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.

Painted Rock Winery had a 2024 harvest

Photo: Lauren Skinner Buksevics

In a normal vintage, Painted Rock Estate Winery’s Skaha Bluff vineyard yields up to 120 tons of grapes. Because of the devastating January freeze, 2024 was not a normal year. Painted Rock picked just 10 tons of grapes – mostly Chardonnay and some red varietals processed for rosé.

Painted Rock at least had a harvest when many other producers had to import grapes. Credit goes to proprietor John Skinner for choosing a good site in the early 2000’s after a four-year search for a vineyard. The site’s exceptional air flow and its exposure to the moderating influence of Skaha Lake gives the vineyard resilience in hard winters. Painted Rock had an almost normal harvest in 2023 when the less devastating December 2022 freeze reduced the overall production of Okanagan vineyards to about a third of normal. Credit is also due to Alain Sutre, the Bordeaux consultant who has worked with Painted Rock since 2005 (and who has recently announced he is retiring gradually). He had the vineyard adopt methods which drove the vine roots deep, giving them more protection from the cold.

“In December, 2022, when we had that first freeze event, Alain said the roots are so deep that the plants do not even know it is cold out,” recounts Lauren Skinner Buksevics, the winery’s marketing manager and John Skinner’s daughter. “It worked for that cold snap; not quite as well for the next cold snap.” She continues: “We are doing everything we can to ensure production for next year. By harvesting early for rosé, we are giving the plants longer time to shut down. We are not trying to hang fruit into late November. Everything has been off the vine since the end of September. This plants now have a good long time to shut down for winter.”

Painted Rock has 25 acres under vine. All the plants are alive, with the exception of parts of the Syrah blocks, where 2,200 vines will be replanted next year. Syrah is notoriously tender but most producers persist with it because, in a good year, Okanagan Syrah produces some of the best reds in the valley. Painted Rock has a stellar reputation for its Syrah. In addition to Chardonnay and Syrah, Painted Rock’s vineyard has all the major Bordeaux red varietals. At least two clones of each varietal are grown to afford more blending options to winemaker Gabriel Reis.

“It is a funny story about how he got those clones in the first place,” Lauren said during a recent presentation to a North Vancouver wine club. “The Bordelaise are not fond of handing out their best clones. When he was doing his planting strategy, viticulturists told John which were the best options for clones. He went to a broker in Bordeaux and said he needed all of these. The guy said, sure, no problem. But I can’t get you that clone but I can get one that is almost as good. My dad said he was not doing ‘almost as good’. He said he wanted exactly what he as ordering. He was told he could not because the nurseries give them initially to first growth producers … and it goes down in the hierarchy. And Canada is way down on the hierarchy. So dad, who is a very stubborn man, asked for the name of the nursery contacts. His course of action was to go and bribe them.” That worked one time only. Painted Rock can no longer get those vines from French nurseries. John Skinner solved that issue by having vines propagated in the Okanagan from the premium clones already established in his vineyard.

Painted Rock wines are made exclusively with estate-grown grapes, which is why the winery is not importing any grapes this year. “We are 100% estate,” Lauren says. “We never co-mingle anything. We never buy fruit. Even in these years, we are not going to buy fruit; we are not going to do anything in Washington or Oregon. I respect the wineries that need to do that for viability. We are lucky that our plants are alive. But I said at the beginning that my dad is uncompromising when it comes to making a decision and sticking to it. He spent four years looking for the property. I don’t think he could find grapes elsewhere to make what he is passionate about.”

“My intention in the last couple of years was to stall the release of our reds,” Lauren continued. “You have 2021 reds in front of you. They are still young wines that are built to age. We are just releasing the 2021 Red Icon now. That is intentional. That is a good thing when I am looking down the barrel of not having a 2024 vintage. That I have some held back gives me some wiggle room to make sure we are always serving our long-standing customers, and not running out of anything too quickly.”

Here are notes on four Painted Rock wines that she poured for the wine club tasting.

Painted Rock Chardonnay 2023 ($44.99). This attractive Chardonnay has aromas and flavours of citrus, apples and stone fruits with a well-integrated hint of spicy oak on the finish. 92.

Painted Rock Cabernet Franc 2021 ($54.99). The winery has a three-acre block of this varietal. The fruit was picked mid-November, 2021, a hangtime allowing full flavour development. The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. The wine begins with aromas of herbs, spice and dark cherry. On the palate, there are the classic brambly flavours of this varietal. The tannins still have a bit of grip. This wine will age superbly. 92.

Painted Rock Syrah 2021 ($49.99). The summer of 2021 was unusually hot, leading to very ripe fruit and a wine in this case that has 15.6% alcohol. Once again, the concentrated flavours and rich texture along with good acidity balance this wine. The wine was aged 18 months in oak (80% French, 20% American) of which 30% was new. The wine begins with aromas of violets, cherries and white pepper. The palate delivers a medley of dark fruit flavours, including fig, plum and cherry with a hint of pepper and spice. 93.

Painted Rock Red Icon 2021 ($79.99). The blend is 41% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec and 8% Petit Verdot. The wine was aged 18 months in French oak (30% new). The wine begins with a cornucopia of aromas: cherry, blueberry, cassis, hint of chocolate and spice. The concentrated texture delivers flavours of dark fruits. There is a persistent and polished finish. 96.

Remembering winemaker Ron Taylor

Photo: Ron Taylor

Ron Taylor, a major figure in British Columbia winemaking, died in Kelowna on October 22 at the age of 82. He will be remembered as one of the creators of Baby Duck in 1971, the sparkling wine that was Canada’s top selling wine in the 1970s.

Born in Vancouver, Ron had a microbiology degree from the University of British Columbia when he was hired in 1970 by Andrés Wines Ltd. (now Andrew Peller Ltd.), which then had its winery in Port Moody, a Vancouver suburb. He quickly advanced to assistant winemaker and then chief winemaker. He spent 22 years at Andrés before leaving to pursue an active career as a consulting winemaker. An off-dry carbonated wine with seven percent alcohol, Baby Duck was inspired by more alcoholic sparkling wines made by several American wineries. The lower alcohol in the Andrés product attracted less tax and sold at popular prices. Flush with the Canadian success, Andrés even tried to launch it in Britain, without success.

Ron’s talents stretched to making well-crafted Okanagan varietals at Andrés after the winery began investing in Okanagan vineyards. In 1992, the year he left Andrés, he was awarded the BC wine industry’s Founder’s Award, honouring his contributions - even though his career would extend another three decades.

One of his contributions was mentoring young winemakers. Most notably, he hired the first female winemakers in the BC wine industry – Lynn Bremmer and Ann Sperling, both of whom justified his talent-spotting by going on to distinguished careers in wine. Ron appears to have been sensitized to the absence of women winemakers while taking a white winemaking course at the University of California Davis in 1974. “Of the 181 students, there were only two women,” Ron told me once. “I sat two seats over and one row back of Zelma Long [who was then at the Robert Mondavi winery]. “Mary Ann Graf of Simi Winery was the other.” Both had significant careers in wine.

Lynn Bremmer had joined Andrés in 1973 as a laboratory technician. Ron soon made her assistant winemaker over the objections of the winery’s general manager who happened to be John Bremmer. They subsequently married and went on to have major winemaking and consulting roles in the BC wine industry. I recounted the story in my 2022 memoir:

“ ‘John decided that winemakers were traditionally male and probably should continue to be male,’ Lynn recalled in 2021. ‘He told Ron perhaps I was not suited to become a winemaker, and he should look for a replacement. Ron stood by me, and we continue as good friends to this day.’ John recalled the incident differently. He told me he was not objecting, just asking whether the candidate could handle a particular job responsibility. ‘I did not care of which gender and that was never an issue,’ John told me. Ron also hired Ann Sperling for Andrés in 1984 in spite of stiff opposition from the winery’s vice-president of production in Ontario. “I remember the phone call very well,” Ron told me. “‘What have you bleep, bleep done’?” [the vice-president snapped.] “‘You know that’s not our policy!’” Ann went on to a very successful career in Canadian winemaking.

After leaving Andrés to work with a bottled water company, Ron returned to wine, this time with an extensive list of fruit wineries throughout BC and Washington state. “Projects started falling from the sky,” he told me. He even went to China several times to consult on cider projects.

One of his more than a dozen fruit winery clients was the Westham Island Winery (now Angel Estate Winery), where a profusion of fruits and berries gave him creative scope. Ron revisited the Baby Duck idea by making a summertime rosé from the Concord and Maréchal Foch grapes. “It is called Just Ducky,” he told me. One of the more challenging clients was the Constantin & Vasilica Winery near Cultus Lake in the Fraser Valley. The owners, who spoke little English, were born in Romania. They had bought the property without any background in fruit wines. They appreciated their consulting winemaker. “Thank God for Mr. Ron,” Vasilica Nemtanu, one of the owners, told me. Because the farm included 20 acres of hazelnuts, Ron proposed making a hazelnut dessert wine – having already done for another client, Samson Estate Winery in Linden, Washington. British Columbia regulators turned Ron down, contending that nuts cannot be fermented.

When Sleeping Giant Fruit Winery opened at Summerland in 2008, Ron was engaged as the winemaker and was working there until his death. Here, he has made perhaps the most extensive portfolio of his career: 19 table wines and 12 dessert wines. On its website, Sleeping Giant has this to say about him: “Ron has infused his high standards into Sleeping Giant Fruit Winery and has brought a commitment to perfecting his trade. His efforts have won awards and acknowledgement from his peers, as well as praise from visitors to Sleeping Giant with crafted wines that draw attention to detail, resulting in a wide range of varietals that are distinctive and exemplary.”

He has had an extraordinary life in wine and he will be missed by his many friends and clients.

Mt. Boucherie taps old vines for complex wines

Photo: Director of winemaking Jeff Hundertmark

The current releases from Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery often are made with fruit from vineyards in the Okanagan and the Similkameen Valley that often were planted 20 or more years ago. The richness and complexity of the wines has always reflected the fact that the grapes were being sourced from mature vineyards. I would advise picking up these wines as they become available. The admirable style of Mt. Boucherie wines has been interrupted by the devastation the January freeze delivered to the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys.

“Yes, it is sure is an abysmal year,” Jeff Hundertmark, the director of winemaking, told me in mid-September. “We had very spotty fruit in the vineyards, so we decided the best thing for the health of the vines was to drop it early and let the vines heal. It seems to have worked as the late season heat really pushed and saved vines we thought were going to be lost.” That is very good news, considering the importance of mature vines.

With no fruit this year from its traditional vineyards, Mt. Boucherie sourced its red varietals from vineyards in Washington and Oregon. Mt. Boucherie’s cellar team supervised the picking. The grapes were fermented in the winery’s modern cellar in West Kelowna. “I am heading to Niagara to work with some of my favourite growers from when I was there and crushing the grapes to juice for Riesling, Gamay (for rosé) and some assorted whites for a house blend,” Jeff told me. “I will be working with the winemaker of Niagara College Teaching Winery and some students.” That is one of many anecdotes that illustrate how creative British Columbia wineries have had to be to make the 2024 vintage.

Here are notes on some current releases from Mt. Boucherie.

Mt. Boucherie Original Vines Sémillon 2022 ($34.99). The fruit is from the winery’s Lost Horn Vineyard at Okanagan Falls. A portion of the juice was fermented in stainless steel and a portion was fermented in French barriques. The lots were blended and spent a further two months in stainless steel. The result was a rich and complex wine, beginning with aromas of quince and citrus and leading to flavours of quince and stone fruits. 92.

Mt. Boucherie Reserve Chardonnay 2022 ($29.99). There is fruit here from vineyards in the Similkameen and Okanagan Falls. The wine was aged 13 months in French oak (50% new). The result is a full-bodied, creamy textured wine. It has aromas of orchard fruits with flavours of apple and nectarine. The oak manifests as spice on the finish. 90.

Mt. Boucherie Original Vines PTG 2022 ($34.99). The blend is 45% Gamay Noir, 35% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Gris. All the fruit is from the Similkameen Valley. The wine has aromas of cherry and cranberry which is echoed on the palate. PTG is inspired by a traditional Burgundy blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir. The Pinot Gris is here presumably to perk the acidity and the fruity flavours. 89.

Mt. Boucherie Merlot 2022 ($24.99). The fruit is from vineyards in the Okanagan and in the Similkameen Valleys. The richly-textured wine begins with aromas of cherry, raspberry and spice. On the palate, there are flavours of black currant and blueberry. 90.

Mt. Boucherie Reserve Syrah 2022 ($44.99). The fruit for this delicious wine is from a vineyard in the Similkameen and two in the south Okanagan. The wine was aged 15 months in French and Hungarian oak (20% new). As one expects from Syrah, this is a bold wine with aromas and flavours of cherry, plum and fig. The wine has a classic note of pepper in the flavour and the finish. 93.

Mt. Boucherie Reserve Meritage 2022 ($34.99). The fruit is from vineyards in both the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. The blend is 48% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged 14 months in American and European oak (15% new). The wine begins with aromas of dark fruits mingled with chocolate. On the palate, the flavours are luscious, with notes of black currant, blueberry, dark cherry and spice. The finish is persistent. 92.

SpearHead releases two Pinot Noirs from 2022

Photo: Winemaker Grant Stanley

Pinot Noir is now the second most widely planted grape variety in British Columbia and the fastest-growing red. Arguably, no winemaker has contributed more to the success of the varietal in BC than Grant Stanley. Grant was born in Vancouver in 1967 but started his winemaking career in New Zealand, including six vintages with Ata Rangi, a legendary Pinot Noir producer. He returned to Canada to join Quails’ Gate Estate Winery in the Okanagan in 2003.

“You know I am a Pinot guy,” Grant told me at the time. “I don’t advertise it but with all the different varieties I make, I still spend about 80 percent of my time thinking about Pinot Noir. I think it has a positive spin-off on the other wines. There is a lot you can learn about Pinot that you can apply to other winemaking. It really is the tricky grape to make. If you can learn with it and understand it, you can ask: if that works for Pinot, will it work for Merlot?”

He left Quails’ Gate for several years at 50th Parallel Winery in Lake Country, another Pinot Noir specialist. Since 2017, Grant has been the winemaker and general manager at SpearHead Winery, an East Kelowna producer also with a major focus on Pinot Noir. Like most East Kelowna producers, SpearHead has been struggling with winter damage in recent vintages. Not much wine was produced from the 15-acre estate vineyard in the 2023 vintage and none in 2024. SpearHead got “not a single grape from SpearHead or grower vineyards this year!” Grant writes. Next spring, the winery intends to replant both of its vineyards, Gentlemen Farmer and Saddle Block, with Pinot Noir and Riesling. Happily for SpearHead fans, the winery has inventory from 2022 that it is releasing now.

The lack of BC grapes has not deterred SpearHead from making wine this fall. Indeed, it is expanding the selection of wines in its portfolio. “Vintage 2024 has been excellent with some fabulous grapes from Washington and Oregon arriving by refrigerated truck,” Grant writes. “From Washington, I have Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay and Syrah. From Willamette Valley in Oregon (Amity Eola hills AVA), Pinot Noir has come from the magnificent Cherry hill Vineyard. I am excited and grateful that we were allowed access to amazing grapes from our colleagues in the US.”

Consumers should look forward to SpearHead’s releases from the 2024 vintage. Meanwhile, here are notes on two current releases from 2022.

SpearHead Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir 2022 ($36 for 758 cases). The fruit is from vineyards in East Kelowna and Summerland. This wine was made with clones 115, 777 and 667. They were fermented separately and aged 13 months in French oak (25% new). This is something of a thespian wine, strutting on stage with dramatic aromas of cherry, mocha and spice. These are echoed on the silky textured palate. The upfront fruit gives this wine immediate appeal. 92.

SpearHead Cuvée Pinot Noir 2022 ($46 for 310 cases). This wine, again with fruit from Summerland and East Kelowna, is SpearHead’s age-worthy flagship Pinot Noir. It is made with clones 667, 115, 828 and 777 and was aged 13 months in French oak (40% new). The aromas of dark cherry and spice are mingled with flavours of dark fruits with earthy forest floor notes on the finish. The texture is robust. The wine should be decanted for current consumption. 92.