Oliver Twist: even the pinup girls are serious

Photo: Oliver Twist's Gina Harfman 

The tasting room at Oliver Twist Estate Winery is as lively as any in the South Okanagan, especially when proprietor Gina Harfman is behind the bar.

Visitors are also entertained by the racy pinup girls on the labels of some of the wines. The labels – such as Pink Cadillac - bring the 1950s to mind. But these are serious wines, as serious as the limited production wines (with sedate labels) available only in the winery or to members of the Twist Club.

If the range is eclectic, it reflects Gina’s wide-ranging enthusiasm for wine.

For a bit more background, here is an except from The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide. The 510-page book was released for $25 at the end of April.

Gina Harfman, who purchased Oliver Twist in 2012 from founders Bruce and Denice Hagerman, decided to keep the winery name while creating a second label—Nostalgia—to put her own stamp on the business. The Nostalgia wines all have labels featuring pin-up girls created by Ralph Burch, a San Diego designer. “We have a lot of old things in here,” Gina explains. “We go for the 1950s, 1960s theme. The baby boomers really like it.”

Gina grew up around wine. Her maternal grandfather, Joe Fernandes, left Madeira in the 1960s to establish an orchard in Osoyoos. Her father, Fred, has 6 hectares (15 acres) of vineyard in Osoyoos. That sparked Gina’s winemaking career, starting with the assistant winemaker course at Okanagan College in 2009 and a crush and a half at Cassini Cellars (until she went on maternity leave). She helped Denice and consultant Christine Leroux with the 2011 crush at Oliver Twist. “We were bottling one day,” Gina remembers. “Bruce and Denice said, ‘Why don’t you buy the winery?’”

Denice continues to help Gina, now a single mother of two with a passion for winemaking. Gina has an extensive portfolio of small-lot wines, offered exclusively to members of the wine club that Oliver Twist established in 2013. The five or six wines in the Nostalgia series, along with the Kerner and Pinot Gris from Oliver Twist’s 17-acre vineyard, constitute the winery’s major volume.

Here are notes on some current releases.

Oliver Twist Kerner 2019 ($20.99 for 630 cases). The wine begins with ripe aromas hinting of Sultana raisins and ripe peaches. These are echoed on the luscious and off-dry palate, along with notes of lime and honey. The winery calls this “sunshine in a glass.” 90.

Oliver Twist Viognier 2019 ($21.99 for 300 cases). The wine begins with aromas of citrus and pineapple. On the palate, it delivers flavours of pineapple, mandarin orange and green apple. The finish is crisp but quite lingering, with a hint of spice. 92.

Oliver Twist Pink Cadillac 2019 ($19.99 for 260 cases). This is a rosé with what I consider an appropriate cherry hue. It begins with aromas of strawberry jam. On the palate, there are almost jammy flavours of strawberry and cherry, with a hint of residual sweetness and a long finish. 88.

Oliver Twist Malbec 2016 ($32.99 for 75 cases). This is exclusive to the winery’s Twist Club. Dark in colour, the wine begins with the lovely perfumed aromas of this varietal – hints of cherry, blackberry and spice. The intense flavours include notes of blackberry and black cherry mingled with cola and coffee. 92.

Oliver Twist Rockabilly Red 2018 ($26.99). This is a quaffable red with soft, ripe tannins and flavours and aromas of cherry and chocolate. There is a hint of pepper on the finish. 90.

Oliver Twist Proprietor’s Reserve Meritage 2017 ($36.99 for 268 cases). The blend is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 3% Malbec. There are notes of black currant and mint in the aroma, leading to flavours of black currant and black cherry. If you must drink the wine now, you should decant it and allow it to open. Alternatively, cellar the wine for another five years. 91.