Sipping Stars with Township 7

Photo: Sparkling wine champion Mary McDermott

Is it possible to grow a sparkling wine in the Fraser Valley that can rival Champagne? Township 7’s Sirius 2015 is an emphatically positive answer to that question. The wine, Sirius, is a Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend that has been aged five years on the lees (as a good Champagne might be). Just being released now, this is the first vintage of the brightest star in Township 7’s seven stars portfolio of sparkling wines. There are five bubblies in the portfolio, with a sixth under development.

Sirius is being released just months after Township 7 released an ultra-premium red called Infinity. Both wines are badged with an elegant metallic symbols on the bottle, underling that both are the luxury wines from Township 7. Township 7 released its first sparkling wine in 2001. It was then called Seven Stars but, with the launch of seven stars as the brand for its collection of sparkling wines, it has been renamed Polaris. It is now the only one of these wines available to the general public. The rest, along with Polaris, are delivered exclusively through the seven stars wine club, whose members can get a shipment of six bottles twice a year. This is one of the very few wine clubs in Canada dedicated just to sparkling wine. Getting Champagne-quality bubble is not the only club benefit. In this vintage, 40 club members got to pick the grapes in Township 7’s two-and-a-half acre Langley vineyard, followed with lunch and glasses of sparkling wine.

Mike Raffan, Township 7’s general manager and the winery’s former owner, wanted to launch a sparkling wine program as soon as he became involved with Township 7. “When I bought the winery in 2006, I wanted to do more sparkling,” he says. “We had an unusual site in Langley. I always wanted to do something but it never worked out.” In 2014, he got an offer he “could not refuse” from businessman Ge Song whose deep pockets have enabled Township 7 to expand its winery, invest in vineyards, hire winemaker Mary McDermott and launch the sparkling wine project in 2015. “In 2014, when we hired Mary, she had the experience, the knowledge and mostly the passion about sparkling wines,” Mike recalls. “That was part of our first interview. It was not primarily why she was hired but, as it turns out, we were able to start the project in 2015.”

Mary McDermott became passionate about sparkling wines while taking WSET courses and working as a sommelier in Ontario. “I loved sparkling - it is one of my favourites,” Mary says. “When I started full time in wineries, I worked at Cave Springs Cellars [near St. Catharines]. They had a small sparkling program there and I got my hands dirty, because I worked fulltime in the cellars then. I moved from Cave Springs to Trius and took over the Trius program, which is much larger. It kept going from there.” She continues: “I always really enjoyed sparkling wine. The process is quite different than making other wines. There is a lot more patience required. You have to be aware of all the things that are happening with the ferments … how the grapes are coming in, how they are grown. It takes a little more attention to detail when you are making it. It was challenging for me and I like that. That’s where all that passion comes from.” She recognized the cool Langley vineyard’s potential for sparkling wines, which are usually made with high acid, low sugar grapes. That is exactly what the Langley site delivers. The other vineyards from which Township 7 sources grapes for bubble are comparatively cool by the standards of the Okanagan; and can be managed to produce the required fruit quality.

At the winery’s estate vineyard on the Naramata Bench, Township 7 has planted a new vineyard dedicated to sparkling wine. The new plantings are Pinot Noir clone 828, which Mary likes for bubble, and Pinot Meunier, a traditional Champagne grape. “These blocks along with our estate Chardonnay that was first planted in 2004 will be designated solely for a new Naramata Bench estate sparkling,” the winery says. These are all small lot wines, with total production between 1,500 and 2,000 cases a year, depending on the vintage. The small production is one reason for limiting the distribution of all but Polaris to the wine club. Mary is increasing production when she can. “We are expanding the Rigel and the Vega; and I made more Polaris as well this year, for a number of reasons,” she says. “I found the aromatic sparklers like the Rigel and the Vega [made with Viognier] were selling out so quickly. People wanted to buy more and we just didn’t have it. I decided to double the size of production of those. Those will be disgorged in the spring, once they have been in bottle for a year.”

Here are notes on the sparkling wines.

seven stars Sirius 2015 ($79.97 for 2,800 bottles). This wine is 54% Pinot Noir, 46% Chardonnay. The grapes were picked, pressed and fermented together. The wine was left a full five years en tirage (on the lees) to soften its acidity and develop complexity. The result is an elegant wine with a good mousse and aromas of citrus mingled with delicate brioche notes. The flavours are fresh, with hints of citrus and apple. 95.

seven stars Polaris 2018 ($35.97 for 6,458 bottles). This is 100% Chardonnay with grapes from the Hidden Bench Vineyard at Covert Farms near Oliver; and from the estate vineyard on the Naramata Bench. The wine was on the lees for about 18 months. The wine has aromas of orchard fruits. The creamy mousse gives good texture to the palate and the flavours of apple and citrus. Good acidity gives this wine a fresh and crisp finish. 93.