Terravista maintains high standard with new owners

Photo: Terravista's new owners: Dallas and Eric Thor

Terravista Vineyards on the Naramata Bench has now announced weekend openings of its tasting room. Appointments are encouraged. This is not a large winery – but it is a producer of very good wines.

For background on the winery, here is an excerpt from my Okanagan Wine Tour Guide. The 510-page book was released at the end of April. Pandemic restrictions cancelled book signings. However, it is in bookstores and some wineries at $25.

When Dallas and Eric Thor acquired Terravista Vineyards in 2019, it was the culmination of the wine journey Eric began as a bar manager in a Vancouver restaurant in 2000. He was showing off his wine knowledge to a guest. Then he discovered he was talking to Harry McWatters, the founder of Sumac Ridge, who promptly hired him to work that fall’s vintage. He even got to put the Christmas lights on Harry’s house before work ran out at Sumac Ridge.

Eric, who was born in 1978 and grew up in Penticton, went back to school to learn accounting. In 2003 he joined Point Grey Research, a technical start-up (digital cameras) launched by five University of British Columbia graduates. Eric had become the company’s chief financial officer by 2016 when Point Grey was taken over for $250 million. Eric’s share was more than enough to get him and Dallas, his wife, back into the wine business.

A teacher with a master’s degree in science, she shares his passion for wine. In 2016, when they were buying an ocean-going catamaran in the south of France, they lived for seven weeks at the village of Canet en Roussillon, working the harvest at a small winery. They returned to Penticton to buy some land in 2017 on the Naramata Bench for a vineyard. And they asked Senka Tennant to be their consultant.

Senka and her husband, Bob, are legendary in the Okanagan. They were co-founders of Black Hills Winery, where the flagship red, Nota Bene, acquired a cult following. Two years after Black Hills was sold in 2007, they established Terravista Vineyards, based on a 1.6-hectare (four-acre) vineyard with the Okanagan’s first planting of Albariño and Verdejo, two Spanish white varieties. Once again, the wines attracted a cult following.

Senka thought it was premature for Eric and Dallas to seek her advice before they had planted a vineyard. (A small block of Pinot Noir was planted in 2019 while Syrah was planted in 2020 on most of their two-hectare vineyard.) The Thors continued to consult with Senka; and they joined Terravista’s wine club. The relationship blossomed. “They did not bother letting us know they were selling for a couple of meetings,” Eric recalls. “When they decided we would be suitable candidates to take over their baby, they let us know they were selling.”

To ensure a continuity of Terravista’s style and quality, the Thors have continued their relationship with Senka. They also hired Nadine Allander, a New Zealand-trained winemaker who worked previously at Time Winery and Poplar Grove Winery. “She eats and breathes wine,” Eric says.

Here are notes on the current releases.

Terravista Albariñ0 2019 ($25 ). The wine has aromas and flavours of citrus and melon mingled with fresh peaches. The texture is juicy but the finish is crisp and refreshing. 91.

Terravista Fandango 2019 ($25). This is a blend of two Spanish whites, 61% Albariño and 39% Verdejo. Citrus aromas mingle with melons on the nose. On the palate, there are flavours of nectarine, lime and green apple. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 92.

Terravista Fandango 2018 ($25). This is 63% Albariño and 37% Verdejo. This wine has flavours and aromas of white peach and melon mingled with hints of grapefruit. An extra year in the bottle has rounded the texture without taking away from the refreshing and juicy fruit. 92.

Terravista Viognier 2019 ($23). This wine begins with aromas of stone fruit with a touch of almond. On the palate, flavours of apricot and ripe apple mingle with almonds. The wine has the classic firm backbone of the variety. 91.

Terravista Figaro 2018 ($26). This is 80% Roussanne and 20% Viognier. The wine begins with appealing aromas of apricot and ripe apple. On the palate, there are layers of fruit flavours, primarily stone fruits around a mineral backbone. The finish lingers. 92.