Ruby Blues has veteran Graham Pierce in the cellar

Photo: Winemaker Graham Pierce

Winemaking at Ruby Blues Winery on Naramata Road was taken over in the 2022 vintage by Graham Pierce, one of the Okanagan’s most experienced winemakers. It shows in the solid quality of the winery’s 2022 releases. The winery, which opened in 2009, is owned by Prudence and Beat Mahrer. The initial vintages were made by a consulting winemaker, followed by ten vintages by Blair Gillingham. Graham was recruited after Blair left in 2021.

“We are excited beyond belief to have Graham come on board as our winemaker” Prudence said in a news release last year. “He understands and supports our stylistic direction of our wines and desire to remain a small, high-quality, hand-crafted winery. With his passion and exacting precision, I know that our wine customers at Ruby Blues will love his future releases. Even better, we are developing plans to enable Graham to produce some very high-end wines for us that we feel will become icons in the BC Wine Industry.”

She added some biography of the new winemaker: “Graham has an extensive knowledge of the Okanagan wine region in addition to his experience in the winery operations. This works in tandem with his comprehensive viticulture and winemaking background. Pierce is British Columbia born and bred, growing up in Horseshoe Bay. He joined the Okanagan wine industry in 1997 when he joined Summerhill Pyramid Winery as culinary director after several successful years spent in and around the Vancouver restaurant scene. At Summerhill he discovered a passion and interest in both winemaking and viticulture. While studying winemaking at Okanagan University College he worked as assistant winemaker at Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery before progressing to head winemaker in 2003. A unique opportunity came up in 2008 when he was appointed the Winemaker at Black Hills Estate Winery in Oliver, BC. He worked there for ten extraordinarily successful years before joining Time Winery [in 2018] as Director of Wine. This was followed by a two-year stint directing the winemaking and viticulture at Kitsch Wines in Kelowna.”

Graham has offered his comment on the 2022 vintage. “Last year with an interesting year with lots of plot twists,” he writes. “We were concerned that the long winter and the cold spring would negatively affect the ripening. It was definitely a challenge for us in the vineyards. We had to delay the picking right until the last possible window. I also knew how miserable it would be to pick after a snowfall. Fortunately, we finished picking on November 4, the day before the winter weather set in.”

Here are notes on the current releases from Ruby Blues.

Ruby Blues Peace & Love & Bubbles NV ($29.90). This is a pink frizzante wine. It has aromas and flavours of cherry and raspberry, with a juicy texture. 88.

Ruby Blues White Stiletto 2022 ($21.90). This is an aromatic blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer with a little Schönburger to turbocharge the aromatics. Floral and spicy aromas jump from the glass, leading to flavours of stone fruit. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 89.

Ruby Blues Forever Young Riesling 2022 ($24.90). The winery took advantage of the very long autumn in 2022 to let the grapes hang until November 5. Consequently, the wine is packed with fruit. It has aromas and flavours of lemon and lime. Superbly balanced and with good texture, the wine has a long finish. 90.

Ruby Blues Gewürztraminer 2022 ($25.90). This is a luscious wine thanks to very well-balanced residual sugar. The wine has aromas and flavours of lychee, pink grapefruit and spice. The finish is long and not perceptibly sweet. Somewhat Alsace in style. 91.

Ruby Blues Pinot Gris 2022 ($24.90). This is a rich and juicy wine, with aromas and flavours of pear, peach and citrus. 90.

Ruby Blues Viognier 2022 ($29.90). This is a rich wine with a long finish. There are aromas and flavours of apricot, nectarine and cantaloupe. 91.

Ruby Blues Rosé 2022 ($28.90). A gold medal wine, this is a blend of Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir. The wine presents with an appealing hue of pink. There are aromas and flavours of cherry, strawberry and watermelon. The texture is juicy and the finish is refreshing. 91.

Ruby Blues Red Stiletto NV ($30.90). The backbone in this very drinkable red is Syrah, blended with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. All varietals are aged separately before the blend is made. The object is to produce a soft, full-bodied wine. The wine begins with aromas of cloves and black cherries. On the palate, there are toasty flavours of cherry and chocolate. 90.

Ruby Blues Syrah Reserve 2021 ($49.90). This is a big, bold Syrah made with fruit from an Osoyoos vineyard. The wine had four weeks of skin contact and then was aged 18 months in barrel. It begins with aromas of plum, dark cherry and spice. On the palate, there are flavours of plum, fig and leather mingled with white pepper. 91.