Therapy produces private label wines for retirement residence

Photo: Therapy's Danica Boyd

About two years ago, Cheryl Tan, the sales and marketing manager for an elegant Vancouver retirement complex, tasted some wines from Therapy Vineyards while vacationing at a west coast resort. That led to her making a proposal to Mike and Jacqueline Boyd, the owners of Therapy, a Naramata Bench winery. She asked if Therapy would produce private label wines for Opal by Element, for sale in the in-house restaurant and to residents. Two of those wines, a white blend and a rosé, were unveiled at a recent reception by Danica Boyd, Jacqueline and Michael’s daughter. A third wine, a Pinot Noir, is scheduled to be bottled for Opal this summer. “I think this may be something they will continue with,” says Jacqueline Boyd.

Private labels wines constitute a new market for Therapy, but perhaps not one the winery will pursue aggressively. “I don’t think we are big enough to go after that market,” Jacqueline says. Therapy opened in 2005 on the site of the original Red Rooster Winery. Mike Boyd bought it in 2017 after his Alberta-based oilfields products company was taken over. The winery may have started as an early retirement project for the Boyds but they have been too dynamic is business to sit on their hands. Since taking over Therapy, they have renovated and expanded both the winery and the tasting room. In 2018, they also hired the talented New Zealand-trained winemaker Jacqueline Kemp. She had been the winemaker at Moraine Estate Winery since 2012, where she had designed an entirely new winery. She has also consulted to a number of other producers.

One of her reasons for moving to Therapy was the opportunity to make sparkling wines. Soon after moving to the Naramata Bench, the Boyds began developing a 22-acre vineyard to support sparkling wine. They have planted Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay for what they call Silhouette Estate Winery. So far, no tasting room has opened there but the Boyds have opened a satellite Silhouette winery in the District Wine Village just north of Oliver.

Guests at the recent Opal launch were also treated to glasses of the sparkling wine, called Boyd Silhouette Classic Cuvée. Opal is a $106 million project that opened in 2019, encompassing an entire block on Cambie Street in Vancouver, near the King Edward Station on the Canada line. It has 44 seniors’ residential condominium units, 56 seniors’ rental units and 30 seniors’ complex care units. The brochure describing Opal says: “Our elegant homes and condos suit a complete continuum of lifestyles, from active independent living to complex care … After all, you’re only retiring from a career, not from life. It’s simply a stage of life you have earned for yourself.” It is sophisticated locale and the Therapy wines fit the venue well.

For those with no access to Opal, the two private label wines also are in Therapy’s portfolio. The white is a blend Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer, released by Therapy as Freudian Sip. The rosé, made with Merlot grapes, is released by Therapy as Pink Freud. Here are notes on the wines.

Opal White 2021. This is a zesty, refreshing white, the kind of wine that invited you to have a second glass. Aromas and flavours of pear mingle with notes of lychee. 91.

Opal Rosé 2021. Made with Merlot grapes, the wine presents in the glass with an appealing rose petal hue. There are bright flavours of strawberry and watermelon with a crisp finish. 91.

Boyd Silhouette Classic Cuvée NV. This wine has toasty, brioche notes in both the aroma and flavour. The active bubbles lead to a creamy impression on the palate. 90.