Monte Creek is on a roll

 Photo: Erik Fisher, Monte Creek Ranch general manager

Monte Creek Ranch Winery, the largest producer in the Thompson Valley appellation, did exceptionally well at the All Canadian Wine Awards this summer.

Nine Monte Creek wines brought home medals (mostly gold). The winery’s 2018 Riesling Reserve was named the best white wine in the competition. The All Canadian Wine Awards, now 40 years old, takes place each summer in Prince Edward County in Ontario. This year, almost 800 wines from across Canada competed.

“I couldn’t be more of proud of our winemaking and viticulture teams,” said Erik Fisher, Monte Creek’s general manager.  “It takes a tremendous amount of focus and precision to make great wines. I see the dedication on a daily basis but this recognition is a testament to the skill and hard work that goes into making a wine this special.”

The winemaker is Galen Barnhardt. “The 2018 Thompson Valley Reserve Riesling is crafted from fruit grown on our two vineyards here in the South Thompson valley,” he says. “Riesling is well adapted to our hot summers and cold winters here in the South Thompson, and we feel the future is bright for this variety in our region.”

For background on the winery, here is an excerpt from the recently published Okanagan Wine Tour Guide.

Monte Creek Ranch Winery, set dramatically high above the Trans-Canada Highway, takes its name from a nearby community, now almost a ghost town, whose peak notoriety was in 1906 when the bandit Bill Miner held up a train for the last time. The winery has memorialized the event with two wines called Hands Up. Now the largest wine producer in the Thompson Valley sub-appellation, Monte Creek Ranch Winery has a capacity to make 54,000 cases a year set. It all started in 2007 when Gurjit Sidhu, a Fraser Valley blueberry grower and nursery man, bought a 365-hectare (900-acre) ranch east of Kamloops for a new blueberry farm. When he learned blueberries do not thrive in the Thompson Valley’s near desert, he decided to grow grapes.

Consultants advised against planting vinifera because the winters are colder here than in the Okanagan. So, beginning in 2010, Monte Creek planted British Columbia’s first major block of winter-hardy Minnesota hybrid grapes. These include Marquette, La Crescent, and three members of the Frontenac grape family, varieties that were unfamiliar to British Columbia consumers. Subsequently, Monte Creek concluded that the vinifera risk had been overstated and planted Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. The vineyard blocks, which are on either side of the Thompson River, total 30 hectares (75 acres).

Monte Creek, which had its first vintage in 2013, also purchased grapes from the Okanagan. The increasingly tight supply of those grapes led Monte Creek in 2018 to acquire 37 hectares (92 acres) of raw land in the Similkameen Valley. The property is on the southwest flank of the Similkameen River, just east of Keremeos.

Monte Creek is taking advantage of the cool site’s northeastern exposure to plant a significant block of Pinot Noir, a varietal of rising importance in the winery’s portfolio. Pedro Parra, a Chilean viticultural consultant who has advised several Okanagan producers, helped Monte Creek explore the soil profile. “There is a considerable amount of limestone in some of those rocks, which we think will go a long way to producing premium-quality Pinot Noir,” says Erik Fisher, the winery’s general manager.

Here are notes on a selection of Monte Creek wines.

Monte Creek Riesling 2018 ($19.99). The wine has begun to develop a hint of petrol in the aroma. On the palate, it has intense flavours of lemon and grapefruit rind mingled with petrol. The finish is dry, and lingering. Gold at the ACWA. 90.

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Monte Creek Chardonnay 2018 ($19.99). The wine has aromas of citrus with a hint of buttery vanilla. The palate echoes the aromas. The texture is rich and the finish lingers. Gold at the ACWA. 88.

Monte Creek Rosé 2019 ($18.99). This wine is made with Marquette and Frontenac Noir grapes. The colour is as dark as Beaujolais, which may upset the Provençal rosé fans. The aromas and the flavours are as bold as the colour: plums, cherries and raspberries. 90.

Monte Creek Cabernet Merlot 2017 ($21.99). This won a silver at the ACWA. It is a very good value red, made with 69% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It begins with aromas of cassis and black cherry which are echoed on the palate, along with vanilla and blueberry. The palate is rich. 91.

Monte Creek Sparkling Wine 2019 ($21.99). The grapes for this Charmat method sparkling wine are La Crescent and Frontenac Blanc. The wine has aromas and flavours of honey, citrus and white peach. 88.