Frind's red wines show a tasty house style

Photo: Winery principal Markus Frind (courtesy of winery)

Frind Estate Winery’s five red wines from 2021 display an intriguing house style. The flavours are rich and bold while the tannins are long and ripe. These youthful wines are ready to drink now but have the structure to cellar for five or more years. The winemaking technique may have slightly homogenized the varietal definition. In a blind tasting it might be hard to tell the difference between, say, the Merlot and the Cabernet Franc. Purists might grumble but the wines are so delicious that the wines will be consumed anyway. Lacking inside knowledge on how the house style has been achieved, I turned to the winery’s website. Frind prides itself at being one of the more technologically advanced wineries in the Okanagan, reflecting owner Markus Frind’s extensive technological background.

He has given his winemakers some of the most sophisticated tools for dealing with grapes. Here is a quote describing the winery’s automated fermentation tanks: “Apart from being at the forefront of winemaking technology, these tanks are unique because they are custom designed for Frind Estate Winery and for the wines we are aiming to produce. At Frind we make many smaller select batches of wines, separating vineyards and varietals. This is our point of difference; at some larger, more commercial wineries, it is more economical to blend all their Merlot in one big tank and produce just one batch, whereas we are looking to pinpoint the nuances of flavour components provided by our different vineyards sites and varietals to make our very best wine. At Frind, we want to know which soils our Cabernet Sauvignon clones are thriving in or which Pinot Noir clone prefers a gentle breeze during summer. This is why we have invested heavily into small batch winemaking with the purpose of unravelling and discovering all the flavour profiles our grapes and vineyards are capable of.”

With the exception of Midnight, which was aged nine months in French and American oak, the reds were all aged 10 months in French and American oak barrels. The fruit is from Okanagan and Similkameen vineyards, except for Cabernet Franc, which was sourced just in the Okanagan. Here are notes on the wines.

Frind Midnight 2021 ($27.99). The wine is made with estate-grown Maréchal Foch grapes – and because has such a strong personality, there is no confusing the varietal here. That personality, however, is nicely in check. This is a wine with aromas of dark cherry and spice and flavours of plum. 90.

Frind Premier Merlot 2021 ($34.99). This wine begins with aromas of dark cherries and plum. Rich in texture, the wine has abundant flavours of cherry, blackberry and chocolate. 92.

Frind Premier Cabernet Franc 2021 ($36.99). Here is another rich and deeply flavoured wine. It begins with aromas of spice, blackberry, dark cherry, all of which is echoed on the palate. Once again, the finish lingers. 92.

Frind Premier Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 ($39.99). This intense wine will benefit from being decanted. It begins with aromas of black currant and dark chocolate. These are echoed on the palate, along with a hint of black licorice on the persistent finish. 92.

Frind Premier Syrah 2021 ($43.99). Dark in colour, this wine begins with aromas of dark fruits mingled with black pepper. On the palate, there are layers and layers of flavour: dark cherry, blueberry, blackberry and plum with a hint of spice and pepper on the lingering finish. 92.