Laughing Stock gets bigger this vintage

Photos: Laughing Stock's David Enns

A lot of eyebrows were raised in June when Laughing Stock Vineyards hired Nikki Callaway, a star winemaker star formerly at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and, before that, at Mission Hill Family Winery.

All are producers of quality wine. However, the explanation behind the move likely relates to the size of the various wineries. Laughing Stock produced about 10,000 cases in 2017. Quails’ Gate is about 10 times larger. At Laughing Stock, working with executive winemaker David Enns, Nikki gets to focus on comparatively small lot production.

She also retains the possibility of resuming a big-winery career because Laughing Stock was taken over last year by Arterra Wines Canada Ltd. That is the big national wine producer owned by the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund. The brands in the group include Jackson Triggs, Inniskillin, Sumac Ridge and See Ya Later Ranch.

“I convinced Nikki to apply,” David admits. Neither he nor Arterra’s national winemaker were happy with the calibre of candidates they attracted when Arterra began advertising for a winemaker to work with David. However, he and Nikki long have been members of  a winemakers’ tasting group and he was familiar with her qualifications.

The job interview was primarily a huge tasting of each other’s wines and a discussion of winemaking philosophy. “It was a wonderful discussion of where we were going,” David says. “You could see the synergies of care and attention to the wines. She and I hit it off.”

In the Okanagan, nearly all the Arterra brands are made in the big winery complex north of Oliver. Laughing Stock, however, will continue to be made at its Naramata Road facility, retaining the cachet that its premium wines have earned since the winery was launched in 2003 by David and Cynthia Enns. Arterra has given them a two-year contract to remain with Laughing Stock.

They sold the winery because they had no successors in their family interested in taking over. But there was more to it than that: Arterra brings resources that will allow the perennially sold-out Laughing Stock to increase production and add a few more wines to the portfolio.

“We are increasing the production for this next harvest to 200 tons,” David says. (That is the equivalent of 12,500 cases). “You could never increase at that kind of rate because there are no fruit sources in the valley. With Arterra buying us, we now have access to 1,200 acres of the best vineyards in the valley.”

“They have given me access to anything,” David adds. “The thing about Arterra is that they have more fruit than premium products for it to go into. That is the strategy in buying Laughing Stock Vineyards – to feed it with the best fruit.”

Laughing Stock has long made a top-flight Viognier from its own Perfect Hedge Vineyard in Osoyoos. It now has the possibility of adding a white Rhone blend to the portfolio with Roussanne and Marsanne from an Arterra vineyard south of Oliver.

“They were about to tear it out but I said I would take it,” David says. “Those grapes going into amphorae. I am doing a Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne this year, 100% in clay.”

Here are notes on the current releases.

Laughing Stock Pinot Gris 2017 ($19.95 for 1,645 cases). Complexity was built into this wine by fermenting 55% in neutral oak, 30% in stainless steel and – for texture – 15% in concrete eggs. It begins with aromas of citrus, melon and Asian pear. These are echoed in the flavours. The texture is rich but the finish is dry. 91.

Laughing Stock Viognier 2017 ($24.99 for 379 cases). This is a generous and rich wine from grapes grown in the winery’s Osoyoos vineyard. Forty percent was fermented in neutral French oak, 30% in stainless steel and 30% in concrete eggs. In the glass, it presents dramatic aromas of apricot, peach and orange. On the palate, there are flavours of stone fruits, guava, passion fruit and vanilla. The flavours coat the palate and the finish persists. 92.

Laughing Stock Blind Trust Red 2016 ($28.99 for 2,050 cases). This blend is the little brother to the winery’s flagship Portfolio but there is no inferiority here. It is just a blend for more immediate consumption while Portfolio ages. This wine, aged 15 months in French oak, begins with aromas of black cherry, chocolate and cedar leading to flavours of plum and black currant. The long, silky tannins add the wine’s approachability. The actual blend is hidden under the capsule but, for the impatient, here it is: 45% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec and 9% Cabernet Franc. The final blend was topped up with three percent of Portfolio. 93.

Laughing Stock Syrah 2016 ($36.99 for 1,048 cases). There is five percent Viognier in this blend, co-fermented with one lot of Syrah in stainless steel. A second lot of Syrah (22% of the entire volume) was fermented in 500-litre open-top French oak puncheons. The two lots were blended and barrel-aged 16 months in French oak (36% new). The Viognier lifts perfumed and floral aromas, along with hints of delicatessen meats. On the palate, there are flavours of black cherry, plum and fig with a hint of pepper on the finish. The texture is generous and the finish lingers. 93.