vinAmité: a gem beside the highway

Photo: Catherine Coulombe, the winemaker at vinAmité

It is ironic that a trademark issue should have tripped up Ray Coulombe when he launched this south Okanagan winery in 2015 as vinPerdu Cellars. He had had a long and successful career in advertising before a lifestyle retirement saw Ray and Wendy, his wife, move from Montreal to a vineyard south of Oliver. There, with their daughters, they have created one of the most charming small wineries in the valley, operating since 2016 as vinAmité Cellars.

“The change in name will avoid any potential confusion between our line of fine South Okanagan wines and an American red wine blend named Vin Perdu,” Ray explained in a 2016 news release. “The change also reflects an evolution from being a ‘lost wine’ to one that has been found and welcomed by the many customers who experience the harmony of our line of fine wines and of our hospitality and wine-making philosophy.” Vin Perdu happens to be an expensive Napa Valley wine made at a winery called Amuse Bouche by a star winemaker called Heidi Barrett. Ray Coulombe was right not to get into a trademark fight, especially when the new name is as good, if not better, than the original name. And during the last seven years, vinAmité has established a reputation for making interesting wines.

Ray was born in Edmonton in 1945 and grew up in Vancouver. “We always drank wine,” Ray remembers. “When I was a kid, it was always homemade stuff – a white and a red.” His ability as a writer and artist earned him a scholarship to an arts college in California. After graduation, he joined Maclaren Advertising in Toronto in 1968. He was soon transferred to Montreal and found that city much more to his taste. “Compared to Toronto, Montreal was full of colour. There were people on the streets at every hour. There were sidewalk cafes and people talking. Always next to them was a bottle of wine.” He spent the rest of his business career there, first as creative director at Maclaren (Wendy joined him as art director) and then with his own agency until closing it in 2001. The search for a retirement lifestyle ultimately led to a house in the country south of Oliver. “We were in that house, looking onto that vineyard below, and I thought there should be a winery at the highway,” Ray says.

When they moved in, they were looking at two hectares (five acres) of neglected vines. After Ray had revived the vineyard, the winery and wine shop beside the highway was a logical step. “It is for wine but it is mostly for the lifestyle,” Ray explained when the winery opened in 2015. “I am interested in making a successful and respected little winery, which I will leave to my children. And I will have a lifestyle to go with that dream.” Their daughters have joined them in the venture. Catherine, a former caterer, became the winemaker; Nathalie, an artist whose work is displayed in the wineries as well as in major galleries, has worked in the vineyard. Catherine began helping in the vineyard while on vacations from her catering job at Google’s Montreal office. “My background is food,” Catherine says. “They had three kitchens there. I planned the meals.” She began working at the winery full-time in 2013, mentoring with consulting winemaker Phil Soo. She took over the cellar in the 2018 vintage.

The vineyard grows Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay Noir. “I couldn’t wait to start this winery for the reason of the Gamay alone,” Ray says, recalling glasses of Beaujolais sipped in those Montreal cafés. “I saw our wine very much to be in the Beaujolais style.” The vinAmité portfolio has grown to suit a wider range of tastes, including a port-style wine called Quest. The first release in 2018 was aged three years in barrel. The winery skipped a few years so that the current release has had seven years in barrel.

Here are notes on the wines, which I tasted during a visit there in June.

vinAmité Chanson D’Amour 2022 ($22). This is a blend of 36% Pinot Gris, 27% Orange Muscat, 24% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Sémillon. This wine delivers lovely aromas and flavours of lemon mingled with guava and stone fruits. 90.

vinAmité Pinot Gris 2022 ($26). Twenty-four hours of skin contact has given this wine delicate pink blush and accentuated the fruity flavours – pear, peach and citrus. The wine’s floral bouquet of aromas includes pear, apple and melon. The texture is generous and the finish is long. 91.

vinAmité Viognier 2022 ($35). This wine was fermented in 500-litre French oak puncheons and aged two months in neutral French oak. It is a richly textured wine with flavours and aromas of guava, papaya and stone fruit. 92.

vinAmité Rosé Reserve 2022 ($36). Made with whole-cluster pressed Pinot Noir, the wine presents with a pale salmon hue, leading to aromas and flavours of strawberry and watermelon. 91.

vinAmité Chardonnay Reserve 2021 ($43). This wine was aged for eight months in French oak (both new and neutral), and was not allowed to go through malolactic fermentation. It has aromas of citrus and apple, leading to rich flavours of apple and melon, with an understated hint of butterscotch and oak. 92.

vinAmité Petit Claret 2020 ($36). This is a blend of 51% Merlot and 49% Cabernet Franc. It begins with aromas of spice and cherries, leading to flavours of black cherry, black currant, with a hint of licorice. Long ripe tannins give the wine a long finish. 91.

vinAmité Compass 2020 ($41). This is a blend of 39% Malbec, 33% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine begins with the classic and enticing aromas of Malbec wines: dark cherry, blueberry, raspberry. The palate delivers flavours of cassis, blueberry and spice. 92.

vinAmité Hidden Corner 2020 ($44). This is a blend of 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Malbec, 24% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot. It is a powerful, almost brooding wine, beginning with aromas of plum, cherry, anise and slate. The palate is rich with concentrated flavours of plum, blueberry jam and dark cherry. 92.

vinAmité Quest NV ($65 for 375 ml). This a fortified Port-style wine made with equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. It was aged seven years in barrel. The oak flavours have integrated well with the flavours of fig, plum and spice. This is a generous and satisfying wine. 93.