French Door will have wines in its tasting room

Photo: Jason Shull

Any Okanagan winery with Pascal Madevon as consulting winemaker is assured of having excellent wines in its portfolio. French Door Estate Winery is one of Pascal’s clients. Trained at Bordeaux’s top wine school, Pascal came to the Okanagan to make the wines for the Osoyoos Larose Winery, beginning with the 2001 vintage. He hung out his shingle as a consultant after ten vintages at Osoyoos Larose.

Jason and Audra Shull retained Pascal when they developed French Door, their estate winery which they established in 2019 on Black Sage Road, just south of Oliver. They had purchased an existing winery with a seven-acre vineyard, extensively renovating it to develop one of the most attractive tastings rooms on Black Sage. “It is a lovely project,” Pascal told me at the time.

On the website, Jason and Audra explained why they called the winery French Door. “Our family was inspired by the simplicity and quality of French architecture, cuisine and wine during our travels to Provence. We believe the Okanagan valley has a similar uniqueness about it, and we wanted to bring these parallels to life through the way our wine is made and discussed. The symbol of the “French door” is representative of our aspiration to incorporate the traditional aesthetics and values of beautiful Provence into our own backyard, with a modern twist. Our tasting room is encircled by French doors, and each one opens up into a new experience. Whether the doors lead you into our breathtaking barrel room, or onto our one-of-a-kind patio that overlooks the Okanagan valley, you are welcomed by an unspeakable aura that has been created by using the best features of Provence and the Okanagan combined, and this can only be found at French Door Estate Winery.”

The severe cold in January 2024 was especially damaging to the vineyards on Black Sage Road. The estate vineyard at French Door produced almost no fruit this fall. Several acres will need to be replanted next spring. However, Jason was fortunate that he had contracted a 10-acre Osoyoos vineyard which produced both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. As it happened, a number of Osoyoos area vineyards were able to produce modest harvests in 2024 because, at the time of the January freeze, Osoyoos Lake had not frozen over yet. The open water moderated the cold, with the result that most vineyards in the area survived and often yielded crops. “We got lucky,” Jason says. “We will produce enough wine to open our wine shop.

Here are two of the reds the winery may have when you next visit French Door.

French Door Merlot 2022 ($78 for 140 cases). This wine ranks among the Okanagan’s best Merlots, with price that telegraphs the winery’s ambition. Aged 16 months in French oak, the wine is richly concentrated. It begins with aromas of plum, cherry and chocolate. The palate delivers flavours of dark cherry, plum, cassis mingled with black olives and spice. The finish is persistent. 94.

French Door Héritage 2021 ($54). This is a blend of 30% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Malbec, 6% Syrah and 6% Petit Verdot. The wine was aged 16 months in French oak. The wine begins with aromas of cherries and strawberries mingled with hints of spice and chocolate. The palate delivers dark red fruits, chocolate and spice. The finish lingers. 94.