Little Engine is powering through a difficult vintage

Photo: Little Engine's Stephen and Nicole French

Stephen and Nicole French set very high standards for a Little Engine Wines when they opened in 2016 on a Naramata Road vineyard. Wines were released as silver, gold or platinum wines, with the object of getting 60% of the wines to the platinum standard as soon as viticulture allowed that level of quality. Everything was going to plan until the damaging freeze in January 2024 interrupted the progress.

Naramata Bench vineyards suffered production losses but it seems likely the vines will rebound in the 2025 season. Little Engine’s harvest of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the estate was about a third of the normal harvest. “We are however very optimistic about 2025 for our estate vineyards as well as our leases here in Naramata,” writes marketing director Natasha Sadowy. “The vines are looking healthy and we take the upmost care of them through meticulous organic and sustainable methods, so we anxiously await to see what the winter and spring bring.”

“Our small harvest from this year will be used to create our Silver Chardonnay and a Member Exclusive Rosé,” Natasha continues. “We have most of our 2022 and 2023 wines still to be released so we decided to NOT to bring in fruit from anywhere else this year.” Merlot on the Naramata Bench showed freeze-related decline in 2024. “We have also seen a loss on our Merlot vines here on the Naramata Bench, but we are hoping to add some new vineyards to the 2025 season which should bring some Merlot back into production for us.”

The news has not been so good from Little Engine’s contract growers in the Oliver/Osoyoos area, which there was damage not just to the fruit production but, in some instances, to the vines. “Sadly, the losses down south makes this is the end of our Sauvignon Blanc program for the foreseeable future,” Natasha says. “Our 2023 Silver Sauvignon Blanc is the final release, so it is a Wine Club Exclusive.”

Here are notes on new releases from Little Engine from vintages prior to 2024:

Little Engine Silver Chardonnay 2023 ($43 for 800 cases). This wine combines portions fermented in stainless steel and portions fermented in neutral barrels. The wine is fruit forward, with aromas of apples and other orchard fruits. On the palate, there are flavours of apple and peach which a hint of vanilla. 91.

Little Engine Gold Chardonnay 2021 ($59 for 357 cases). The wine was fermented in French oak and aged 17 months on the lees in French oak (50% new). The wine begins with aromas of ripe apple, nectarine and vanilla. The wine is rich on the palate with flavours of stone fruit perfectly integrated with notes of oak. 92.

Little Engine Platinum Chardonnay 2022 ($97 for 100 cases). This is a bold and rich Chardonnay with a golden hue in the glass. A portion of the fruit had 12 hours of skin contact before being pressed. Fermentation was long and cool in French oak barrels; and the wine was aged 18 months French oak puncheons. The wine begins with aromas of orange marmalade mingled with vanilla and shortbread. The palate delivers flavours of marmalade, ripe peach, and nectarine. The finish just goes on and on. 94.

Little Engine Silver Pinot Noir 2021 ($46 for 781 cases). The grapes were fermented in one-ton fermenters, with a total maceration time (including a seven-day cold soak) of three weeks. The wine was aged 14 months in barrel (none new). The wine begins with aromas of cherry and strawberry. The palate is firm, delivering flavours of cherry, spice and forest floor. 90.

Little Engine Gold Merlot 2020 ($68 for 557 cases). This wine was aged 16 months in French oak (55% new). The wine begins with aromas of cassis, blackberry and spice, leading to intense flavours of dark fruits mingled with notes of herbs and spices on the finish. 92.

Little Engine Platinum Merlot 2022 ($115 for 95 cases). This is an exceptional wine, as it should be for the price. The wine was aged 16 months in French oak (75% new). The wine is bold and intense, beginning with aromas of cassis. There are layers of flavour on the palate, including black currant, blueberry, dark cherry and spice. 95.

Hester Creek's year-end quartet is very fine

Photo: Mark Hopley in Hester Creek cellar with Brooke Jesus

Hester Creek Estate Winery is, in my judgement, one of the leading wineries in the Okanagan. The quartet of current releases simply confirms that for me.

Why is Hester Creek so good? Wine quality always begins in the vineyard. The Hester Creek site was established in 1968 by Joe Busnardo, an immigrant from Italy with a good eye for property. The vineyard is on the west side of the valley, not far south of Oliver, on a fertile peninsula with a mountain the west. It slopes toward the valley but retains a good elevation from the valley bottom. Secondly, Joe planted only vinifera grapes at a time when most vineyards still had hybrid grapes. Some of Joe’s original plantings still are producing – or at least were producing prior to the severe freeze in January, 2024. About a third of the vineyard has been, or will be, replanted. Hester Creek made most of its 2024 wines with grapes purchased from growers in Washington State.

The winery was acquired in 2004 by Prince George businessman Curtis Garland. The current quality of Hester Creek wines reflects the owner’s decision to build a new winery, to put in place excellent staff and to give them all the tools they need. Winemaker Mark Hopley’s secrets include Ganimede fermenters, cutting edge Italian technology for making red wines. The technique extracts flavours and aromas that distinguish Hester Creek wines across the range, from budget wines to flagship wines. No other winery in BC has invested in Ganimede fermenters. Most recently, Hester Creek has expanded its barrel cellar considerably, giving even more tools to Mark Hopley and his assistant winemaker, Brooke Jesus.

Here are notes on four current releases.

Hester Creek Old Vine Brut 2021 ($34.99). This wine is made with Pinot Blanc, a varietal that has proven itself well-suited for making good sparkling wines in the Okanagan. The grapes did primary fermentation in stainless steel. The wine did secondary fermentation in bottle in the traditional method and spent 24 months en tirage. The wine is delightful, with a touch of brioche supporting bright flavours of citrus and apple. 92.

Hester Creek Old Vine Cabernet Franc 2022 ($29.99). This is an exceptional wine from a great vintage in which wineries could hang grapes on the vine well into November. The result: dark reds with intensity. This wine was aged 18 months in oak (75% French, 25% American). It begins with aromas blackberry, black cherry and raspberry mingled with a hint of pepper. The palate delivers a potpourri of fruit flavours, including blueberry, black cherry and blackberry. Long ripe tannins give the wine a lingering finish. 93.

Hester Creek The Judge 2021 ($49.99). This is one of Hester Creek’s two flagship red blends. This is 46% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. The wine was aged 24 months in French oak. The wine is remarkably concentrated, with aromas of sage, dark fruits including plum and cherry which are echoed on the palate. The wine needs to be decanted to cox it to open up. My sample improved continuously over four days. 94.

Hester Creek Garland 2021 ($64.99). This is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon,18% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. The wine was aged 24 months in French oak. This elegant wine also should be decanted. It begins with aromas of cassis, raspberry, cherry, blueberry and spice. These are echoed on the palate, along with notes of chocolate and vanilla. 95

Township 7 wines for the holidays

Photo: Township 7 winemaker Mary McDermott

Like most Okanagan producers, Township 7 Vineyards & Winery made most of the wines for its 2024 vintage with Washington and California grapes. Look for them next year under a new tier: The Interlude Series. The devastation of the January 2024 freeze did not extend to the Fraser Valley where Township 7 has a satellite vineyard and winery. Mary McDermott, Township 7’s winemaker, writes: “We’re pleased to have harvested 4.6 metric tons of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from our Langley vineyards, soon to be crafted into our beloved seven stars sparkling wines.”

Currently, there are six sparkling wines in the seven stars series, an indication of Mary’s dedication to making sparkling wine. The current releases include Rigel, a traditional method sparking wine made with Riesling grapes from an Oliver vineyard.

Here are notes on the wines.

Township 7 Benchmark Series Riesling 2021 ($29.97 for 283 cases). The fruit, from the Fool’s Gold Vineyard near Oliver, was fermented slowly in concrete (a small portion was fermented in old barriques). It was en tirage for 12 months. This is a classic, dry Riesling with good texture. There is a hint of petrol on the aroma. On the palate, there are flavours of citrus and stone fruit. 91.

Township 7 Benchmark Series Syrah 2020 ($N/A for 539 cases). This is a wine club exclusive. The fruit is from the Fool’s Gold Vineyard. An 18-day fermentation extracted rich colour and flavour. The wine was aged 24 months in French and American oak barriques. The wine begins with aromas of dark fruits and pepper, leading to flavours of plum mingled with pepper and chocolate. The long ripe tannins give the wine a persistent finish. 92.

Township 7 Provenance Series Merlot 2022 ($N/A for 750 cases). Merlot from Oliver and from the Naramata Bench were blended for this wine, made in an excellent vintage. This is a concentrated Merlot aged 18 months in French (67%) and American (33%) oak barrels. It has aromas of dark cherry and spice leading to layers of cherry and plum mingled with spice, chocolate and oak. 91.

seven stars Rigel 2022 ($36.97 for 729 cases). This sparkling wine is made with Riesling. The wine is crisp, with bright acidity and aromas and flavours of lemon and apple. The active mousse lends the wine an attractive presentation in the glass. 91.

Foxtrot Winery emerges from receivership

Mike Boyd, new owner of Foxtrot

Foxtrot Vineyards, the storied Pinot Noir producer on the Naramata Bench, is emerging from receivership under the new ownership of Mike Boyd, the proprietor of Therapy Vineyards and its associated winery, Silhouette Cellars. The court documents filed by receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. reveal that Foxtrot has not made money since 2019, the year after Foxtrot founder Torsten Allander sold the winery to Douglas Barzelay, a New York based expert on Burgundy, and his partner, Nathan Todd (pictured below). “As the original owner and creator of Foxtrot winery and brand, I in retrospect deeply regret my sale of the winery to the Americans,” Torsten wrote in a recent Facebook post. “I realized very early that the knowledge to produce a good wine and manage a winery operation was not evident.”

Photo: Douglas Barzelay (left) and Nathan Todd

The court filings show that, at the beginning of December 2024, Foxtrot had liabilities of $11,130,388 ($2,933,199 secured and $8,191,189 unsecured) against assets of $3,971,324. The unsecured creditors include a number of consulting and winery support business in the Okanagan. According to the court filings, the winery operations had “largely shut down” by the fall of 2023 and the winery stopped paying its obligations to CIBC Bank. The winery’s owners blamed the ongoing losses to “issues in the winemaking process in 2019 and 2020 which significantly reduced revenue. Revenues were not sufficient to cover operating expenses, and no income was available to service the Companies’ debts to CIBC.”

Foxtrot was conceived after Torsten (pictured below) a Swedish-born pulp and paper engineer, retired in 2002 to a 1.4-hectare (3½-acre) property on Naramata Road that was planted entirely with Clone 115 Pinot Noir. Two years later, Torsten arranged to have the nearby Lake Breeze winery make wine with the grapes, in a trial that spanned three vintages. Convinced that the vineyard could produce world-class Pinot Noir, Torsten built a modest winery and planted two adjoining vineyards to triple Foxtrot’s size.

Douglas Barzelay, a retired New York lawyer, first encountered Foxtrot Pinot Noir at a tasting in Vancouver. He was so impressed with the quality that, with Nathan Todd, his Alberta-born partner, he bought a peach orchard near the Foxtrot property, intending to plant more Pinot Noir. When they discovered that Foxtrot was for sale, the partners bought the winery with ambitious plans to expand it. Douglas is an authority on, and collector of, Burgundy wines. He is co-author of Burgundy Vintages: A History from 1845, published in 2018. He was also an expert witness at the trial of Burgundy counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan.

It did not take too long for Torsten to become disillusioned with Foxtrot’s new owners. On Facebook, he writes: “The closing date for the business transfer was missed by the purchasers and delayed quite some time which gave me time to understand their thoughts on managing the winery. I came to the conclusion that I did not wish to proceed with the sale after six months and notified the purchasers but with no success as they refused to annul the contract of sale. It was a sad day when I finally handed over the winery and since that time the new owners never spoke to me nor did they seek any advice how to run the winery and winemaking and marketing. I never contacted them myself either.”

Torsten added that he wishes only success for Mike Boyd. “I know the vineyards can produce an excellent fruit and with a masterful winemaking, an outstanding wine can be produced again for Pinot lovers to enjoy.” Mike Boyd and Jacqueline Johnson, his wife, entered the Okanagan wine business in 2016. For the previous 22 years, they had run a successful oil and gas business in Alberta until they sold it to a larger competitor. That gave Mike the resources to fulfil a longtime ambition to get into wine. After another bidder topped his bid for Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery, which was then in receivership, he and Jacqueline purchased Therapy Vineyards and Inn on Naramata Road. They had also purchased a nearby vineyard property for what has become Silhouette Cellars, a sparkling wine project now based in The District Wine Village. Silhouette was used as the vehicle to purchase Foxtrot.

Terravista releases its 2024 Albariño

Photo: Terravista's Dallas and Eric Thor

The first wine from the 2024 vintage has just been released by Terravista Vineyards: an impressive sparkling Albariño made with imported grapes.

The search for those grapes also turned up a number of vineyards in Washington and northern California that are growing Albariño and a sister Spanish white varietal, Verdejo. Terravista has Canada’s first plantings of those varietals. The hard freeze in January 2024 wiped out the harvest – but not the vines, which should be able to produce again next year.

Terravista, located high on the Naramata Bench, was opened in 2011 by Senka and Bob Tennant. They had been founders of Black Hills Estate Wine and, after the sale of that winery, found they were not quite done with growing wine. They were inspired to plant Spanish varietals. When they were ready to retire a second time, they sold the vineyard to Eric Thor, a former technology executive in Vancouver, and his wife, Dallas. “One of our strengths is making Spanish varietal wines,” the Naramata winery noted in its October newsletter. “We’re known for our Albariño and Verdejo, planted first in 2008 at Lone Hand Ranch. Plantings were expanded to Naramata Outlook Vineyard in 2021.” By that year, Terravista had 19 acres of vineyard. The business was on a roll until the freeze knocked back those vineyards.

“After a challenging winter freeze, our 19 acres of vines have yielded less than 1% crop—an almost unheard-of reduction,” the winery wrote in its newsletter. “While this would shake any winery, we’ve chosen to use this moment to dig deep into what we do best. At Terravista Vineyards, our focus has always been on producing something different, something off the beaten path—wines that speak to the vineyards that grow them. In this pivotal moment, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to these distinctive wines by embarking on an exciting new journey called Proyecto Terruño – Spanish for the “Terroir Project.”

Terravista’s Eric Thor and his winemaker, Nadine Kinvig, researched the most celebrated Albariño sites in the Pacific Northwest and contracted grapes from several of them. The sparkling Albariño is made with fruit from the Grand Island Vineyard in the Clarksburg American Viticultural Area (AVA) in California. They also bought Albariño grapes from two vineyards in Ancient Lakes AVA of the Columbia River Valley. “Spanish Castle is a vineyard like no other,” the winery writes. “Surrounded by dramatic rock features and set in a dry, arid landscape, this site allows Albariño fruit to develop incredibly rich, deep flavours. Each time we have been there this year, we have been captivated by the vineyard’s beauty and unique terroir.Just recently, Eric personally traveled to the site to collect the handpicked fruit—delivering it to our winery where Nadine has begun crafting this very special Albariño. The flavours are already stunning, and we are excited to see how these deep, complex notes develop into the finished wine.” Evergreen Vineyard is the other vineyard from which Terravista has sourced grapes. “Evergreen Vineyard, located in Washington’s Ancient Lakes AVA, offers a cooler climate at a higher elevation,” the winery reports. “This vineyard produces Albariño with a distinct, acid-driven profile, full of fresh citrus and stoney complexity. Eric was on-site [in October] for the harvest, coordinating an early morning pick and carefully transporting the fruit back to our winery.”

“Through these visits,” the winery wrote, “we have worked closely with growers, visited, tasted grapes, analyzed sample data and called hand picks of the Albariño. We can’t wait to push the boundaries of what Albariño can be - showcasing side-by-side wines, perhaps a blend and highlighting the unique expressions of each vineyard while experimenting with various winemaking techniques, vessels and aging. This project offers a rare opportunity to taste Albariños grown in these distinct regions—a true exploration of terroir.” Terravista hopes to resume grape production next season from its two Naramata vineyards. “The Albariño vines did very well in both freeze events,” the winery says, referring also to the freeze in late 2022 that reduced the crop in the 2023 vintage. “There was reduced crop in 2023 and then a minuscule number of clusters in the 2024 harvest which we hand picked. Nadine co-fermented those grapes with the small amount of Verdejo. That might turn out to be roughly 25 cases of wine off our 19 acres. Overall, the plants survived and will hopefully recover and be fruitful next vintage.”

Judging from the quality of the sparkling Albariño, Terravista’s Terroir Project should yield very interesting wines from the Washington vineyards. Here is a note on the first 2024 wine, along with notes on two other recent releases.

Terravista Sparkling Albariño 2024 Proyecto Terruño ($35 for 334 cases). This Charmat method sparkling wine is fresh and vibrant. It begins with aromas of citrus and pears and delivers big mouthful of citrus and kiwi fruit flavours to the palate. The finish is crisp. 90.

Terravista En Terre Sparkling Brut 2022 ($45 for 75 cases; sold out). This elegant is a blend of 69% Pinot Noir and 31% Chardonnay. Made in the traditional method, it was 16 months en tirage. There is a delicate note of brioche in the aroma leading to flavours of apple and orchard fruits, with a crisp dry finish. 90.

Terravista Figaro 2023 ($33). This is a blend of 89% Chardonnay, 8% Viognier and 3% Marsanne. The Chardonnay is from a Kaleden vineyard. This is an unusual blend for Figaro which, in previous years, has been made entirely with white Rhône varietals. When those suffered in the 2022 freeze, the winery found Chardonnay. It may be different from previous Figaro wines but it is very good. A portion of the Chardonnay grapes was fermented in concrete and a portion was fermented in neutral oak. The other two varietals in this wine are both from Naramata. The wine begins with aromas of apple, cantaloupe and stone fruits. It delivers a luscious bouquet of fruit to the palate, including nectarine and apple. This is such an appealing wine that it took discipline not to finish the entire bottle right away. 92.

Corcelettes launches wines under the Phoenix brand

Photo: Jesce and Charlie Baessler with a bottle of Talus

Since the launch of Corcelettes Estate Winery in 2013, the wines were always made with grapes from the Similkameen Valley – until the 2023 vintage. That was the year when the cold snap in November 2022 caused significant bud damage to the vineyards in the Similkameen, forcing Charlie Baessler, the managing partner at Corcelettes, to buy grapes from Okanagan vineyards. He and his wife, Jesce, then created their Phoenix brand to distinguish these non-Similkameen wines in the portfolio, even though the quality remained high.

The Phoenix brand proved even more useful in the 2024 vintage. The severe freeze in January 2024 devastated vineyards in the Okanagan and especially in the Similkameen. Like so many other producers, Charlie had to turn to Washington State for grapes. Those wines, primarily Chardonnay and a Syrah rosé, will be released next year under the Phoenix label. Meanwhile, Charlie is replanting most of the Corcelettes vineyards – but in a manner to make them more able to survive the next hard winter. “Pheonix was born from that opportunity or necessity, depending on how you want to look at it,” Charlie says. “So how do we create exciting wines while maintaining the integrity that we have developed in Corcelettes. The wines have always been estate grown and products of the Similkameen. Phoenix broke those handcuffs. We can do anything as long as we are visually clear [on the label] what the wine product is.”

The Phoenix wines were released this spring, beginning with 600 cases of Afterglow, a 2022 rosé, along with a 2022 Merlot that combines fruit from the Okanagan as well as the Similkameen; and 2023 Chardonnay. “It is a new product line with us,” Charlie says. “It fills a gap while we get the production of Corcelettes back up. The Washington product moves nicely into that niche.” Charlie estimates that he and his winemaker, Brett Meier, visited about 100 vineyards across four Washington appellations in a search for a property that appealed to them. “We were working on this as early as the spring,” Charlies says. “We were committed to making wines from Washington grapes for zero dollars. We were willing to keep our hoses wet, our staff going with no markup exemptions; and move to commercial winery status. Those were all things we were prepared to do.” Fortunately, the provincial regulations were changed in late July, enabling wineries to use imported grapes in 2024 without having to switch to commercial licenses.

“I told Brett that we have to fall in love with this,” Charlie recalls. “We did not want to go down there and just pull grapes off a menu. The whole idea was we have to look until we fall in love with something.” They settled on Wahluke Slope, an 81,000-acre appellation on a broad south-facing slope close to the Columbia River. They brought in about 50 tons of grapes, which were crushed in Washington, for white and rosé wines. “That is what we sell through quickly,” Charlie says. “Whites and rosé wines were the immediate hole we needed to fill. Reds, we can limp along for maybe two years from what was a decent production year in 2022, by slowing down sales.” The strategy at Corcelettes (as it is with other producers) is to stretch out existing inventory. Corcelettes had a reasonably large harvest in 2022 in part because new vineyards had just begun to produce.”

Unfortunately, the 2024 freeze killed many of the new vines and most of the older plantings. The surviving vines, already damaged by the previous freeze, could not be salvaged economically. “When the vineyards died, I lost it,” Charlie recalls. “I said now what? I had just finished planting so many of these vineyards. I had already done this work … and now I was doing it again. That was pretty heart-wrenching. But we decided what we were going to do it and we committed [to it].” About 20 acres has been planted this year, including seven acres of Syrah, a notoriously tender varietal but one with which Corcelettes has acquired a reputation for top quality. Next year, Corcelettes will plant close to another 20 acres.

Many of the vines are being trained as bush vines – stubby vines that can be covered each fall with protective straw mulch. “Having experienced two hard winters - two in a row of 50-year events - I didn’t want to keep doing it the same way,” Charlie says. “The strategy was not fundamentally working.” Many Washington growers protect their vines by hilling up earth against them in the fall. Most of the Corcelettes vineyards are too rocky for that to work. Consequentially, Charlie has had a machine built that mulches bales of straw and deposits the straw against the vines. A protective layer of straw is brushed onto the vines, keeping them alive should there be another hard winter.

Here are notes of some current releases from Corcelettes.

Phoenix Afterglow 2023 ($21.90 for 275 cases). This is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, all from a Naramata vineyard. It is a juicy wine with aromas and flavours of cherry, strawberry and watermelon. 88.

Phoenix Chardonnay 2023 ($22.90 for 310 cases). The fruit for this wine is also from a Naramata grower. The wine was fermented and aged in concrete. It is a fresh, fruit-forward Chardonnay with aromas of peach and pear leading for flavours of apple and citrus. 90.

Phoenix Merlot 2022 ($29.90 for 400 cases). Sixty per cent of the fruit came from the Corcelettes estate vineyard while 40% was from a grower in Oliver. The wine begins with aromas of dark cherries mingled with sage. The palate delivers flavours of blueberry, blackberry and cherry with a hint of spice on the finish. 90.

Corcelettes Pinot Noir 2022 ($34.90 for 585 cases). The fruit is also from vineyards in the Similkameen Valley. The wine had a 28-day maceration and was then aged in French oak (25% new) for nine months. The wine begins with aromas of cherry, spice and leather, leading to flavours of cherry and plum with notes of forest floor on the finish. 90.

Corcelettes Syrah 2022 ($36.90). Estate-grown fruit is in this wine, with 5% Viognier co-fermented with the Syrah. The wine begins with aromas of dark fruits and pepper. On the rich palate, there are flavours of fig, plum, dark cherry and pepper. The finish is persistent. 93.

Corcelettes Talus 2021 ($54.90 for 500 cases). This is the winery’s flagship Bordeaux blend, all from estate-grown grapes. The blend is 40% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 1% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot. The wine was aged 18 months in French oak barrels. The wine begins with aromas of cassis, blackberry and cherry. On the palate, the wine delivers flavours of dark cherry, plum and black currant mingled with hints of chocolate and spice. Long, ripe tannins give the wine a long finish. 93.