O'Rourke's first class wines

 Photo: Dennis O'Rourke

The wine released this summer by O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars are among the most impressive Okanagan wines that I have tasted this year.

This Lake Country winery is owned by Edmonton businessman Dennis O’Rourke, who made his millions in the heavy construction business in Alberta. He has chosen to invest some of those millions into two excellent Lake Country wineries.

O’Rourke Peak Cellars opened in 2017, originally as The Chase Winery until a trademark dispute led to a name change. The companion winery, O’Rourke Family Cellars, is expected to open next year when construction is complete. The latter winery crowns the top of a 75-acre vineyard with south-facing slope and a spectacular view of Lake Okanagan.

O’Rourke’s initial viticulturalist and winemaker was Adrian Baker, a talented New Zealander. When ill-health sidelined Adrian last year, Dennis recruited Nikki Callaway and Stephanie Stanley, also top-flight winemaking talents. Nikki is the head winemaker, with particular focus on the new facility.

Stephanie (right), who is in charge of the aromatic wine program at O’Rourke’s, is a Kelowna native who graduated at the top of the class from Brock University in 2003. Fluent in German, she had developed here interest in wine as a youth while working in Germany.

“I was working in a restaurant in the Pfalz area and there were wine festivals every weekend, every other weekend,” she told me in an interview. “Working in the restaurant, I just loved the social aspect of it and just loved the whole industry. It brought people together. It was a good lifestyle. I realized there is some kind of science involved in it and that’s where I figured I could apply my science skills.”

After graduating from Brock, she returned to Kelowna to work with Howard Soon at Calona and Sandhill Wines. Beginning in 2015, she has also done several vintages at Wither Hills Winery in New Zealand.

Born in Calgary in 1982, Nikki(left) is the daughter of a physician who worked for many years in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Nikki lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years until she was 14 and had completed elementary school. At that point, her family moved to Dubai so she could complete high school.

She came back to Canada f0r a bachelor’s degree in microbiology at the University of Victoria. She had not mapped out a career path although she was interested in wine. “Dad talked me out of medicine,” she recalls. “He thought I would have more fun drinking wine.”

So she went to Beaujolais in 2004 and picked grapes for two months while checking out French wine schools. She chose the University of Bordeaux and graduated in 2007 with a Diplôme National d’Oœnologue.

The winemaking program included hands-on cellar work in French wineries. Upon graduating, she worked about five months in a French winemaking co-operative. Then she went to South Africa to do a crush there before returning to France and doing another crush at a Loire winery.

She might have stayed in France but she could not get a work visa. So she returned to Canada in 2009 where Mission Hill offered her a four-month job. “It turned out to be four years,” she says.  Among other wines, she made a Mission Hill Pinot Noir that took a major award at London wine competition.

She went to Quails’ Gate in mid-2013 and, during five vintages, established herself as a formidable maker of Pinot Noir. She moved to Laughing Stock Vineyards in 2018 and joined O’Rourke a vintage later.

The vineyards underpinning the two O’Rourke wineries are dedicated to Pinot Noir and to aromatic white varieties, including Grüner Veltliner, a white variety from Austria. The varietals were selected by Adrian Baker when the vineyards were being developed. The choices were excellent, giving Nikki and Stephanie great fruit to work with.

Here are notes on the wines.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Pinot Gris 2018 ($18). This wine begins with aromas of peach, apple and a hint of anise. Fleshy in texture, it has flavours of pear, peach, apple and citrus. 92.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Grüner Veltliner 2018 ($24). This wine begins with aromas of melon mingled with herbal notes. On the rich palate, there are flavours of orange and ripe nectarine, with a hint of herbs and pepper on the finish. 91.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Gewürztraminer 2019 ($18). This is a dry Gewürztraminer in the style of Alsace. It has aromas and flavours of orange zest mingled with herbs and spice. 90.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Fieldling 2019 Block 26 ($24). This is a co-fermented field blend of 53% Pinot Gris, 32% Riesling and 15% Gewürztraminer. The wine begins with a hint of pineapple marmalade on the nose. The flavours are intense, with notes of sage, among other herbs, mingled with citrus flavours. The finish is persistent. 91.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Riesling 2019 ($21). The wine begins with aromas of lemon and lime mingled with the classic but subtle hint of petrol. The tangy, refreshing palate displays flavours of lime, green apple and subtle petrol notes. The finish is crisp and dry. This is a very good value. 91.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Riesling 2019 Block 11 ($28). This wine is more intense than the previous Riesling. It also has flavours of lime and green apple with a note of petrol. The finish is very long. The wine is dry but there is good weight in the texture. An age-worthy Riesling. 92.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Unoaked Chardonnay 2019 ($22). The wine presents in the glass with what the winery calls “clear and vibrant” hues. It begins with aromas of apples, pineapples, pears and very subtle grapefruit. The palate reveals a remarkable medley of fruits. The wine is crisp and ever so refreshing. 92.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Chardonnay 2017 ($30). The wine begins with aromas of butter, citrus and oak. The oak is bold on the palate (but not excessive), framing flavours of orange marmalade. 90.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Pinot Noir Rosé 2019 ($21). The wine begins with aromas of raspberry and strawberry which are echoed in the flavours, along with a note of watermelon. In the glass, the rose petal hue is attractive. On the finish, the wine is crisp and refreshing. 91.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Rosé Single Block 2019 ($26). This is made with Clone 28 Pinot Noir. This is a juicy, delicious rosé with an attractive rose petal hue in the glass. It has aromas and flavours of strawberry and watermelon. 91.

O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars Pinot Noir 2018 ($32). This is an elegant and polished wine, beginning with restrained aromas of cherry. On the silky palate, there are flavours of cherry mingled with blueberry, with a hint of spice and mocha on the finish. 91.