Blue Mountain's bubbles sparkle

Photo: Blue Mountain winemaker Matt Mavety

Recently, I discovered an article on the internet recounting the history of Champagne. One fact was new to me: The Champagne region once was far better known for wool production. The wines were considered mediocre. The wool merchants gave away wines casually to their customers. However, the quality of the wines was improved by the Benedictine monks. Eventually, the demand for Champagne outstripped the demand for wool. If there are any sheep in the vineyards today, they are there for weed control, not for their wool.

I may be stretching it a bit, but there is a parallel in the Okanagan’s dramatic expansion in sparkling wine production in recent years. Before wine was being produced here, the valley was better known for apples and other tree fruits. And before there were orchards, this was ranch country. Today, there are no ranches and not many orchards in the Okanagan. This is some of the world’s best wine country.

For reasons of terroir as well as reputation, the Champagne region’s wine production is limited largely to sparkling wines. The Okanagan Valley’s unique terroir enables it to grow all the major varietals and wine styles of the world in a valley that is 110 miles long. I had an essay on the history of Okanagan sparkling wine in my 1996 book, The British Columbia Wine Companion. Because it has been out of print for some time, here is an excerpt:

The first premium quality British Columbia sparkling wine made by the classical method was Sumac Ridge's Stellar's Jay Cuvée, of which the first vintage was 1987. Subsequently, Summerhill Estate Winery has entered the market with its Cipes Brut.

The current generation of sparkling wines in British Columbia emerged from trials conducted, starting in 1983, by Gary Strachan when he was at the Summerland Research Station. Soon after arriving there from Ontario in 1977, he noticed the wineries all complained that British Columbia grapes were excessively acidic. "Why don't we exploit that and make sparkling wines?" he asked himself. The finest sparkling wines are made from grapes that are slightly more acidic than grapes used in table wines. The acidity, which softens as the wines develop in the bottle, is essential if the wines are to retain their fresh, clean flavors through the prolonged production cycle and during further aging in the consumer's cellar. Ironically, the excessive acidity of grapes of which the wineries complained was caused chiefly by poor growing techniques (typically, over-cropping) which vineyardists since have learned to correct.

Sumac Ridge's Harry McWatters was the first producer to cooperate with Strachan's research project, which was funded by a grant from the National Research Council. To a degree, Strachan and McWatters were re-inventing the wheel. After all, Dom Perignon, who died in France in 1715, generally is credited with figuring out how to retain bubbles in wine. However, the French, understandably, have had a long tradition to keeping to themselves the technical nuances of making champagne. "There were lots of books about champagne but they didn't give you the technical background in how to make it," Strachan found. Winemaker Harold Bates, who had acquired sparkling wine experience with T.G. Bright & Co. in Niagara Falls, helped the inexperienced Strachan in the first year of the Summerland trials. In the second year, technical assistance was provided by Eric von Krosigk, a Vernon native who was just completing winemaking studies in Germany that included apprenticeship with a sparkling wine producer. (Subsequently, Bates joined Sumac Ridge and von Krosigk made several vintages of Cipes Brut.) After several trial lots of sparkling wine had been made, Sumac Ridge committed to commercial quantities of sparkling wine, with the first major release being made July 1991, on the winery's tenth anniversary. The flagship, blended from pinot blanc, pinot noir and chardonnay, is Stellar's Jay Cuvee, named for the raucous blue-feathered creature that is British Columbia's provincial bird.

Cipes Brut has a more complex history. In 1989 Summerhill's Stephen Cipes and Kenn Visser, who was then managing Inkameep Vineyards, invited Jack Davies, owner of California's prestigious Schramsberg Champagne Cellars, to consider investing in a sparkling wine facility in British Columbia. "Jack opened our eyes," Cipes said, recalling the enthusiasm that Davies and his winemaker displayed for the potential of the Okanagan. Strachan secured another research grant and a number of cuvees were produced from grapes grown primarily in the Summerhill vineyard. Davies decided not to get involved but Cipes proceeded on his own, enlisting von Krosigk as the winemaker. The Summerhill vineyard is extensively planted to riesling and this grape, widely used for sparkling wines in Germany, became the basis for Cipes Brut. Subsequently, von Krosigk and his successor at Summerhill, Alan Marks, also produced sparkling wines based on pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, the traditional varieties of Champagne. Okanagan Falls grapegrower Ian Mavety had participated in the Schramsberg trial. When Schramsberg withdrew in 1991, Mavety launched Blue Mountain winery, with half of its production committed to sparkling wine.

Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars, to use the winery’s full name, tapped the expertise of a French-trained consultant skilled in making sparkling wines. Today, the wines are made by Ian’s son, Matt, who has developed a very sure hand with the style. Blue Mountain consistently is arguably the best sparkling wine producer in the Okanagan. Its four current releases include three sophisticated wines that, in the tradition of Champagne, were aged on the lees as long as seven and a half years. Here are notes on the wines.

Blue Mountain Gold Label Brut 2019 ($27.90). This is 65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay. The wine was on the lees two years. While there is a touch of brioche in the aroma and on the palate, the flavours are also fruity, with notes of lemon. The finish is crisp. 92.

Blue Mountain Brut Rosé 2018 R.D. ($40). This is 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. The wine was on the lees for 30 months. It presents festively in the glass, with a bronze pink hue and an active mousse. Raspberry mingles with brioche on the nose and palate of this delicious wine. 94.

Blue Mountain Blanc de Blancs 2013 R.D. ($50). This is 100% Chardonnay. The wine was on the lees for 7 ½ years, giving it a toasty note on the nose. It is surprisingly, and deliciously, fruity on the palate. With an active mousse, this is a very elegant wine. 94.

Blue Mountain Reserve Brut 2013 R.D. ($50). This is 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir. The wine was also on the lees for 7 ½ years, acquiring notes of brioche on the nose and palate. This is a cerebral wine, with elusive fruit on the palate and with a crisp finish. 94.