winery in British Columbia. Unable to find reasonably priced vineyard land in the Okanagan, they decided to take a gamble on the Fraser Canyon, encouraged by the results of recent small-scale grape growing trials in the Lillooet area.

With consulting advice from Richard Cleave, a veteran Black Sage Road vineyard manager, Rolf and Heleen planted 20 acres of vines, a block large enough to prove (or disprove) the commercial viability of a vineyard in this area. Climate data indicates the vineyard gets as many heat units, if not more, than Oliver area vineyards.

“The first harvest is exciting but the real excitement will be the accumulated knowledge that they will gain,” Bill says. “That’s the real story – a new vineyard in a new area. Hopefully, it will bode well for the Fraser Canyon.”

One challenge in the Fraser Canyon is finding vineyard sites that are not excessively shaded by the high mountains on either side of the canyon. The Fort Berens vineyard is on a plateau bathed by sunlight which falls through an enormous cleft in the mountain wall to the south. (The Duffy Lake Road to Pemberton goes through this pass.) Fort Berens has another 20 acres suitable for vines once the initial planting has proven itself.

The varieties currently grown here are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling.

The winery’s two previous vintages were both made in an Okanagan winery with grapes primarily from Harry McWatters’s vineyard on Black Sage Road. The winery will continue to buy at least some Okanagan grapes in the future, to supplement its own production volumes and its selection of varietals.

“There are certain varietals we don’t have,” Bill says. “We don’t have Cabernet Sauvignon; it is not planted there. And the search is always on for more Cabernet Franc. Rolf’s a big fan of it; and that varietal is on the rise.”

Bill will be make some of his 2011 wines in an Okanagan winery and the rest in a temporary facility at Fort Berens, which expects to begin construction next year on a 4,000-case Lillooet winery. This will be the third time that Bill has been involved in winery construction.

Photo: Bill Pierson

Born in Montreal in 1956, Bill studied political science and geography but started his working career with Montreal Engineering in planning and costing projects. He worked on pulp mills and power plants in Ontario before moving to another engineering firm in Saskatoon. After a 1980s downturn in engineering, Bill who was a serious competitive runner, became a sales representative for Nike, first in Saskatchewan and then in Vancouver.

When he and his wife, Julie, moved to Bowen Island in the late 1980s, he switched to residential construction with an architect and builder.

“I got to 40 and thought, what am I going to do with my life?” he recalls. “Do I continue in building or so I look for something different?” He had been interested in wine since growing up with a wine-loving father. So he decided to take the wine programs offered by Okanagan University College.

He eased out of the construction business, doing his practicum at Nichol Vineyards, then doing a few crushes in the Okanagan until, in 2004, he moved to the Okanagan. Initially, he helped plant the vineyard and build the winery for Township 7. Then he moved to Laughing Stock Vineyards in the summer of 2005, in time to help build that winery.

In 2006 he joined CedarCreek, to work under the mentorship of Tom DiBello, then the senior winemaker there. Bill left CedarCreek in the fall of 2010. Tom is now a member of Harry McWatters’s The Vintage Consulting Group. When Tom was making the Fort Berens wines in 2010, he engaged Bill in the project and that led to the winery employing Bill as its winemaker.

“He is very collaborative,” Bill says. “He gave me a lot of responsibility [at CedarCreek] and I ran with it. I had input in virtually every aspect of what we were doing there. We made some good wine in those four years.”

Mission Hill's current releases: strong as always

2011-08-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

Photo: Mission Hill winery and bell tower

Mission Hill Family Estate Winery is one of the two largest owners of vineyards in the Okanagan, with properties from Kelowna to Osoyoos.

This gives the winemaking team an enviable flavour palate to work with, with quality grapes that support a large and generally excellent portfolio.

The wines are released in four tiers, beginning with the entry level tier, which is called Five Vineyards. Affordably priced, these wines are widely available in government and private wine stores.

The Reserve tier wines are in much more limited distribution, but of sufficient volume that you might even find some in overseas markets.

A further step up, the Select Lot Collection wines are produced in small volume and are available primarily at the winery and in top end restaurants.

Current releases from these three tiers are reviewed here. The winery also has a fourth tier of ultra premium wines, called Legacy. At the very top of its wine pyramid is the flagship Bordeaux blend, Oculus. These wines have a different release cycle, spending more time in barrel and in bottle.

Here are the notes on the current wines.

Mission Hill Five Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($13.99). This wine has been one of the top-selling Okanagan Sauvignon Blancs for several years, and not just because of the appealing price. This is a crisp and refreshing white, with aromas and flavours of herbs and lime. 87

Mission Hill Five Vineyards Rosé 2010 ($14.99). The winery notes don’t say it but this wine likely is the result of bleeding juice from the three varieties in the blend (a classic French technique). The wine is 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Shiraz. It is a light, juicy rosé with aromas of cherries and raspberries and flavours of watermelon and wild strawberries. It is finished with just enough residual sugar (eight grams) to ensure it will be a crowd pleaser. 87.

Mission Hill Five Vineyards Cabernet Merlot 2008 ($16.99) A good red from the winery’s entry-level range, this wine has soft ripe tannins, appealing brambly berry flavours, with an underlying hint of mint. The winery put a lot of work into this wine. The blend is 47% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 13 ½ months in American and French oak. 87.

Mission Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 $N.A.) Here is an elegant and cerebral wine that reveals itself slowly with time in the decanter. It starts with mint and berry aromas, continuing to flavours of currants, plums, chocolate and tobacco, with a spicy note on the finish. This is no longer in the market. The point of reviewing it now is that, if you are lucky, you have some in the cellar. The current vintage is 2009 and if you give it five years as well, you will be well rewarded. 90.

Mission Hill Pinot Gris Reserve 2009 ($18.99). About seven per cent of the wine was fermented in French oak, giving a biscuity note to the pear and citrus aromas and adding flesh to the texture. On the palate, there are flavours of pear and apple. Almost dry on the finish, this wine is elegantly balanced. 90.

Mission Hill Pinot Noir Reserve 2009 ($24.99). In his 2004 book, North American Pinot Noir, author John Winthrop Haeger wrote that Mission Hill’s management “is at the point of trying to decide ‘whether to get really serious’ about pinot.” Too bad he is not around these days to taste the winery’s Pinot Noir. This wine, well priced for a Pinot, begins with a fine dark colour. It has aromas of cherries and raspberries, leading to flavours of cherry, red plum, spice and vanilla. It has a light backbone of tannin that, with decanting, begins to show the rich and silky texture of this varietal. 89.

Mission Hill Viognier Reserve 2009 ($18). This unoaked white – Mission Hill’s second vintage of Viognier – begins with aromas of herbs, citrus and apricot. It tastes of apricots and peaches, finishing dry but with an impression of honey that shows off the complexity of well-made Viognier. 90.

Mission Hill Select Lot Collection Merlot 2006 ($30) Kudos to Mission Hill for holding a red back almost five years before releasing it. Even at five years, the structure still was firm enough to hold the wine at its peak for another five years. Dark in colour and concentrated in texture, the wine begins with powerful black currant aromas, leading on to flavours of cassis and figs. The flavours are layered; as the wine sat in the glass over time, it revealed more and more layers. 92.

Mission Hill Select Lot Collection Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon 2008 ($21.99). This wine, which is 79% Sauvignon Blanc and 21% Sémillon, involved exceeding complex winemaking and should probably sell for more. A portion of the wine was fermented in and aged sur lies in new French oak. The result is a rather cerebral wine, with aromas of oak, butter and citrus, with buttery tangerine and pineapple flavours and a rich texture. This is a wine I might pair with a good Cuban cigar. 88-90.

Class of 2011: Heaven's Gate Estate Winery

2011-08-19T14:28:00.001-07:00

Photo: Andy and Diane Sarglepp

Summerland’s newest winery, Heaven’s Gate Estate Winery, had its grand opening last week and that is good news for rosé lovers.

Most of the other 10 members of the Bottleneck Drive Wine Route (the name for their promotional association) are running low on rosé. Heaven’s Gate still has some, but only because it took the winery a few extra months to jump through all the regulatory hoops before opening.

In addition to the rosé, Heaven’s Gate opened with four other wines, all from the 2010 vintage. Available in the tasting room is a Merlot, a Gewürztraminer, a Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon blend and Pinot Gris.

I tasted the whites and the rosé from the tank this spring. The Gewürztraminer is a juicy, off-dry crowd pleaser. The Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon had a honeyed not to the flavours. The rosé was dry and tasted of cherries; I am told that finished wine is not quite as dry.

I was particularly impressed with the Pinot Gris with its intense aromas and flavours of lime and grapefruit. The wine is a 90 pointer in my book.

Photo: Wine shop mural

The proprietors of Heaven’s Gate are Andy and Diane Sarglepp. Until 2008 they grew peaches, operating as Triple A Orchards. If peaches have a cult following, Triple A had such a reputation.

“I had customers from day one, right to the end, when I quit after 20 years,” Andy says. “They would only buy from me because I had almost unsurpassed quality. I would grade harder and get rid of any flaws among the peaches. If you reached into one of my bins, you did not have to look at the fruit - it would be perfect.”

Andy was born in Haney in 1965 and in adulthood began working in logging and sawmilling. His Estonian-born parents – his father had become a successful construction contractor in Canada after arriving impoverished after the war – bought this Summerland property about 25 years ago. Andy was asked to help develop the peach orchard. He fell in love with the Okanagan and stayed.

He may have been good at growing peaches but somewhere along the way, the business lost its appeal. The orchard was “all peaches, of different varieties, so I was picking from the middle of July to the middle of September,” he remembers. “I was busy picking peaches for two months straight.”

He says he stopped eating peaches about 15 years ago. Diane says that peaches are not allowed in the house.

In 2008, they decided to replace the orchard with 5 ½ acres of grapes for a winery. “I wonder if the same thing will happen with wine,” Andy says, asking rhetorically: “Will I dislike wine as much?”

The building formerly used as cool storage for peaches turned out to be well-suited for making and storing wines.

For the wine shop, Andy and Diane have completed very elegant renovations to a log building that once served as summer accommodation for visiting friends and relatives. The tasting counter is Brazilian granite. A large mural and antique farming and logging tools decorate the interior walls.

The patio in front includes a fountain and is bordered by rock work, some of it – along with the baronial pillars at the front gate - done by Andy’s late father. The view from the patio is a panorama of vines in the foreground and Okanagan Lake in the distance.

“We want to keep our patio uncramped,” Andy says. “I have a big bird feeder there and I will sit here sometimes and just watch the little guys.” And they hope that visitors will take time for the same pleasure, with a glass of wine in hand.

The grapes in the vineyard include two acres of Gewürztraminer, a variety very much at home in the Summerland terroir. Andy has also planted Merlot, Gamay and Sémillon; a planting of Sauvignon Blanc did not survive an early winter freeze. The vineyard’s first crop will be harvested this fall.

To get started, Andy purchased grapes last year. With the help of consultant Christine Leroux, he made 13,000 litres (about 1,450 cases) in 2010, about two-thirds of it white. The volume of red is likely to be increased in subsequent vintages.

“This being first year, I did not want to max out my capacity of my cellar,” Andy says. “I wanted to go half throttle, learn my system, figure out the bugs if any. Next year, it will be game on, full steam ahead.”

Heaven’s Gate Estate Winery
8001 Happy Valley Road
Summerland BC
T 250.809.7099

B.C. closes in on 10,000 acres of vines

2011-08-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Vineyard acreage in British Columbia continues to rise, although the rate of growth has slowed significantly.

This emerges from the most recent vineyard census, just released by consultants Lynn and John Bremmer, who operate Mount Kobau Wine Services in Oliver. The census is done with the backing of the B.C. Wine Institute and the B.C. Grape Growers.

The 2011 census is the fifth since 1999. That census counted 1,693 hectares (4,184 acres of wine grapes). The 2011 census tallied 3,964 hectares (9,866.52 acres) in 2011.That compared with 3,626 hectares (9,066.32 acres) in 2008; and 2,653 hectares (6,632 acres) in grapes in 2006.

They also surveyed planting intentions and projected that another 376.37 hectares (930 acres) could be planted in 2012 and 2013.

The area under vines in British Columbia has experienced eight-fold growth in the past two decades, although the rate of increase is now slowing, largely due to a shortage of suitable sites.

British Columbia’s vineyard area is still small compared with other regions. Ontario has about 6,070.5 hectares (15,000 acres) of vineyard; Washington State has 16,166 hectares (40,000 acres) and California has 261,514.5 hectares (535,000 acres).

These are the regions the grapes grow.

Region Hectares Acres
Oliver 1,433.92 3,543.18
Osoyoos 610.94 1,509.62
Kelowna/West Kelowna 377.07 904.46
Penticton/Naramata 363.31 897.74
Similkameen Valley 279.82 691.44
Okanagan Falls 218.05 538.81
Vancouver Island 174.77 431.87
Peachland/Summerland 143.53 354.67
Fraser Valley/Lower Mainland 106.62 263.45
Lake Country/Vernon 74.49 196.43
Gulf Islands 46.80 115.64
Kaleden 46.65 115.29
Spallumcheen/Shuswap 39.25 97
Kamloops 26.81 66.25
Lillooet/Lytton 21.93 54.20
Kootenays 27.84 68.82
Other B.C. regions 7.13 17.65

These are the mostly widely planted red varieties. Just over 52% of all the grapes are red.

Variety Hectares/acres % of reds % of total grapes

Merlot 647.88/ 1,600.90 31.15 % 16.23 %
Pinot Noir 383.94/ 948.71 18.46 % 9.62 %
Cabernet Sauvignon 305.61/ 755.17 14.69 % 7.65 %
Syrah (Shiraz) 221.16/546.50 10.63 % 5.54 %
Cabernet Franc 209.41/ 517.45 10.07 % 5.24 %
Gamay Noir 66.21/ 153.73 2.99 % 1.56 %
Maréchal Foch 55.56/137.30 2.67 % 1.39 %
Blattner Reds 39.37/97.29 1.89% 0.99%
Malbec 38.83/95.96 1.87% 0.97%
Petit Verdot 26.54/65.58 1.28 % 0.67 %

These are the most widely planted whites.

White variety Hectares/acres % of Whites % of total grapes

Pinot Gris 431.27/1,065.67 22.54% 10.80%
Chardonnay 370.98/916.68 699.88 19.39 % 9.29 %
Gewürztraminer 285.97/706.64 14.95 % 7.16 %
Riesling 177.77/439.27 9.29% 4.45%
Sauvignon Blanc 158.92/392.70 8.32% 3.98%
Pinot Blanc 107.61/ 265.92 5.63 % 2.70 %
Viognier 82.56/204.01 4.32% 2.07%
Ortega 28.69/70.90 1.50% 0.72%
Ehrenfelser 28.54/ 70.52 1.49 % 0.71 %
Blattner Whites 25.36/62.66 1.33% 0.64%

Within the white varieties, Viognier plantings have increased 24% in the past three years, followed by a 19.6% increase in Riesling plantings and a 14.8% increase in Pinot Gris plantings.

Decline acreage is reported for Sauvignon Blanc, due to winter kill. And sadly, that reliable workhorse, Pinot Blanc, has suffered a 28% acreage drop, likely because consumers consider it a bland variety.

Among the reds, Cabernet Franc plantings rose 32.3%, followed by Pinot Noir (up 19.6%), Maréchal Foch (up 12.9%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (up 10.9%).

Hillside Winery's new management, new releases

2011-08-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Photo: Duncan McCowan

Duncan McCowan, the Alberta geologist who first invested in Hillside Estate Winery in 1998, is back as winery president as well as chairman.

A long-time chair, Duncan was the winery’s president from 2002 until 2005, before turning that post over to Bill Carpenter during one of the several restructurings that Hillside has been through.

In July Duncan resumed the president’s role at the winery when Bill left in an apparent management shakeup.

While this signals changes in Hillside’s operations, there will be no change in winemakers. Kathy Malone, who came to Hillside late in 2008 after a long career at Mission Hill, is highly regarded by her employers as she continues to raise the bar on wine quality. At a recent tasting, I found the new releases from Hillside among the best I have ever tasted at this winery.

I was also interested to learn that Kathy is focussing, as much as she can, on making Hillside wines with grapes grown on the Naramata Bench. “We want to show the Naramata fruit,” she says. “It is the best place in the Okanagan to grow grapes.”

By bringing the focus back on Naramata grapes, Hillside is coming full circle. The first winery on Naramata Road when it opened in 1990, it began in a roadside farmhouse with a postage stamp vineyard planted by Czech immigrants Vera and Bohumir Klokocka. Hillside’s signature white wine, the Muscat Ottonel, was a variety planted here in the mid-1980s. One of Hillside’s best reds, the Old Vine Gamay, is from vines planted in 1984.

After her husband’s death, Vera sold the winery in 1996 to Vintage Holdings, a Calgary company that over-extended its resources by building the current winery. In 1998 a group of investors – there eventually were 95 – took over Hillside. Hillside did a second restructuring in 2005, consolidating the ownership structure to 22 shareholders, including Bill Carpenter.

Duncan McCowan was one of the 1998 investors when, while he was making a presentation about one of his junior oil companies to an investment banker, he was persuaded to invest in Hillside. “I have always just had a passion for the wine business and wine,” he says.

“We’d have a board meeting and have to write cheques,” he recalls his early years with Hillside, when the winery needed cash infusions. “I think I wrote a few more cheques than some of the others and became a fairly significant shareholder of Hillside.” And eventually he became chair.

“I am a true entrepreneur by most standards,” he says. “I have started several oil and gas companies.”

Born in Calgary, Duncan has worked as a geologist since graduating from the University of Alberta in 1972. Currently, he runs McGowan Exploration Management, a consulting company and is chief executive of a private gas producer. He is also a director of Alberta Wind Energy Corp. “I am interested in all forms of energy,” he says.

He suggests that there will not be major changes in Hillside’s future direction. But there will be some, including more focus on Naramata grapes along with the release of single vineyard wines, possibly the development of a second label and a paring down of the long portfolio. Hillside has made as much as 12,000 cases a year but has settled down to making between 9,000 and 10,000 cases annually.

Photo: Kathy Malone

The current releases are beginning to reflect Kathy Malone’s hand in making the wine. She moved from the anonymity of Mission Hill’s big cellar to work in much smaller, hands-on winery. She took over from Kelly Symonds in time to finish the 2008 wines.

Here are notes on some of the wines.

Muscat Ottonel 2010 ($19.99 for a production of 1,084 cases). The classic aroma of this variety is like a bouquet of flowers. That adds to the appeal of this exquisite wine, with its delicate flavours of spice and citrus. The moderate alcohol of 12.7% underlines the delicate elegance of the wine. 91.

Gewürztraminer 2010 ($18.90 for a production of 685 cases). Again low in alcohol (12.1%) and with a trace of residual sugar, this wine is light and elegant. It begins with aromas of spice and grapefruit and delivers flavours of lychee and grapefruit. 89.

Pinot Gris Reserve 2009 (September release of 907 cases). This wine was fermented and aged primarily in Hungarian oak barrels and spent time on the lees. As a result, the wine has a rich, fleshy texture, with aromas of orange blossoms and flavours of peaches. There is a note of spice on the finish. The oak is handled very well; it does not submerge the fruit in this delicious wine. 90.

Rosé 2010 ($18.99 for a production of 360 cases). This wine is based primarily on Merlot but also includes juice of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir. The colour has an appealingly vibrant hue. The fruity aromas signal what comes next – luscious flavours of strawberry, cherry and cranberry. The finish is crisp and dry. 89.

Old Vines Gamay Noir 2008 ($24.99 for a production of 650 cases). Think of a Beaujolais Cru, perhaps a Fleurie. This wine’s aroma of cherries and strawberries explodes from the glass. On the palate, it is juicy and appealing, with cherry and raspberry flavours. The texture is smooth and the finish is long. 91.

Old Vines Gamay Noir 2009 (Not yet released). This tastes like a different Beaujolais Cru but I can’t put my finger on which one. It is a darker, more intense wine than the 2o08, with aromas of red berries and pepper. On the palate, the wine has a pleasant earthiness, with flavours of plums. 91.

Merlot 2009 Hidden Valley Vineyard ($24.99 for a production of 190 cases). The Hidden Valley vineyard is tucked away in a valley above the winery (i.e., hidden from view). Something in the soil here gives this wine a note of graphite on the nose, along with the dark plum and fig flavours. The wine has good aging potential. 90.

Merlot 2009 Taylor Vineyard ($24.99 for a production of 190 cases). This vineyard, with 15-year-old vines, is just below the winery. The aromas and flavours reflect quite a different terroir. The wine is concentrated, even meaty, in texture with savoury flavours of plum and fig and with a hint of chocolate. 91.

Mosaic 2007 ($39.99 for a production of 750 cases). This is Hillside’s flagship Bordeaux blend, first created in 2002. Since 2006, the grapes have all been sourced on the Naramata Bench. The wine is 34% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 13% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. The moderate alcohol, 12.5%, also recalls a classic Bordeaux style as opposed to the powerhouse Okanagan style. However, this is an elegant and complex red, with aromas of cedar and cassis and with flavours of currants. The wine has at least five years of cellaring ahead of it. 91.

Drink royally with Quails' Gate

2011-08-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Photo: Totally botryis affected grapes

During the past three years, Quails’ Gate Estate Winery has enjoyed a remarkable string of invitations to provide wines visiting dignitaries.

Most recently, six Quails’ Gate wines were served at a dinner in the Northwest Territories for Prince William and his bride, Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Before that, Quails’ Gate wines were served to such guests of Canada as Queen Elizabeth, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, the president of Ireland and President Barack Obama.

Perhaps it is just a coincidence that the Stewart family, owners of the winery, includes some who are federal Conservative supporters. The records would probably show that when the Liberals ran the country, the wines at state functions occasionally came from Senator Ross Fitzpatrick’s CedarCreek Estate Winery.

It just happens that these are two of the best wineries in the Okanagan. I expect that our visitors and those dining with them came away quite impressed.

It was not always like this. In the early 1980s, wines served at a dinner for the Queen included a Maréchal Foch (not from Quails’ Gate) so unstable that there fizzy bottles all over the room.

That was then and this is now. The Duke and the Duchess had a chance to taste some of my favourite Quails’ Gate wines: the Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir, the Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay, the Chenin Blanc, the Old Vines Foch Reserve, the Fortified Vintage Foch and the Totally Botrytis Affected Optima.

Some of these I have reviewed before while others were included in the most recent group of samples. We can all drink like royalty.

Here are notes on four recently-released wines.

Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2009 ($29.99 for a production of 1,100 six-bottle cases). The SFR wines are the top tier wines here. The grapes for this wine come from vines that are 13 to 17 years old and, therefore, deliver more flavour. This wine was barrel-fermented entirely in French oak barrels (40% new, the rest one year old). Consequently, the oak notes are very subtle and well integrated in this complex wine. The wine shows aromas of toast, butter and tangerine; and flavours of citrus and apricot with a touch of spice. While the wine went through malolactic fermentation, it still retains a crisp finish. 91.

Quails’ Gate Pinot Noir 2009 ($25 for a production of 7,000 cases). This winery probably has the single largest planting of Pinot Noir in the Okanagan; the Stewart family has been growing Pinot Noir since 1975. Their winemaker, Grant Stanley, is absolutely passionate about the variety and it shows. This wine, from a big, ripe vintage, is dark in colour with aromas of cherries. It is vibrant and rich on the palate, with notes of raspberry and cherry. The winery produced 7,000 cases. 89.

Quails’ Gate Merlot 2008 ($24.99 for a production of 2,750 cases). When I read the label, I thought here is an Okanagan Merlot than thinks it is a Zinfandel: the stated alcohol is 15.5%. When a wine is as well-balanced as this ripe Merlot, you don’t notice the alcohol (at least not until it hits the knees!).

Because the wine is bottled under a screw cap, I took pains to decant it and let it breath so that the youthful exuberance could evolve and give the idea of what the wine would taste like with cellaring. The winery recommends cellaring it up to seven years.

It was a little firm on being first tasted, reflecting both its oak and its long, ripe tannins. Over the next hour or so (and with a steak), its rich, fleshy texture emerged, along with a core of sweet fruit – currants, plums, figs. If you are patient with this muscular red, you are well rewarded. 90.

Quails’ Gate Totally Botrytis Affected Optima 2009 ($29.99 for a 375 ml bottle; production of 452 cases). TBA wines are rare in the Okanagan because the climate usually is too dry to foster botrytis, the noble rot that raises the sugars and flavours of grapes by dehydrating grapes on the vine. The Quails’ Gate vineyard, not far from Okanagan Lake, has the microclimate for botrytis and a grape variety, Optima, which is susceptible to noble rot. The winery has been making dessert wines like this for close to 20 years.

The grapes for this wine were actually crushed by foot. That is far more efficient that a mechanical crusher in making sure the juice of these shrivelled grapes is in contact with the skins. The wine was fermented slowly until the winemaker achieved the right balance between sugar, acidity and alcohol. This has 10% alcohol and 122 grams of residual sugar.

The wine has a lemony gold colour, with honey and orange peel aromas and flavours of honeyed apricots. While the wine is sweet, it is beautifully balanced to finish with delicate fruit flavours that are not cloying. 88.

As pleasant as this wine is now, I think it should be cellared for several years because TBA wines darken in colour and become more intense in flavour with age. Think of the difference between a young Sauternes and an old one. Sauternes, of course, are TBA wines.

CedarCreek's 2010 show the hand of a new winemaker

2011-08-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Photo: Schloss Ehrenfels gave its name to a grape

When a winery changes winemakers after a decade with a really skilled winemaker, there is always some apprehension until the new winemaker’s first wines are released.

Winemaking at CedarCreek Estate Winery was taken over before the 2010 vintage by Darryl Brooker. He succeeded Tom DiBello, a University of California graduate who had been there since 2000.

Judging from the winery’s first 2010s, CedarCreek remains in very good hands. The cool 2010 vintage was a challenging one, with bracing acidity. In the whites and the rosé wines, Darryl has handled the acidity very well. We wait with interest to see his touch with the reds.

Darryl was born in Canberra in 1973. He developed an interest in wine while serving in the Australian Navy – where tours of duty included visits to wine regions around the world. He left the navy to get a wine science degree at Charles Sturt University and a graduate diploma in wine business from the University of Adelaide.

He started his winemaking career in the vineyards at Mountadam Vineyards in the Barossa Valley and then spent four years at Villa Maria Estates Winery in New Zealand before moving to Ontario.

He came to Canada in 2003 to supervise building and launching Flat Rock Cellars near Jordan. Flat Rock, a producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling, is a leading edge Ontario winery with gravity-flow architecture designed for gentle handling of grapes.

In 2005, Darryl became the winemaker at Hillebrand Estates Winery, Andrew Peller Ltd.’s premium boutique winery near Niagara-on-the-Lake. He has supervised the winemaking at Thirty Bench Winery, another boutique winery and a Riesling specialist that Peller bought several years ago. He moved to the CedarCreek cellar in May, 2010.

As CedarCreek president Gordon Fitzpatrick explained, Darryl “set out to express more character in our white aromatics.” This involved longer and more gentle press cycles and cooler, slower fermentations. It was certainly not the easiest year in which to put a stamp on the wines. Nature did that by handing him the coolest year, and one of the latest, in a decade. The Pinot Gris, for example, was picked a month later in 2010 than it was in 2009.

Here are notes on the Brooker wines released so far.

CedarCreek Pinot Noir Rosé 2010 ($17.90 with a production of 470 cases). Surprisingly, this is the winery’s first rosé, or so the winery says. Surely, they made one in the 1980s after Senator Ross Fitzpatrick acquired the property – although pink wine was not as popular then as it is now. The winery’s notes describe this as CedarCreek’s “acoustic” Pinot Noir, in the fanciful sense that a song played or sung acoustically is “a simpler, somehow purer version.”

This rosé is made from juice bled from Pinot Noir after five to seven days of cold-soaking on the skins. This is a common technique of having your cake and eating it. The juice drained from the tanks makes a lovely rosé while the juice that remains to ferment on the skins is darker and richer.

This is a lovely wine for summer, beginning with an attractive rose petal hue; aromas and flavours of strawberry and cherry. The balance of sweet fruit and acidity is perfect, yielding a refreshing finish. 89.

CedarCreek Riesling 2010 ($17.90 for a production of 1,650 cases). Darryl had plenty of experience making good Riesling wines in Ontario. It shows with this wine, one the Okanagan’s best 2010 Rieslings.

Perhaps it was the year, but the technical specifications are markedly different from the 2009 Riesling. That wine, from grapes picked in mid-October, ended up with 7.9 grams of acid and 7. 54 grams of residual sugar per litre; and was fermented to 13.7% alcohol.

The numbers for the 2010 wine are nothing short of astonishing. It is finished with an acidity of 12.2 grams, almost enough to scour the enamel from your teeth. What makes this wine work is the brilliant balance: it also has 16.5 grams of residual sugar and 11.3% alcohol. This gives the wine delicate weight on the palate and recalls some fine German Rieslings I have tasted. The fresh lime flavours are savoury on the palate. The finish, thanks to the balance, seems almost dry. 91.

CedarCreek Ehrenfelser 2010 ($18.90 for a production of 1,158 cases). Since the 2002 vintage, when the winery vastly improved how the grapes were being grown, this has become CedarCreek’s cult wine. Chances are that Darryl had never had to make Ehrenfelser before; not many wineries anywhere make it. The grape was developed years ago in Germany and is named after a lovely ruined castle beside the Rhine.

This wine, which some argue may be the best of the world’s limited numbers of Ehrenfelser, is dramatic as ever. It is a bowl of fruit, mostly apricots, in the bottle. The acidity is higher – 11.3 grams in the 2010 versus 7.25 grams in the 2009 – but the residual sugar is similar. As a result, the 2010 seems drier on the finish than the 2009. 89.

CedarCreek Pinot Gris 2010 ($17.90 for a production of 4,150 cases). The winemakers at CedarCreek have always sought to bring a little complexity to Pinot Gris by fermenting a modest portion in barrel. Darryl added a further tweak to the 2010 by including 12% Chardonnay in the blend and leaving in 7.9 grams of residual sugar, balancing 8.92 grams of acidity. The 2009 Pinot Gris, by comparison, had 7.1 grams of acidity and negligible residual sugar.

I no longer remember the precise taste of the 2009 Pinot Gris – obviously, it was dry- but I can say that the 2010 is delicious, with aromas of apples and pears and flavours of peaches. It is at the same time full on the palate and crisp on the finish. 91.

CedarCreek Gewürztraminer 2010 ($17.90 for a production of 1,369 cases). Here is a warning to Gewürztraminer lovers: CedarCreek made only half as much Gewürz in 2010 as in 2009. This wine has the classic bouquet of rose petals and spice. On the palate, it has almost the oily richness and spiciness of an Alsace Gewürz rather than the core of sweet lychee fruit that some rival Okanagan Gewürztraminers show. 88.

Blue Mountain opens its tasting room at last

2011-08-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Photo: Blue Mountain's Mavety family; credit Andrea Johnson

Recently, I dipped into my cellar for a bottle of Blue Mountain Pinot Noir 2006. It was a delicious bottle, richer than I recall it being when young. At five years, the wine is at its peak but has the texture to hold for several more years, and probably longer in cellars with ideal temperature control.

Until this year, when my cellar was getting too full compared with the declining consumption at my dinner parties, I bought at least half a case annually of Blue Mountain Pinot Noir on release.

On several occasions, I have shared verticals of the wine. (What is the point of collecting wine if you don’t share it?) You could always count on a good turnout for a vertical tasting because of the perception that Blue Mountain wines were hard to get.

There was something to that. To make sure of a chance to buy the wines, you needed to have your name on what was called Jane’s List. It was named for Jane Mavety, a founder of the winery with her husband Ian. As the winery’s marketer, she allocated the wines to customers.

In the years when Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars – now in its 20th year - was arguably the best winery in British Columbia, the wines sold out quickly. The limited production reserve wines still sell out quickly; you certainly need to be on the list.

A lean family business, Blue Mountain opened its tasting room only a few times a year. For the most part, visitors needed to make an appointment to ensure someone was around to receive them. Occasionally, visitors without appointments were turned away. When a forest fire was contained at the edge of the Blue Mountain vineyard in 2003, some industry wag quickly cracked that the fire did not have an appointment.

That policy changed yesterday. The winery announced that it will open its tasting room from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday from May through early October.

Times have changed. When Blue Mountain opened in 1992, there were about 25 wineries in British Columbia. With rare exceptions, Blue Mountain for many years never had to sell its wines through any private wine stores, much less the Liquor Distribution Branch.

Today, there are about 225 producers and they are all fighting for business. Blue Mountain began making its wines accessible in private stores about five years ago. When the wines first went on the floor at Everything Wine, there was an actual buying frenzy until pent-up demand was satisfied.

Blue Mountain’s wines still are consistently high in quality. However, there are plenty of other superb wine producers and they all have tasting rooms. Now that wine tourism is significant in the Okanagan, Blue Mountain has been foregoing its easiest sales by not having regular tasting room hours.

There is another generation sharing the work with Ian and Jane. Matt, their son, is the winemaker and shares his father’s passion for growing grapes. Christie, their daughter, has become the winery’s sales and marketing manager.

“Blue Mountain is blessed with a truly spectacular setting,” she is quoted in the winery’s press release. “The new tasting room hours will make it more convenient for wine lovers to visit and taste Blue Mountain wines, right where they’re made.”

We’ll all drink to that.

Class of 2011: Gold Hill Winery

2011-08-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Photo: Gurbachan and Sant Gill

When a widening of Highway 97 was completed this spring midway between Oliver and Osoyoos, it moved the new Gold Hill Winery from highway frontage to a parallel service road.

The winery’s owners actually see this as an advantage. The winery is still visible to passing motorists but the access now is far safer. This had been a stretch of road notorious for mishaps. No one in the wine business wants to be associated with that, much less two of the most recent entrants.

Theirs is the classic immigrant story. Joining an uncle already here, brothers Sant and Gurbachan Gill came from India with only a few dollars and took $6 an hour farm worker jobs. A quarter century of hard work later, they opened their own winery.

Sant, who was born in 1958, emigrated to the Okanagan in 1984. Younger brother Gurbachan, born in 1967, followed him in 1989, in the same year that Sant bought his first house in Osoyoos. After a few years of orchard work, the brothers in 1991 began working in vineyards owned by Kal Gidda, one of the principals at Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery. The experience they picked up during almost a decade with Kal and his brothers shaped the future for the Gill brothers. Today, they plant and manage vineyards for others as well as looking after their own vineyards.

The winery is based on a farm that they bought in 1995. They continued to grow peaches, apricots and cherries there until they switched to grapes in 2007. The rocky slope is either the southernmost extension of The Golden Mile or the northernmost extension of the Osoyoos Lake Bench, since the winery and 7.3-hectare (18-acre) vineyard are almost midway between Oliver and Osoyoos.

In plantings since 2007, the brothers have put in the mainstream varieties – Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier and Gewürztraminer. They also own or lease smaller vineyards in Osoyoos, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden; the latter produces Pinot Noir for the winery.

The winemaker for Gold Hill is consultant Philip Soo. Formerly a winemaker with Andrew Peller Ltd. in Port Moody, Phil since 2006 has become of the Okanagan’s busiest consultants with a client list that includes Dirty Laundry, Noble Ridge and Cassini Cellars. He crafts wines that are distinctive and different with each client, reflecting both individual vineyards and client preferences. The Gill brothers grow grapes that are ripe and full of flavour and that was reflected in the winery’s three bold reds from 2009, all of which spent 16 months in French oak, and the 2010 unoaked Chardonnay, the debut wines. Additional varieties – Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir - are planned in subsequent vintages.

Always willing to learn new skills, Sant is picking up some of the art of winemaking from his consultant. “Phil is a really nice guy,” Sant says. “He explains lots of things to me when he comes here.”

Here are notes on the wines.

Chardonnay 2010 ($19.12). This has the classic freshness of an unoaked Chardonnay, with aromas and flavours of apples and with a crisp finish. 88.

Merlot 2009 ($22.48). This is a concentrated and firm Merlot, with aromas of cassis and with flavours plum, pomegranate, liquorice and chocolate. 88 and it will add a few points with cellaring for a year or decanting now.

Cabernet Franc 2009 ($24.72). Here is another wine that makes the case for this under-appreciated variety. It is big and juicy, with aromas of cassis and blueberry, and flavours reflecting those fruits, with a spicy note. 89.

Syrah 2009 ($26.96). This is a generous red with aromas of lavender and iodine; with flavours of plum and cherry and a touch of pepper on the finish. 88.

Gold Hill Winery
29014 Highway 97
Osoyoos BC V0H 1V0
T 250.495.8152
Open daily in summer from 10 am to 6 pm.

Mark Wendenburg takes over at Blasted Church

2011-07-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

Photo: Mark Wendenburg

Mark Wendenburg, a consulting winemaker and a veteran of 30 vintages, has taken over as the new winemaker for Blasted Church Vineyards.

He dates his introduction to the wine industry from 1980, when he and his father, Chris, planted the five-acre family vineyard near Penticton.

He is best known for his 18 years as winemaker at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery. He left that winery in the spring of 2010 and hung out his shingle as a consultant. Blasted Church is now his major client.

The winemaking job at Blasted Church came open in March when that Okanagan Falls winery parted company with Richard Kanazawa.

Richard, who is now the winemaker at Lang Vineyards on the Naramata Bench, had been at Blasted Church for four years (the longest any winemaker has been at a winery with a bit of a turnover history).

Mark took over the Blasted Church cellar in June. He has inherited a portfolio of wines that, with very few exceptions, are impressive. (See my blog of March 28, 2011, for reviews of most of the wines.) At a tasting in Vancouver this week, it was obvious that Mark is also impressed with what has been handed to him.

Two months into the job, he is considering one change: the winery’s Pinot Noir table wine could be dropped from the portfolio because the grapes will be needed for an expanded sparkling wine program. Mark, after all, has a long and distinguished track record for making award-winning sparkling wine.

He was born in Penticton in 1961, shortly after his parents arrived in Canada. They had owned agricultural land in Germany’s Harz Mountains until the East German government relieved them of their property.

After helping plant the family vineyard, Mark went to Germany in 1982, apprenticing with wineries in three regions, and earning a winemaking diploma at the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Enology in Franconia.

On returning in 1987, he started working at the T.G. Bright & Co. winery near Oliver. In winter of 1988, Mark did a crush at the Nobilo winery in New Zealand; the following winter, he did the crush at S. Smith & Sons in Australia (better known as Yalumba).

In between those assignments, he resumed working at Brights but also became involved in a sparkling wine project that had been launched on the Okanagan by California’s Schramsberg Cellars with Inkameep Vineyards and what is now Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars. One of his bosses at Brights told him to choose between Brights and the sparkling wine project. Mark chose the sparkling wine project.

After that project wound up in 1991, Mark joined Sumac Ridge which was just getting its Steller’s Jay Brut sparkling wine launched. Sumac Ridge had begun handcrafting the wine in 1987 but production was insignificant until Mark came on board and until the winery installed adequate equipment for producing bubbly.

Steller’s Jay is now one of Canada’s best traditional method sparkling wines, an elegant blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. The awards won by this wine are legendary. Among others, Steller’s Jay Brut 2001 was sparkling wine of the Canada in the 2004 Canadian Wine Awards and also got a Lieutenant-Governor’s Award of Excellence in Winemaking. The current release, from the 2006 vintage, won a Lieutenant-Governor’s Award this year.

Sumac Ridge has piled up an astonishing array of firsts and awards during the past 18 years with Mark in the cellar, including Canada’s first red Meritage in 1993 and its first White Meritage in 1995. Pinnacle, first made in 1997, was the Okanagan’s first luxury red blend, selling then (and now) for $50. Sumac Ridge began making Gewürztraminer well before Mark joined the winery but his refinements to the wine help explain why it is Canada’s largest-selling Gewürztraminer.

At about 20,000 cases a year, Blasted Church is roughly a quarter the size of Sumac Ridge but with a similar portfolio of blends and varietals.

The Vancouver tastings also included three wines from Blasted Church’s Revered Series (as it calls its premium tiers). These are small volume wines made only in top vintages. All are still available from the winery. Here are my notes.

Holy Moly 2008 ($34.99 for a production of 57 cases). This is Petit Verdot. It is a dark red with the spectacular perfumed aroma of the varietal (there is even a hint of iodine). There are flavours of blackberries and boysenberries; and the wine has a dense, satisfying texture and a long finish. 92.

Cross to Bear 2008 ($34.99 for a production of 96 cases). This is a blend of Syrah and Malbec and, as Mark observed, the varieties “sit well together.” The wine has the peppery aroma and flavour of Syrah with the brooding black cherry and plum flavours of the Malbec. This is a big and demonstrative red. 93.

Nothing Sacred 2008 ($39.99 for a production of 195 cases). This is a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot. It is a bold, concentrated red with aromas and flavours of currants, cedar, even a touch of chocolate. The soft ripe tannins encircle a core of sweet fruit. 91.

Dogfish and other culinary delights of Victoria

2011-07-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

Photo: Dan Hayes, the London Chef, about to slice up dogfish

Someone told me last week that Victoria has more good restaurants per capita than any North American city of its size.

That is debatable (have you been to New Orleans?). But I would not disagree that Victoria’s food and wine culture has come alive. That was highlighted last week at Taste, the city’s third annual food and wine festival.

After struggling in its first two years, Taste this year sold out a number of events – and not just to the locals. At one event, I met a couple from Atlanta who had booked a west coast vacation to escape the oppressive heat on the east coast. We had a great conversation until Barack Obama’s alleged progress to Marxism came up.

Today’s Victoria has changed remarkably from the quaint faux-English government town that I recall from the 1960s and 1970s. It still has plenty of quaint charm: tea in the Empress; boutique hotels; Murchie’s Tea Room right next to Munro’s Books; the gardens at Government House; Beacon Hill Park; pipers, buskers and artists; horse-drawn carriages; and more. And now, there is the burgeoning food and wine culture. The Union Club is no longer the only place to go for a power lunch.

Perhaps the corner was turned in the early 1990s when the first modern era wineries began opening on Vancouver Island at the same time as Okanagan winemaking began to take off. Good food and good wine go together. The results can be found on the great wine lists at (to name a few) Sooke Harbour House and Butchart Gardens.

Butchart Gardens won the award this year for the best list featuring British Columbia wines. In recent years, the sommelier there has replaced nearly all imported wines on their extensive list with British Columbia wines. Butchart Gardens takes the view that its visitors – many from other countries – have the opportunity at home to drink French or American wine; but when they visit British Columbia, they have a once in a lifetime chance to drink our wines, which is seldom exported.

There are many unique food and wine experiences to discover in Victoria and its environs. A group of us went on a guided walk one afternoon that began at The London Chef on Fort Street. This restaurant and cooking school was opened three years ago by Dan Hayes, a Londoner with a special passion for seafood. Not just any seafood, but underutilized species like dogfish and skate.

“In Britain, we use it for fish and chips,” he said while filleting a dogfish. A small member of the shark family with an unfortunate name, dogfish is a coincidental catch with the more commonly used species. Dipped in batter, deep-fried and served with house-made tartar sauce, the dogfish was delicious.

Near Dan’s restaurant, Hilary’s Cheese – the 10-year-old Cowichan Bay cheese maker – has its recently opened shop, its first one outside the Cowichan Valley. In parallel with island winery development, at least half a dozen cheese producers have opened on Vancouver Island or Salt Spring Island in the past decade. In fact, the Little Qualicum Cheeseworks opened its own fruit winery, called Mooberry, two years ago.

Photo: Patty Abbott of Hillary's Cheese

These are substantial businesses making world-class cheese. Patty Abbott, whose husband is Hilary, says that Hilary’s Cheese processes about 2,000 litres of milk a week, including 700 litres of goat’s milk.

Photo: Specials at Choux Choux Charcouterie

Further along Fort Street is Choux Choux Charcuterie, a tiny place that draws in trade with the most remarkable aromas of spice and meat products. Many of the meat products are made right there with premium cuts of fresh meat. On this particular day, the proprietors were dealing with a freshly butchered pig in the back of the store (out of sight from patrons).

Still on Fort Street, the Dutch Bakery is one of Victoria’s retro gems. It was established 54 years by emigrants from Holland and still uses grandfather’s recipes for some of its best pastry. The restaurant is authentically 1960s in style with formica tables and stools along the counter. Even the modest prices seem a decade or two old.

Photo: Silk Road's Daniela Cubelic

Another remarkable Victoria institution, right on the edge of the city’s China Town, is Silk Road, established in 1992 by tea master Daniela Cubelic. The experience here is totally sybaritic, offering not only exotic teas but aroma therapy and spa treatments. Daniela is also passionate about chocolate and argues for the merits of pairing teas and chocolate: black teas with dark chocolates, fruit-infused or green teas with milk chocolate, white tea (yes, there is such a tea) with white or light chocolate.

While there is more than enough to keep one occupied in Victoria, wine country is only half an hour from downtown, whether one goes to the Saanich Peninsula or to the Cowichan Valley.

Photo: Damali winery amid lavender

I chose the Cowichan Valley to visit the recently opened Damali Winery & Vinegary. The owners have created an oasis of lavender and vines, making an array of products that incorporate lavender, including two wines. I particularly liked Mure Lavande, a dry blackberry table wine with a subtle hint of lavender.

That put me in the mood for blackberry wine and I carried on a few minutes to Cherry Point Estate Winery. This Cowichan Valley winery, now owned by Colombian economist Xavier Bonilla and his wife Maria, pioneered blackberry “port” in the 1990s.

Photo: Cherry Point's Xavier Bonilla

Eight years ago, Simon Spencer, then Cherry Point’s winemaker, took blackberry port to a higher level by creating a solera-style version. It is arguably the best of the island’s numerous blackberry ports.

Xavier has an elegantly simply explanation of the solera process, illustrated by a three-barrel pyramid on display beside the wine shop. One begins solera aging by putting wine in all three barrels. When the wine is sufficiently aged, half of the volume in each of the bottom barrels is drained out for bottling. The wine in the top barrel refills the bottom barrels and fresh wine goes into the top barrel.

The actual barrel stack in the winery is much larger but the principle is the same. When aged wine is pulled off for bottling, it makes room for younger wine to cascade down the pyramid. The mixing of vintages adds to the complexity of the wine.

The wine is labelled Solera. I scored it 91 points and longed for a wedge of Hilary’s cheese to enjoy with it.

Dinner in the vineyard at Noble Ridge

2011-07-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Photo: Jim D'Andrea in the Noble Ridge cellar

What would you do if it rained on your dinner party?

It happened last week to Jim and Leslie D’Andrea, the owners of Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery at Okanagan Falls, when they were hosting about 30 guests for a dinner in the vineyard.

They turned it into an educational opportunity, entertaining the guests with a barrel tasting of 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon while the staff of Bogner’s, the caterers, moved the table and the dinner settings into the winery.

The Okanagan weather this year has been no more conducive for dining under the open skies than it has been for growing grapes. The temperature was pleasant enough for a reception outdoors at the Noble Ridge winery. We were treated to canapés and glasses of Mingle 2010, the winery’s white blend, which will be released as soon as the last of Mingle 2009 has been sold.

This is a delicious $18 blend built around Pinot Gris and other varieties that are not disclosed. This allows the winery to keep its options open, changing the components of the blend from year to year, depending on what the vintage gives them to work with.

It is an excellent wine, tasting of apples, peaches and citrus. Even though there is a touch of residual sweetness, the 2010 has exquisite balance, with a refreshing and crisp finish. My score: 88.

The guests had barely been seated at the long table in the vineyard when black clouds moved overhead and fat drops of rain splashed down. We dashed for shelter in the winery, leaving the caterers to bring the table inside and set it up all over again.

Jim and Leslie needed to occupy the half hour that Bogner’s required to reset the table. They took this chance to recount their history, finishing with a barrel tasting.

Photo: Leslie D'Andrea

Calgary natives, they bought a 15-acre vineyard property just south of Okanagan Falls in 2001. Jim is a senior lawyer and Leslie was a hospital administrator. They were attracted to the lifestyle of winery owners during vacations in France and even considered buying a vineyard there. Then they discovered the remarkable wines that were beginning to emerge from the Okanagan. It was much more practical to set up their winery here than in distant France.

Noble Ridge opened in 2005. The following year, they bought a 7 ½ vineyard across Oliver Ranch Road from their original property, partly for the additional grapes but also for the sturdy building (a massive garage for trucks) they turned into a winery. It took Jim’s considerable skills as a lawyer to persuade the regulators that the winery could be on one side of a public road while the tasting room was on the other.

The disciplined planting on these vineyards gives Noble Ridge the grapes to produce a focussed portfolio of about six table wines. Coming fall is the winery’s first sparkling wine which Jim and winemaker Phil Soo have benchmarked against good Champagne. Also coming soon is 120 cases of 2009 King’s Ransom, a limited release of the icon Bordeaux blend the winery produces only in the best years. First dibbs on both wines belongs to those on Noble Ridge’s email list (free registration).

The barrel tasting of the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon was revealing. That is a late ripening variety and the 2010 vintage was almost as cool and late as the 2011 is turning out to be. Not an ideal Cabernet year. I expected the wine to show some green aromas and flavours but I was quite surprised to find both samples were ripe and full of clean fruit flavours. It was obvious that Noble Ridge has a very good vineyard crew. If they delivered ripe Cabernet Sauvignon to the winemaker last year, you know they got everything else right, too.

The table was now set up in the winery and we sat down to dinner which included an excellent Chateaubriand paired with an award-winning Noble Ridge library wine, a Meritage 2006 that I scored 91. There might be a few bottles left under the counter in the wine shop. The Meritage 2007 (89 points) is the current release on sale here, $10 off the usual $30 price in celebration of the owners’ 1oth anniversary in the Okanagan.

The rainstorm having passed, the uncomplaining crew from Bogner’s moved the table back into the vineyard for desert. (Bogner’s, of course, is the renowned restaurant in downtown Penticton.) And there was still time for a late evening visit to the wine shop.

The other wines here include:

Pinot Grigio 2009 ($18.90). The wine begins with aromas of pear and citrus and tastes of pears and bake apples. The alcohol is a touch generous for the Pinot Grigio style and the wine might better be called Pinot Gris. The finish is long and rich. 88.

Chardonnay 2009 ($23.90). There was no opportunity to taste this wine, which has already won gold at the All-Canadian Wine Competition. The 2008 vintage, which was served at dinner and is now sold out, garnered medals at several competitions including Chardonnay du Monde.

Pinot Noir 2008 ($27.90). This will be released in the fall when the 2007 has been sold. While the 2007 Pinot Noir is lean, with cherry notes on the nose and palate, the 2008 is a glorious wine. It has aromas of strawberries and flavours of strawberry and cherry. The velvet texture is rich and concentrated. 90.

Noble Ridge has expanded its Pinot Noir plantings, both to support this varietal and for its sparkling wine program. After a decade in this vineyard, they have concluded, as Leslie says, that “Pinot Noir is happy here.”

He's back! Harry McWatters unveils his own label

2011-07-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Photo: Harry McWatters

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery founder Harry McWatters has been such a force in British Columbia wines for at least 35 years that it is startling that he has never put his name on a brand of wine until now.

This week, at media lunches in the Okanagan and in Vancouver, he is formally unveiling the McWatters Collection 2007 Meritage.

“I never planned to put my name on it,” he says. “It was Christa-Lee and Darren that encouraged me to do it,” referring to his daughter and his son.

Christa-Lee, who also runs Local, the McWatters-owned restaurant in Summerland, argued that it would be prudent to establish the family brand. It is possible that this release could be the forerunner of a family-run winery.

Christa-Lee convinced her father that “if we are going to do something long-term, we might as well get something out there now.”

The 2007 Meritage has had a soft release already. It retails for $25 in the Summerland wine shop that Harry owns and it has been on Local’s wine list since spring. The initial release is only 500 cases.

No Meritage was made in 2008; but in 2009, 800 cases of Meritage and 200 cases of Chardonnay were produced. The Chardonnay is expected to be released this year but the 2009 Meritage is not likely to be released until next year.

The 2007 Meritage was made under Harry’s direction by Brad Cooper at the Township 7 Winery in Penticton. It is 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. The grapes are all from Harry’s vineyard on Black Sage Road. The wine spent 15 months in French oak barrels and another 15 months in bottle prior to release. It is a delicious 90-pointer that does Harry proud.

There are two explanations for Harry releasing a wine with his own name on the label (aside from the encouragement of his family).

First of all, he has been passionate about wine longer than most of us have been drinking wine. He started making wine at home when he was 16 (he was born in 1945). In 1968 he quit as a United Van Lines manager to work in sales for Casabello Wines in Penticton. He started Sumac Ridge in 1980 with Lloyd Schmidt, who was then the vineyard manager at Casabello.

When Vincor Canada bought Sumac Ridge in 2000, Harry remained in Vincor’s management group until 2008. He “retired” to set up The Vintage Consulting Group which now has winery and vineyard clients throughout British Columbia.

Secondly, Harry has the grapes in his superb vineyard on Black Sage Road. The vineyard was planted in 1993 and at the time was one of the largest plantings of Bordeaux reds (primarily) in Canada. Over the years, some of Sumac Ridge’s best wines were made from the Black Sage Vineyard grapes.

The vineyard was owned under a structure in which Harry and the winery were roughly equal partners. That has now been formalized in a way that leaves Harry with the front 60 acres and Vincor with the back 55 acres. Harry has been selling the grapes from his vineyard to various clients including Vincor. He made no Meritage in 2008 or in 2010 because his grape supply was already spoken for.

His obligation to Vincor ends this year, with Vincor buying 20% of the fruit. Harry is planning to make Meritage and Chardonnay this vintage. Where and how much has yet to be decided.

The vineyard – which needs to be renamed because Vincor owns the Black Sage Vineyard brand – grows enough varietals to support a good portfolio, should the McWatters Collection develop beyond Meritage.

“The largest variety I am growing is Merlot; then Cabernet Sauvignon,” Harry says. “I have only a small amount of Cabernet Franc. I am going to plant more. We did pull out our experimental vineyard there and planted just over an acre of Syrah. It is in its second leaf. In whites, I have Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, a little bit of Pinot Blanc.”

He is considering pulling out half of the Pinot Blanc to make room for Malbec and Petit Verdot. “The vineyard is so good for reds,” he believes.

“I don’t think I will sacrifice the Chardonnay; we get a lot of tropical fruit characteristics that make a big Chardonnay,” Harry says. “I like that style and I certainly have demand for it.”

Calliope Wines take wing with 2010 releases

2011-07-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Photo: Jim Wyse

Jim Wyse and his family have always had a deep interest in birds which they made clear by naming their winery Burrowing Owl Vineyards after a particularly endangered owl.

“That is one area of our operations that Jim will be involved with forever,” says Kerri McNolty, his daughter. “He is the one who personally does all the bat boxes and cleans out and repairs all the bluebird boxes. That is his passion. He spends most of his time on the Burrowing Owl captive breeding program. They have had great success this spring with four pairs of burrowing owls that had complete nests with six to eight eggs that all hatched.”

Given that background, it is not surprising that the new label from Burrowing Owl is Calliope Wines, named for the hummingbird. The first Calliope wine was released last year. This summer, four Calliope wines have just been released. The fifth, a red blend called Figure 8, will be out this fall. Figure 8 describes the motion of a hovering hummingbird’s wings.

The Calliope label was created initially by winemakers Ross and Cherie Mirko. They launched it in 1999 (with two partners) and operated as a “virtual” winery until 2005 when they moved to New Zealand and wine industry careers there.

As they were leaving, they sold the brand to bird lover Jim Wyse. “He thought the bird allusion was neat and he would tuck it away and save it for some future date, when we had a brand that needed a name,” Kerri says.

About the same time, the Wyse family purchased property near the Grist Mill at Keremeos, planting primarily Sauvignon Blanc, a variety that has never been in the Burrowing Owl portfolio. The first Calliope wine released last year was a Sauvignon Blanc.

“The Calliope concept is to try new varieties we are not producing at Burrowing Owl,” Kerri says. “And with different techniques, perhaps.”

The four 2010 releases are Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Riesling and a Syrah rosé. The wine to be released this fall is a Syrah Merlot blend.

Photo: Bertus Albertyn

The project also gave Burrowing Owl winemaker Bertus Albertyn an opportunity to expand his repertoire. He had never before made a Riesling. For that matter, Burrowing Owl has never had a Riesling either.

Bertus, who joined Burrowing Owl in October, 2009, was born in South Africa in 1978. While his father was a banker, his grandfather had been a grower and winemaker and his uncle, Chris, heads the viticulture department at the big KWV winery. When Bertus completed his training at the Stellenbosch wine school, he joined a small co-operative winery and then moved to Avondale, a premium wine producer about twice the size of Burrowing Owl. He came to Canada with his wife, Elzaan, now a family doctor in Osoyoos.

The Calliope label gives Burrowing Owl, strictly an estate producer, the option of making wines with purchased grapes as well as grapes from its own plantings.

The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, made mostly with grapes from the Keremeos vineyard, also has grapes purchased from a Summerland vineyard. The Riesling grapes were purchased from a young vineyard near Oliver. The Viognier grapes came from a Summerland vineyard.

“It seems to me that the Okanagan has a natural high acidity,” Bertus observes. Generally, he sees that as a benefit; all of the 2010 releases are crisp and refreshing.

However, he also had to dip into his bag of winemaking tricks to manage the acidity in a cool year like 2010. “Because of the high acidity [of the Riesling], I put it in the barrels just to develop more mouthfeel and to balance it,” he says. “The residual sugar in this wine is not high, about seven grams.”

The soundness of all the Calliope wines is testimony to the experienced winemaking that Bertus has brought to the Okanagan.

Here are notes on the wines.

Calliope Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($16.99 with a production of 662 cases). This wine begins with the classic grassy and citrus aromas of the variety. It has lime and grapefruit flavours with a crisp but lingering finish. 90.

Calliope Riesling 2010 ($14.99 for a production of 190 cases). The wine begins with attractive floral aromas and shows flavours of peach and lime, with a delicate mineral backbone. The finish of this light but well-balanced wine is tangy and refreshing. 88.

Calliope Viognier 2010 ($13.99 for a production of 175 cases). The wine also begins with floral aromas and has flavours of pineapples and peaches. All of the wine was fermented in five-year-old barrels where it remained on the lees for three months. That added to the texture. 88.

Calliope Rosé 2010 ($13.99 for a production of 334 cases). The wine was made with Syrah juice that had one day of skin contact, which extracted a lovely hue. The wine, which has a touch of Viognier, has aromas and flavours of strawberry and raspberry. Juicy and refreshing on the palate, the wine is packed with fruit, the flavours of which are lifted by a touch of natural sweetness. 89.

Wine touring in the Shuswap

2011-06-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Photo: Vineyard at Celista

If the number of wineries you can visit comfortably in one day constitutes a critical mass, the Shuswap region around Salmon Arm qualifies with six wineries.

It has taken a while. Larch Hills Winery, which opened in 1997, was the first in the area. Sunnybrae Estate Winery, profiled in a previous blog, is the most recent, opened this spring.

This is British Columbia’s northernmost cluster of wineries and vineyards, an hour’s drive from the north end of the Okanagan and half a day’s drive from the great concentration of British Columbia’s wineries. It is easy for wine tourists to overlook this group.

You shouldn’t. If you are driving by on the Trans-Canada or taking in the Adams River Salmon Run or vacationing on a Shuswap houseboat, save a little extra time for touring these northern wineries. Here is a modest guide to the wineries and some of their best wines.

Photo: Hazel and Jack Manser

Larch Hills Winery, about a 15 minute drive south of Salmon Arm, is British Columbia’s highest elevation vineyard at 2,480 feet. From the top of the steep south-facing vineyard, you can see the beginning of the Okanagan Valley in the distance.

The owners are Jack Manser, formerly a forester in Switzerland, and his wife, Hazel, who bought the winery in 2005 from founders Hans and Hazel Nevrkla. The non-irrigated vineyard grows the cool-climate varieties appropriate for the location, including Ortega, Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe and Maréchal Foch.

The Larch Hills wines are consistent and reliable.

Mad Angie 2008 ($15.40). This is the winery’s cheeky name for its Madeleine Angevine, a white with a floral aroma, flavours of melons and green apples and a dry finish. 88.

Siegerrebe 2008 ($16.40). This early-ripening white invariably is a crowd pleaser because of the dramatic aroma of spice and fruit and the tropical fruit basket of flavour. The Larch Hills example is particularly intense and exotic. 88.

Gewürztraminer 2009 ($16.40). This is an appealing wine with a spicy aroma, lychee flavours and a satisfying weight and texture, with a dry finish. 89.

Tamarack Rosé 2008 ($15.40). A juicy wine with a crisp finish, this has flavours of raspberry and cranberry. It is made with Lemberger and St. Laurent grapes. 89.

Grandview Bench Red 2009 ($16.40). A full-bodied blend of Maréchal Foch, Merlot and Lemberger, this has flavours of plums and red berries. 88.

Maréchal Foch Special Reserve 2008 ($19.40). A good concentrated red with soft tannins and flavours of black cherries and plums. 89.

Lemberger Dessert Wine 2010 ($20.90 for a half bottle). This is a cheerful dessert wine that tastes like cherry and mint candies, with a good balance of acidity and sugar. 90.

Photo: Maureen and Graydon Ratzlaff

Recline Ridge Vineyards & Winery, located at Tappen, just west of Salmon Arm, was established in 1999 by Mike Smith and was taken over last year by Graydon and Maureen Ratzlaff. They moved from Metro Vancouver where Graydon has had a long career in the food processing industry. He was drawn to wine during a four-year-stint when he set up and ran the wine products plant for Vincor’s Spagnols division in New Westminster.

“We view the wine industry as a happy industry,” Graydon says. “There are trials and tribulations and hard work, but by and large people in the industry are generally very positive about the products and what they are doing. There is a lot of pride as a result of that.”

The winery relies on grapes from its 7 ½- acre vineyard and also buys a large vineyard nearby. Graydon would prefer to showcase the wines of this northern region rather than padding this list with wines made from Okanagan grapes.

My recent visit was a little too early: the winery had not yet bottled and released its 2010s. The wines to come this summer will include Recline Ridge’s first Bacchus; a rosé called Make Me Blush; and Optima desert wine called Hummingbird’s Kiss; and a Zweigelt/Blaufrankisch blend called Hawk’s Haven. The latter two wines are tributes to Graydon’s parents, Jack and Agnes, who both died in the past year.

Of those wines on the current list, try the Siegerrebe 2009 ($17.90), another spicy and tropical crowd pleaser. 88.

Photo: Doug and Gary Kennedy

Granite Creek Vineyards, just a kilometre further along the road from Recline Ridge, was opened in 2004 by Gary and Heather Kennedy with their son, Doug, and his wife, Mayka. Their 10-acre vineyard, planted in 2003, grows similar varieties as the other vineyards in the region.

They also make wine from Okanagan grapes, reflected by the current offerings in the tasting room. Viognier 2008 ($20) has the creamy, rich texture of the varietal, with flavours of apricot and pineapple. 88. Riesling 2009 ($17) shows tropical flavours of lime and grapefruit, with a refreshing finish. 88. Syrah 2006 ($23) shows aromas and flavours of black cherry, plum and pepper. 87.

Meritage 2007 – the winery prefers to give its reds plenty of bottle aging before release – has a firm structure with flavours of currants, a hint of coffee and chocolate and a long finish. 88.

The newest products in the tasting room include excellent wine jellies made by Heather.

Photo: John Koopmans

Ovino Winery was opened last year by John Koopmans on what was a former dairy farm about twenty minutes south of Salmon Arm. There is a small flock of sheep on the property now. That inspired the winery name, ovino being a word for sheep in several romance languages.

John keeps it simple, pricing every wine at $15 and producing between 800 and 1,000 cases a year. His initial preference would have been to make just dry white wines but, recognizing consumer demand, he also has reds and a few off-dry whites.

Pinot Gris 2010 is crisp and clean, with aromas and flavours of citrus. 88.

Pinot Tramino 2010 is one of the winery’s best sellers. It is an off-dry blend of Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, with rose petal spice on the nose and with flavours of citrus and peach. 87.

Gewürztraminer 2009 has good weight, with aromas and flavours of spice and orange peel. 88. Gewürztraminer 2010 reflects the vintage, being lighter and crisper, with delicate rose petal aromas. 87.

Pinot Meunier 2010 is a light, easy-drinking summer red, with aromas and flavours of cherry. 87.

Maréchal Foch 2010 is medium bodied, with the variety’s smoky undertone to the cherry flavours. 87.

Entice 2010 is a blend of four white varietals and made in a dessert wine style. It has fresh apple and melon flavours. The 55 grams of residual sugar are very nicely balanced with vibrant acidity. 88.

Photo: Jake Ootes

Celista Estate Winery opened last summer near the community of Celista on the north arm of Shuswap Lake. British Columbia’s most northern winery, it is 30 kilometer drive from the highway through a landscape that ranges from forest to beachside.

The owners are Jake Ootes and his wife, Margaret Baille-Ootes. He is a former publisher, political aide and Yukon minister of education while she formerly owned a Yellowknife art gallery. Their vineyard and winery occupy part of a rambling property that also includes rental accommodation for summer tourists.

They are almost certainly the only British Columbia winery owners who have put sketches of themselves on the wine labels, but done very tastefully as one would expect from a former art gallery owner. “This is our product and we stand behind it,” Jake explains.

Riesling 2010 ($18) is a pleasant dry white with flavours of citrus and spice. 87. Conundrum 2010 ($22) is a fruit blend of four varieties including Gewürztraminer, Siegerrebe and Ortega. It begins with a spicy aroma, has citrus and spice flavours and a dry finish. 88. Celista Cuvée 2010 ($16) is another refreshing white blend with flavours of green apples and citrus. 88.

Marg’s Rosé 2010 ($20) has bright, vibrant hue, reflecting the deep colour of the Maréchal Foch grapes used for the wine. It has aromas and flavours of strawberries and has a crisp dry finish. 88.

Maréchal Foch 2009 ($19) is good quaffing fruity red, with flavours of cherry. 87. Still to be released is an oak-aged Foch.

Lieutenant Governor's 2011 Awards for Excellence in Wine

2011-06-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Eleven wineries emerged as winners in this year’s competition for the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wines.

Eighty-three wineries submitted 309 wines (compared with 71 wineries and 281 wines last year) for this tough British Columbia wine competition. A maximum of 12 awards are available.

The awards will be presented to winemakers at the end of July by Lieutenant Government Stephen Point, with award ceremonies at each winery.

This award is well established since its 2003 inauguration in 2003. This year, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario launched a similar competition for Ontario’s wineries.

The winning wineries in British Columbia include previous winners as well as first-time winners.

Here are this year’s winners:

Photo: Howling Bluff's Luke Smith

Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2009 Summa Quies Pinot Noir ($32 but sold out). This winery won an award two years ago with an earlier vintage of Pinot Noir. This wine begins with glorious aromas of strawberries. Big and fleshy on the palate, yet with the classis silky texture emerging, this seductive wine has flavours of cherry and strawberry that linger and linger.

Photo: Laughing Stock's David Enns

Laughing Stock Vineyards 2010 Pinot Gris ($20). This is a well-balanced wine with good weight, with flavours of pear and apple and with a subtle hint of oak. A first-time winner.

Photo: Mt. Lehman's Vern Siemens

Mt. Lehman Winery 2009 Viognier Reserve ($N.A.). This wine has aromas and flavours of apricots and peaches, with the rich texture of this varietal. Mt. Lehman opened in 2009 just north of Abbotsford. Vern Siemens, the owner and winemaker, grows primarily Pinot Noir in the vineyard there. But he also buys Okanagan grapes to make varieties, like Viognier, that would not ripen adequately in the Fraser Valley. A first-time winner.

Photo: Quinta Ferreira's John Ferreira

Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery 2008 Syrah ($24.90). The winery produced 625 cases of this wine. This is an appealing red with gobs of sweet fruit on the palate; aromas of black cherry and deli meats. A first-time winner.

Photo: Red Rooster winery

Red Rooster 2008 Reserve Meritage ($22.99). This is 58% Cabernet Franc, 38% Merlot and 4% Malbec. It is interesting to see a fine Meritage built around Cabernet Franc, a fine brambly-tasting variety that lights up many blends. This wine showed aromas of spice, vanilla and red berries, with flavours plum, black cherry and cassis. The winery won an award of excellence for a Gewürztraminer in the first competition.

Sandhill 2009 Small Lots Syrah ($N.A.) This is a big, concentrated wine with aromas of pepper and deli spices and with flavours of black cherry, plum, chocolate, even earth. Sandhill has won several previous awards, including for an earlier vintage of this wine.

St. Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery 2009 Dry Riesling ($N.A.). This is a classic Riesling, with its hint of petrol, its spine of minerals and its tangy flavours of lime and grapefruit. A first-time winner.

Photo: Stoneboat's Martinuik family

Stoneboat Vineyards 2009 Pinot Noir ($25). This winery won previously with an earlier vintage of Pinot Noir as well as with a Pinotage. The 2009 Pinot Noir has delicate aromas of strawberries, flavours of spice and cherries and thje classic silky texture of the variety.

Sumac Ridge Steller’s Jay Brut 2006 ($26.99). This is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. In the classic style of Champagne, the wine was left in bottle on the yeast lees for three years before final bottling. The wine presents an onion skin hue, bready notes on the nose from the yeast, and a creamy texture from its fine display of bubbles and its complex fruit flavours. Several vintages of this wine have won awards of excellence, along with other Sumac Ridge wines.

Photo: Volcanic Hills winery

Volcanic Hills Estate Winery 2010 Rosé ($N.A.). This winery opened just last year near West Kelowna. This rosé begins with strawberry aromas. The flavours of strawberry and raspberry explode on the palate. The wine has a crisp, refreshing and dry finish. A first-time winner.

Photo: Wild Goose's Hagen, Adolf and Rolland Kruger

Wild Goose Vineyards 2010 Mystic River Pinot Blanc ($18.99). Wild Goose is a multiple award winner in this competition but never before with, to quote the winery, “the variety that gets little respect.” In fact, this wine was so good that it was a near unanimous choice of the judges through two rounds of judging. It delivers delicious and focussed fruit flavours, like biting into an fresh Gala apple.

Class of 2011: Sunnybrae Estate Winery

2011-06-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

Photo: Barry Turner

The large framed photograph in the tasting room of newly-opened Sunnybrae Vineyards and Winery – a picture of a muscular farmer with his team of Belgian draft horses – immediately conveys a sense of heritage.

It is a picture of the late Mac Turner, the father of Barry Turner who, with his wife, Nancy, and their family, has launched the newest of the six wineries in the Shuswap. A stylized image of Mac Turner and his team appears on the labels of all Sunnybrae wines.

Barry’s family has farmed in the Sunnybrae district for five generations. The winery’s seven and a half acre vineyard is part of a 20-acre property that once belonged to a Turner ancestor, a Major Mobley, said to have been one of the first non-native settlers. Barry says that his ancestor sold the land in 1907. In 2000 Barry reacquired the land for his family.

“We had a hay field there that went to pigweed,” he remembers. “I don’t like haying. It’s a beautiful field if you did something with it. Everybody told me it was an ideal spot for grapes. It has gravel soil, probably eight inches of top soil, with a south slope of up to 6%.”

The idea appealed to him. Barry’s career as a heavy equipment operator and a road builder often has taken him away from home and family. “My plan was, later in life, to phase out of that and get into this full time,” he told me five years ago when he began planting the vineyard.

“We have put our whole heart into this,” his wife, Nancy, says now.

Photo: Nancy Turner and daughter Kristie

To negotiate what he called the “steep learning curve” of grape growing, Barry sought advice both from James Wright, who operates the nearby Ashby Point Vineyard, and from Lanny Martiniuk, a veteran vine propagator in Oliver.

“He is one of these guys, he’s doing it by the book,” James said of Barry in a 2006 interview. “I wish my rows were as straight as his and my spacing were as good as his.”

Barry, who began planting in 2006, now has 2.3 acres of Maréchal Foch, 1.3 acres of Siegerrebe and 1.2 acres each of Ortega, Kerner and Schönburger. And he could plant perhaps another five acres on his perfect slope.

It is only recently that the Turners learned of substantial viticultural expertise in Nancy’s family. She is a cousin of Lloyd Schmidt. Lloyd’s father, Frank, (her uncle) once owned an historic Kelowna vineyard. Lloyd, who grew up around vines, was one of the founders of Sumac Ridge Estate Winery. Now, based in Ontario, he is a leading importer of vines for Canadian vineyards.

Over the years, Nancy had lost touch with her cousin. A few years after the Sunnybrae vineyard had been planted, she spotted Lloyd Schmidt’s advertisement in a grape industry publication and invited her cousin to visit. She recounts that Lloyd tasted their first wines in tank and said: “I don’t know what you are doing but keep doing it.”

The wines impressed the cousin because Barry, who is not a winemaker, has just continued to do things by the book. The winery’s first vintage, 2010, was started with consultant Hans Nevrkla, the former owner of Larch Hills Winery (the Shuswap’s original winery) and completed by Jesse Steinley, who is also the winemaker at the nearby Recline Ridge Winery.

On Lloyd Schmidt’s recommendation, Mark Wendenburg, the former long-time Sumac Ridge winemaker, consulted on finishing the vintage. Sunnybrae made 1,200 cases in its first vintage, opening its tasting room in May, 2011.

Nancy and daughter Kristie Smolne have the tasting room open seven days a week (with extended weekend hours) during the summer; and by appointment. If they happen to be working nearby in the vineyard, they hang a walkie talkie on the door with which visitors can summon them.

The winery, with a driveway described as “friendly” to recreation vehicles, counts on strong summertime traffic from tourists camping in the nearby provincial park or visiting Salmon Arm across the lake and only a fifteen minute drive from the winery.

Here are notes on the wines.

Ortega 2010 ($16.90). The wine has aromas and flavours of citrus and apple, with a crisp, refreshing finish. 88.

Siegerrebe 2010 ($17.90). The winery’s own notes describe this as a “passionate dance to a composition of citrus, lychee and apricot notes.” The prose may be a bit purple but this is an appealing wine, with aromas of spice and grapefruit. It is a tropical bowl of fruit, finishing crisply. 90.

Rosé 2010 ($17.90). This wine is based on Maréchal Foch blended with white wine; the exact blend is kept secret, presumably to thwart competitors from copying. The wine is appropriately light, juicy and refreshing, with notes of strawberry on the nose and palate. 87.

Bastion Mountain Red 2010 ($16.90). This wine is named for the mountain that rises at the back of the vineyard, dominating the Salmon Arm skyline. This is a fruit-forward wine made primarily with Foch (the only red in the vineyard). An easy drinking wine, it has flavours of black cherry and chocolate with a smoky finish. 87.

Maréchal Foch 2010 ($18.90). This wine is crafted into a wine distinct from the Bastion Mountain Red by being aged in French and American oak. The oak tannins add structure to the Foch, which has soft tannins. This dark-hued wine has aromas and flavours of black cherry, chocolate and coffee. 88-90.

Sunnybrae Vineyards & Winery
3849 Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road
Tappen, BC, V0E 2X0
250.835.8373
www.sunnybraewinery.com

JoieFarm's 2010s showcase the vintage's mouthwatering tartness

2011-06-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Photo: JoieFarm winery

In her recent biweekly wine commentary for CBC radio, Barbara Philip MW recommended the JoieFarm 2010 A Noble Blend as a great wine for summer.

I would recommend all of JoieFarm’s 2010 wines, which were released this spring, for summer drinking, if we ever get summer. While the wines likely are sold out at the winery, most are still available in private wine stores and on numerous restaurant wine lists.

The 2010 vintage, JoieFarm’s seventh, was the coolest in the Okanagan since 1996. In spite of that – or perhaps because of the conditions – the white wines from that vintage are remarkable. Almost every one that I have tasted, including those from JoieFarm, show crisp, vibrant fruit and aromas, usually with racy acidity that give the wines a refreshing tang.

How have so many producers made good wines in such a tough year? JoieFarm explains what it did. Its commentary applies generally.

“In spite of a cool late spring, a short summer and a colder than normal September, we have still been able to craft some of our finest wines to date,” JoieFarm owners Michael Dinn and Heidi Noble write. “Timely vineyard practices and the early decision to crop down by about 20% ensured that the remaining grapes have every opportunity to ripen properly. … October was warm and dry and the longer hangtimes allowed for full phenolic development. [This resulted] in intense flavours and aromas that were augmented by the zippy acidity of the vintage.”

Michael and Heidi added that “the cool 2010 vintage reinforced our belief that the Germanic and Burgundian varietals are the most appropriate for the Okanagan’s sometimes marginal climate. Seven vintages in, we feel that we can take almost anything that Mother Nature throws at us, short of an earthquake.”

Here are notes on the 2010 JoieFarm releases.

JoieFarm Chardonnay 2010 Un-Oaked ($22.90 for a production of 1,008 cases). This wine includes 22% Chardonnay Musqué, a clone that has a spicy aroma. This wine has aromas of lemon and lime, flavours of green apples and a crisp, refreshing finish. It immediately reminded me of Chablis. The winery’s notes say that the inspiration for this wine are the Burgundies of Macon as well as Chablis. 89.

JoieFarm Muscat 2010 “The Pure Grape” ($22.90 for a production of 453 cases). This wine is made from the first harvest of the winery’s two acres of Moscato Giallo or Yellow Muscat. Michael and Heidi gave it the nickname of the pure grape because the wine tastes almost exactly like the grapes. The wine begins with floral and spicy aromas. The flavours are remarkably intense, showing notes of citrus and white peach. There is a long, spicy finish. The residual sugar is well balanced with bright acidity. 88.

JoieFarm Riesling 2010 ($22.90 for a production of 1,119 cases). The nickname is “a delicate balance” – a reference to the balance between the bracing acidity, the residual sweetness (25 grams) and the moderate 11.9% alcohol. The wine dances lightly on the palate, with favours of lime and lemon, and has a very refreshing finish. As appealing as it is now, you should also lay a few bottles down for a year or two. Riesling has a legendary ability to become deliciously complex with age. This wine will age well. 91.

JoieFarm A Noble Blend 2010 ($23.90 for a production of 2,671 cases and 552 magnums). The model is the traditional Alsace blend, Edelzwicker, which means noble blend. This is 43% Gewurztraminer, 38% Riesling, 14% Pinot Auxerrois and 5% Pinot Gris, with grapes from eight vineyards as well as from JoieFarm. Putting this wine together – including sorting the fruit at a sorting table – must have been the enological equivalent of doing the New York Times crossword puzzle. The wine begins with aromas of rose petals, herbs and grapefruit. On the palate, there is layer upon layer of flavour – grapefruit, melon, apricot. There is a kiss of sweetness on the mid-palate balanced with tangy acidity in the refreshing finish. 90.

JoieFarm Rosé 2010 ($20.90 for a production of 2,198 cases and 552 magnums). This is an astonishing volume of rosé but wines like this have come strongly back in favour in the last five years, with JoieFarm setting the standard. This is 53% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier, 12% Gamay and 10% Pinot Gris. The wine has a lovely hue that the winery describes as “bright watermelon” and quite dramatic aromas of strawberries and cherries. It has flavours of strawberry, cranberry and pomegranate. The dry (but not austere) finish and the good weight on the palate make this a satisfying and refreshing wine with many foods. 91.

Blue Mountain is faithful to corks ... alas

2011-06-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Photo: Ian Mavety

Several years ago, I asked Ian Mavety, the co-founder of Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars, what he thought of screw cap closures.

Blue Mountain uses corks to close its wines. It is what one would anticipate from a winery whose wines are more informed by the Old World than by the New World.

Ian’s reply on screw caps was not surprising.

“When you taste such a [screw cap] wine against a wine that has a cork in it, after six or seven months, there is a huge difference,” he said. “You are seeing people who have been at it and know what they are doing, are adjusting their winemaking to handle a screw cap. That seems to me an ass-backwards way of doing it, creating a problem and having to implement another thing in the middle of it. And you are also seeing those who have had screw caps the longest are going back to corks.”

He was referring to what winemakers know, or learned the hard way. The sulphur level is especially critical when a wine is put under a screw cap. If the sulphur is too high, the wine gets stinky under the airtight seal.

Of course, when a wine with the correct level of sulphur and with no other defects is bottled under screw cap, the aromas and the flavours are likely to remain fresher than under cork. The wine will develop differently under screw cap than cork. Some will argue that cork development makes a wine more complex.

The big switch to screw caps for all wines, not just cheap wines, began a decade or so ago in Australia and New Zealand. It was adopted by producers elsewhere as a way to avoid “corked” wines. That refers to the musty aroma and bitter flavour that wines develop when bottled with defective corks.

Corked wines had become epidemic a decade ago. The problem corks are not obvious to the naked eye, manifesting themselves only after the wine has been in bottle for a time.

During the past five years, the cork producers responded to the problem by refining quality control so much that corked wines have become rare again.

But they still happen. The irony that the only corked wine I have encountered this spring was a bottle of Blue Mountain Chardonnay Reserve 2008, one of a quartet of review wines. It is now sold out at the winery, making a review irrelevant.

I don’t expect Blue Mountain to adopt screw caps any time soon, if ever. The winery has been making fine wines and bottling under cork now for 20 years and the number of corked wines from this producer, in my experience, has been insignificant. Blue Mountain never bought cheap corks. Today, Blue Mountain’s clientele would likely be outraged if the winery started using screw caps.

The other three recent Blue Mountain releases were none the worse for being under cork. I am sure Ian would argue they were the better for it.

Here are my notes.

Blue Mountain Pinot Gris Reserve 2008 ($25.90). This is a complex wine, at once reminding me of a serious Alsace Pinot Gris and a good Rhone white. It begins with aromas of citrus and yeast (evidence of time spent on the lees to flesh out the texture). There are intense flavours of tangerine and blood orange, with a hint of anise and minerals. The finish is crisp and dry. 91.

Blue Mountain Pinot Noir 2009 ($25). This is as bold and forward a Pinot Noir as I have seen in Blue Mountain’s regular range. The cherry aromas are lifted by toasted notes of oak. The wine is full on the palate, with dark cherry flavours and with the classic silky texture. 90.

Blue Mountain Pinot Noir Reserve 2008 ($35.90). This wine begins with an alluring aroma of strawberries and cherries. Dark in colour, it has flavours of raspberries and strawberries. The elegant texture includes some firm tannins, allowing this wine to age into a great Burgundy. 93-95.

Three new wines from Fort Berens

2011-06-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Photo: Rolf de Bruin, Heleen Pannekoek

Can commercial wine grapes be grown successfully in Lillooet? This may be the vintage with the answer.

Fort Berens Estate Winery has a 20-acre vineyard there which is expected to produce its first harvest this year. One of the winery’s consultants reports that the vineyard is looking good and should produce 40 to 50 tons of grapes this fall.

Lillooet is believed to be a warm to hot growing region. Now that the weather is turning after an unusually cool spring, those will be vital growing conditions.

Vineyards in the Okanagan are as much as a month behind normal this year, but making up ground in a hurry. No doubt, Lillooet is also a bit behind but growth will explode with improved weather.

Fort Berens opened in 2009, making wine from Okanagan grapes. That is a practice that likely will continue for a few years, if only to supplement the Lillooet vineyard. Rolf De Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek, the owners of this winery, have been able to get excellent grapes, thanks to their relationship with Harry McWatters and his Vintage Consulting Group.

Rolf and Heleen came to Lillooet in 2008 after leaving high-powered (and high-pressure) bank jobs in Holland. Finding land costs in the Okanagan too high, they leased (with the option to buy) a property on a bench above the Fraser River. There is a considerable history of grape growing at Lillooet but theirs is the first truly commercial vineyard.

Here are notes on current releases.

Fort Berens Pinot Gris 2010 ($18). This wine is made in the broad, rich style of Alsace with flavours of apricot, pear and white peach. There is a honeyed hint of botrytis on the nose and on the finish. The alcohol, at 13.8%, is a little on the bold side for a white wine. 86.

Fort Berens Cabernet Franc 2009 ($25). This is a delicious wine with a generous finish. It begins with appealing blackberry and roasted coffee aromas, with flavours of blackberry, black currant and black cherry. The berry flavours on the finish mingle with a hint of mocha. 90.

Fort Berens Meritage 2009 ($28). This is a blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It has the soft, ripe texture of Merlot, with attractive aromas of blueberry and blackberry. The berry flavours echo these aromas. The rich, ripe tannins give the wine an early accessibility and appeal. 90.

8th Generation Vineyard champions frizzanté

2011-06-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Photo: Bernd Schales with Seitz filler for sparkling wine

One of the trendy wine styles in recent years has been Prosecco, the refreshing sparkling wine from northern Italy, popular on its own and also as a cocktail ingredient.

In the Okanagan, Bernd and Stefanie Schales, the owners of 8th Generation Vineyard in Summerland, spotted the trend and decided to make something comparable. Their modest first release, a Chardonnay Frizzanté 2009, proved to be a big hit.

In the 2010 vintage they plunged into frizzanté production in a big way. Last month the winery released two such wines, a white called Integrity and a red called Confidence. Beautifully presented in “bowling pin” bottles made in Italy (similar to Prosecco), these elegant products will displace more than a few bottles of Champagne. One or two other Okanagan wineries have begun to make frizzanté wines but none has adopted comparable luxury packaging.

“The whole thing took us almost three years to develop,” Bernd says.

Three years is a blink of an eye compared with this couple’s wine history. Bernd is the eighth generation of his family to grow grapes; ancestor Christopher Schales began growing grapes in 1783 in Germany, according to family records. That is why this couple named their Okanagan winery 8th Generation – only to discover later that one of Stefanie’s ancestors was growing grapes 10 generations ago.

Bernd was born in 1972 in Germany. Following in the family tradition, he studied winemaking at Weinsberg. He was given a job in the family winery but, since it already employed numerous family members, there was limited scope for career growth.

“I was not really satisfied because my part was actually to grow grapes,” he remembers. “I did that for nine or 10 years. After a while, it got a little boring.”

So he and Stefanie, trained in architectural drafting, began considering the New World wine industry. They were impressed with the Okanagan. After spending 10 days here in 2001, they filed immigration applications and scoured the Okanagan again in the summer of 2002, buying an Okanagan Falls vineyard in 2003.

Stefanie had begun working on the drawings for a winery there – the house on the property commands a breathtaking view – when, in the summer of 2007, they were able to buy the building that formerly housed the Adora winery.

Stefanie undoubtedly could have designed something better looking than this cavernous plain-jane shed. But it is a terrific location for retail sales since it is right beside a speed-limited section of Highway 97 south of Summerland.

The building was also empty when they took over. Bernd spent a frantic month arranging the delivery of winemaking equipment before that vintage. He made do with his grandfather’s wine press, a near museum piece that had been shipped from Germany with their furniture a few years earlier. He has since updated some of the winery’s equipment.

The frizzanté project meant a trip back to Germany for specialized equipment needed to bottle the sparkling wine. When colleagues advised against purchasing expensive computer-controlled fillers, he looked for mechanical filler. At a German winery, he found a 1961 filler made by Seitz. It was no longer in use but it is so reliable that the winery was reluctant to sell it. Now, it sits in the middle of the 8th Generation winery, hooked to a pressurized wine tank (circa 1969) that Bernd found in the yard at Ripley’s, the Summerland wine tank supplier.

It is ingenious but slow. When Bernd and his staff bottled 3,500 bottles of Confidence in March, it took them more than 12 hours, not counting clean-up. But the Seitz filler worked flawlessly both for this run and for the bottling of Integrity in April.

The Italian-made frizzanté bottles have the winery’s signature stylized figure 8 etched into the glass. The winery’s other wines have paper labels, all with elegant variations of the figure 8, a very effective label change made during the past two vintages. The 8th Generation wines are much more visible in wine stores and in restaurants than under the previous black label, shown below.

The quality of the wines is nothing less than what one expects from eight generations of experience. Here are notes on the current releases.

Confidence 2010 ($22.50 for a total production of 418 cases). The wine, made largely with Pinot Noir, presents with a lovely cranberry hue. It has strawberry aromas, flavours of strawberry and raspberry and enough bubbles to give the impression of a creamy texture before the wine concludes with a crisp and refreshing finish. Even though the wine is bottled at a third the pressure of Champagne, there is a fine display of bubbles. The moderate alcohol, 12.2%, adds to its refreshing quality. 89.

Integrity 2010 ($22.50 for 533 cases). This is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. With fruity aromas and flavours of citrus and peach, this is a crowd-pleaser: lots of bubbles, creamy on the mid-palate and sweet on the finish. 87

Pinot Gris 2009 ($19.99). This wine was partially barrel-fermented and a third was barrel-aged for additional complexity. The fruit flavours, apple and pear, remain out front, where they should be. This is an appealing white with a rich mid-palate and a crisp finish. 88.

Chardonnay 2008 ($18.99). This is a lightly oaked Chardonnay, with notes of vanilla mingling with the melon flavours and the hints of butter and nuts on the finish. 88.

Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($18.50). During a crush in New Zealand, Bernd fell in love with Sauvignon Blanc. He was able to buy some of that variety last year from a Naramata grower and is thinking of planting some in one of his own vineyards. Again, a third of the wine was fermented (but not aged) in barrel. It is a tangy and refreshing with, with flavours of lime and gooseberry that would do New Zealand proud. 88.

Riesling 2010 ($19.99). In 2010, the winery did not have enough grapes to make its usual two styles of Riesling (dry and off-dry). This is the off-dry version with 16 grams of residual sugar but so well balanced that it seems almost dry. It has aromas and flavours lemon and grapefruit, with a long and refreshing finish. 90.

Pinot Meunier Rosé 2010 ($19.99). This is certainly one of the best of the 2010 rosé wines from the Okanagan, beginning with a lovely hue and delivering a fruit basket of strawberry and rhubarb, apple and grapefruit. The residual sugar gives the wine flesh on the palate and the acidity ensures a refreshing finish. There is even a hint of white pepper on the finish. 91.

Merlot 2009 ($21.99). A wine with good concentration, this has aromas and flavours of blueberry, lingonberry and currants, with spicy berries on the finish. 90.

Syrah 2009 ($23.99). Made with estate-grown fruit and aged in French oak, this wine has aromas of pepper and red fruit, flavours of plum and leather with pepper on the finish. 88.

Syrah Icewine 2010 (about $65 for a half bottle when released this fall). This is 8th Generation’s first icewine. They intended to make one in 2007 but rushed to pick the grapes for late-harvest wine after deer got into the vineyard. There is a story to this wine as well. At the very end of vintage in 2010, the Syrah was still on the vines for table wine and Bernd decided to take the weekend off before picking. When an unexpected freeze settled in after the weekend, icewine was his only option – and, he thinks, his best. While the table wine might have been average, the icewine is excellent, with a lively acidity balancing the plum jam flavours and giving the wine a clean, fresh finish. Only 180 cases of 375 ml bottles were made. 90.

Exclusive small-lot wines are the new trend

2011-06-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Photo: Alto Wine's Alan Dickinson

Aside from making your own wine, the closest you can come to having exclusive wines on your table is to seek out the growing number of limited production labels emerging from the Okanagan’s custom crush wineries.

These are wines you cannot buy from a local wine store because, typically, they are available only through winery web sites. You need to subscribe to email alerts, order by the case, and move fast when a wine is released because the volumes are limited.

For example, only 74 cases of Syncromesh Riesling 2010 were released and one savvy Vancouver restaurant placed a big order.

If that is not exclusive enough, the new McWatters Collection Meritage, just released this spring, initially was available only at Local, the Summerland restaurant run by Christa-Lee McWatters-Bond. Those who have tasted it have acclaimed it as an excellent wine with a retail price of $25.

In addition to the labels being produced at the custom crush wineries, several winemakers in the Okanagan are developing labels of their own, generally in an understanding with the wineries where they work. Look for interesting choices of small lot wines over the next several years.

The two custom crush, or incubator, wineries currently operating are Okanagan Crush Pad Winery near Summerland and Alto Wine Group at Okanagan Falls.

Crush Pad has a new winery under construction while Alto Wine is making its magic in the same sort of metal-clad building that Black Hills Winery used to have.

Crush Pad has the higher profile. To begin with, Christine Coletta, one of the owners, operates a very effective marketing company in Vancouver and knows how to generate publicity. Secondly, her winery also generated considerable controversy this spring when another wine blog printed her press release and the blog was flooded with comments.

Naramata Bench winemaker Richard Roskell, one of the owners of Marichel Vineyard, objected strongly, taking the view that aspiring winemakers need to invest in vineyards and buildings like everyone else has had to do. He termed developing “virtual wineries” to be the equivalent of create “a façade of an industry.”

This furious debate went on for some time before being shut down. There is no question that many existing producers agree with Richard.

Countering that is the argument that top flight winemakers should not be thwarted just because they lack the capital. “Short of winning the lottery, there is very little chance that I will ever be able to afford to own a vineyard and a winery of my own,” was the rejoinder from Garron Elmes, the winemaker at Lake Breeze Vineyards for the last 16 years.

I doubt the controversy is anywhere near over. In the meantime, there are interesting wines emerging from Crush Pad.

Christine’s own label is Haywire Winery. It has currently released two wines, Haywire Pinot Gris 2010 ($23) and Haywire Gamay Noir Rosé 2010 ($21). These are solid wines and were reviewed in my blog recently.

A second label about to be released from the Crush Pad umbrella is Bartier.Scholefield. This is the label of collaborating winemakers Michael Bartier and David Scholefield. Their web site is www.bswinesokanagan.com but it is not live yet.

Two wines are being released June 15:

Barter.Scholefield White Table Wine 2010 ($22). This is a blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The wine has aromas and flavours of citrus, green apples and melons. The finish is crisp and dry, with lively acidity and a somewhat austere personality. It is an excellent oyster wine. 88.

Barter.Scholefield Rosé Table Wine 2010 ($20). Made largely with Gamay grapes, this is a wine with aromas and flavours of cherry. There is a house style here – this wine also is dry nearly to the point of austerity. 87.

Alto Wine has had a much lower profile, perhaps to stay away from the virtual wineries controversy. Several of the labels emerging from this facility are made by winemakers who have invested in the business. That means they are not really virtual wineries.

The lead partner at Alto Wine is Alan Dickinson, a youthful Vancouver entrepreneur who came to wine as one of the founders of Vancouver Wine Vaults, a wine storage business.

In a lifestyle switch, he began looking for vineyard property in the Okanagan. In March of 2010, he took over a five-acre vineyard just east of Okanagan Falls. About half was planted to Riesling, one of his favourite varieties, and additional Riesling has replaced varieties with which the previous owner had had little success.

“I am a huge lover of Riesling,” Alan says. “I think Okanagan Falls has incredible terroir for it.”

Because the Dickinson family has a love affair with the mechanical side of British sportscars, the first wine, a Riesling, has been released under the Synchromesh label. The web site is www.synchromeshwines.ca.

Synchromesh Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken 2010 ($30) has all that German on the label because its style is German; halbtrocken means off-dry. This is a lovely wine, with a moderate alcohol of 11.4%. It has flavours of citrus and peach, with a juicy texture and a long finish. The residual sugar balances the bright acidity so that the wine finishes almost dry. The winery recommends cellaring it four to eight years, allowing it to develop to its fullest. 90.

Not yet released is a very good Synchromesh Meritage red which was still in barrel when I visited the winery this spring.

Alan created the custom crush business for a very practical reason. “I discovered that unless you are coming into it with a lot of money or a lot of backing, it is not really financially viable to start up a small winery,” he says. “That is where the custom crush thing started to evolve, for servicing people like myself who want to start up a small winery and making it more viable for them. It also allows us to get some cash flow through the door so we can do our own things.”

One of the winemaker partners here is Tom DiBello, formerly the winemaker at CedarCreek Estate Winery and now a busy consultant in the Okanagan. He and his wife, Tari, have just launched DiBello Wines, produced in the Alto Wine facility. The wines can be ordered from them at 1-778-516-1398.

DiBello Viognier 2010 ($33 for a production of 87 cases). The first release under this label, it is a variety with which Tom had extensive experience when he was making wine in Washington State. This is an intense and also exotic white, beginning with aromas of apricot, pineapples and, believe it or not, liquorice. It delivers tropical flavours to the palate, with a rich texture and a dry spicy finish. 90.

Still in barrel for the DiBello label are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Syrah, all in small volume and all impressive. DiBello Wines is not planning to produce more than 1,000 cases a year in total.

Another partner who joined Alto Wine is Mark Simpson, the principal of Artisan Food and Beverage Group Inc. Mark is both a winemaker and a brewmaster.

His first release from Alto Wine is under the label, include() wine. The first release is a Merlot Rosé. This fall, the label will add a red Meritage with all five Bordeaux grapes. The web site is www.includewine.com.