Red Horses Vineyard champions Cabernet Sauvignon

Photo: Red Horses Vineyard's Eileen and Tim Fortin

Red Horses Vineyard is a small winery in Oliver which opened this spring, specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon.

It likely is the only Okanagan winery making as big a bet on Cabernet Sauvignon, a noble Bordeaux varietal once considered risky because it ripens later than Merlot. That was the view in the 1990s. Two decades later, the seasons are warmer and Cabernet Sauvignon is ripening reliably.

The two Red Horses vineyards have been planted since 2009 and the sites are warm. The ripe flavours of the winery’s debut whites show that the owners chose well.

For more background on the winery, which just opened this spring, here is an excerpt from my recently published Okanagan Wine Tour Guide. As small as the winery is, there is a tasting room. It is well worth a visit.

Red Horses Vineyard is perhaps the most focused small winery in the Okanagan. The vineyard is planted exclusively with Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery opened with just Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the latter made with purchased grapes. “There is a possibility in the future we might plant something other than Cabernet Sauvignon,” says Tim Fortin, one of the partners. “Now, I just want to make the best Cabernet I can make.”

The winery is owned by Tim and Eileen Fortin and Tim’s parents, Rod and Pat Fortin. It represents a circuitous journey to wine by both couples. Rod was born in northern Saskatchewan in 1940. He was 12 when his family moved to Oliver. “I started working in the orchards when I was 13, and I pretty well had my fill by the time I left here in 1959,” he remembers. After high school, he pursued several successful business careers in Vancouver, including modular housing for resource communities in the 1960s, followed by gravel production. After he sold that business, he and his wife retired in 2008 to the Okanagan, which he maintains has the best climate in Canada.

In 2009 they bought a 1.1-hectare (2¾-acre) orchard with 70-year-old trees near Tuc-el-Nuit Lake, at the outskirts of Oliver. Rod had no desire to begin growing tree fruits. “It was perfect for growing grapes,” he says. “I have always had an interest in wine. I drink wine every day, at least a couple of glasses.” His favourite wine is Cabernet Sauvignon. For several years, he sold the grapes, keeping enough to make wine for personal consumption.

Then Tim and Eileen bought an adjoining property, also planted Cabernet Sauvignon, and proposed a winery. Born in Vancouver in 1966, Tim met Eileen at cooking school there. Their love of wine developed in restaurants (Eileen’s Winnipeg family had operated a restaurant). After cooking school, they started their own catering company. That business led Tim to film-industry catering and then to a 30-year career managing logistics in that industry. When he retired, Tim and Eileen also moved to Oliver, to a vineyard and the management of Red Horses. The winery, which displays two life-size metal horse sculptures, takes its name from a family interest in horses and western lore.

Consulting winemaker Philip Soo makes the wine for Red Horses, which launches with 100 cases of 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, 450 cases from the 2018 vintage, and close to 1,000 cases in 2019. “And I don’t think we will go above 1,000 cases,” Tim says. “We will try to keep the quality up and the volume down.”

Here are notes on four current releases.

Red Horses Cross Breed 2018 ($28.75 for 55 cases). This is a field blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. It has aromas and flavours of black cherry, cassis and dark chocolate, with spice and chocolate on the finish. The tannins are long, ripe and soft. 91.

Red Horses Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 ($26.75 for 100 cases). The winery’s first vintage, it was barrel-aged for 26 months. The structure is firm and the wine benefits from decanting. It has aromas and flavours of black currants with a hint of oak on the finish. 90.

 Red Horses Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($23.75 for 188 cases). This wine also benefits with decanting, opening up to appealing aromas and flavours of black cherry, blackberry and cola. 91.

Red Horses Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2018 ($35 for 100 cases). This is a rich and full-flavoured wine that was aged 14 months in new French oak barrels. It begins with aromas of vanilla and black cherry. The palate is generous, with flavours of cassis, dark cherry, plum and vanilla. The finish is persistent. 93.