Hester Creek celebrates its Old Vines

Photo: Hester Creek proprietor Curt Garland

This year, Hester Creek celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the planting of its Golden Mile vineyard by releasing wines that show off the old vines.

The story of the vineyard is well known. Joe Busnardo, who emigrated to the Okanagan from Northern Italy, began planting vinifera grapes in 1968 on a superb finger of land left eons ago by a retreating glacier. The mineral-laden soils are complex. The vineyard is exposed to the sun from morning until late afternoon. And it is high enough above the valley floor that the danger of frost is minimal.

In 1968, no one else was planting vinifera in the Okanagan. Conventional wisdom had it that vinifera would not thrive because the Okanagan was too cold. Other growers planted winter-hardy hybrids.

Wineries refused to pay Joe a premium for his grapes. For several years, he let the birds eat his grapes. Then, one famously hard winter killed a lot of hybrid vines in the valley, probably because they had been overcropped. Joe’s vines came through the winter just fine. A few years later, in 1983, he started his own winery on the site.

The vineyard and the winery have changed ownership several times. Hester Creek was acquired in 2004 by Curt Garland, a Prince George businessman. He has unlocked the potential of the site by building a state of the art winery and by employing professionally-trained viticulturists and winemakers. It has become, without doubt, one of the Okanagan’s best wineries.

As part of the 50^th anniversary celebration, the winery has released a super-premium Bordeaux red blend named, fittingly, Garland.

That took me a bit by surprise. I have met Curt and I found him to be a self-effacing individual. He is justifiably proud of what has been accomplished at Hester Creek but I doubt he spends much time, if any, behind the bar at the tasting room. He lets his team do the work and have the glory.

I am guessing it took them months to talk their boss into putting his name on the bottle.

He should be pleased with the result. It is a great bottle of wine. The rest are not bad either.

Here are my notes.

Hester Creek 2017 Character White ($17.95 for 3,000 cases). This is a blend of Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer.  This refreshing, fruity white begins with aromas of citrus and pear, leading to flavours of peach and apple. 90.

Hester Creek 2017 Old Vines Trebbiano Block ($23.95 for 1,000 cases). This legendary white – the only Trebbiano in the Okanagan – is made with grapes from vines believed to be 50 years old. The dry white wine begins with aromas of melon and quince, followed by flavours of apple, apricot and papaya with a lingering hint of grapefruit on the finish. The rich texture allows the wine to coat the palate. The finish just will not quit. 92.

Hester Creek 2017 Terra Unica Sémillon ($22.95 for 155 cases). This special white, made with grapes from 20-year-old vines, is available only to Hester Creek’s wine club. It begins with aromas of citrus and herbs, leading to flavours of peach, apple and grapefruit, with honeydew melon on the finish. 90.

Hester Creek 2017 Cabernet Franc Rosé ($19.95 for 2,000 cases). This wine begins its appeal visually with a vibrant pink hue (48 hours of skin contact). Aromas of strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb jump from the glass and are echoed in the flavours. A slight touch of residual sugar adds to the fleshy, juicy texture of this intense rosé. 91.

Hester Creek 2015 Block 3 Reserve Cabernet Franc ($28.95 for 650 cases). The 50-year-old Cabernet Franc vines in this vineyard enable Hester Creek to showcase the power and richness of well-grown Cabernet Franc. The wine begins with aromas of blackberry, plum and vanilla. On the full-bodied palate, the wine has flavours of blackberry and spiced dark berries with notes of vanilla and chocolate on the finish. 93.

Hester Creek 2015 Garland ($60 for 330 cases). This exceptional wine is a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 32% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. It begins with aromas of black cherry, plum and vanilla. It delivers layer upon layer of flavour – plum, fig, cherry, with toasty and earthy notes on the finish. It is a bold wine, with the voluptuous tannins and texture that are Hester Creek hallmarks. 94.

I also believe that proprietary wine names using an individual’s surname are an excellent idea. I have recommended the idea to two other wineries (neither of which took my advice) as alternatives to using Meritage. Names like this telegraph authority; and their individuality avoids trademark issues.