Winemaker Marcus Ansems heads new wine club

In a brief e-mail to friends and associates, Australian-born winemaker Marcus Ansems announced on November 12 that he has left Therapy Vineyards to run Hemispheres Wine Guild, a new wine importing club.

Marcus has been the general manager and winemaker at Therapy for the past three years, the latest stop in a varied Canadian winemaking career.

Born in 1974, he comes from the Australian family that formerly owned Mount Langhi-Ghiran, the producer of one of the top Australian Shiraz wines. After getting a winemaking degree from the University of Adelaide, Marcus launched a career as one of Australia's young flying winemakers. He did crushes in South Africa, Tuscany and the Rhone before joining the Creekside winery in Ontario in 1999. In four vintages there, he took Creekside from start-up to a rising star. He also handled the turnaround of Creekside's sister winery in Nova Scotia.

He returned briefly to Australia but was back in Canada in 2004, this time as the winemaker at Blasted Church in the Okanagan. He moved to Therapy the following year when it was starting up. As he left, the winery had just completed its 2008 crush, producing about 11,500 cases. In a matter of weeks, production moves into a new $2 million winery on Therapy's Naramata site.

The successor in Therapy's Cellar is Steve Latchford, a winemaker who has worked with the Jackson-Triggs winery in Niagara and recently with the Holman-Lang group of wineries in the Okanagan.

In his e-mail, Marcus that his new project "will allow me to travel to interesting wine regions with my family and bring back wine [for our members] not currently available in Canada."

He is president of Hemisphere Wine Club, which describes itself as a subscription-based co-operative. It is currently soliciting for members through its website, www.hemisphereswine.ca. For a $500 initiation fee (waived until January 1, 2009) and either monthly or annual payments, members will get quarterly shipments of imported wines chosen for them by Marcus. The quantities vary between eight and 16 cases a year, depending on what members sign up for.

Level one members (eight cases a year) pay either $209 a month of $2,500 a year. Level two members get 12 cases a year for $334 a month. Level three members (16 cases a year, four of which are ultra-premium and another four are icon wines) pay $500 a month or $6,000 a year.

The approximate model appears to be the Opimian Society, a wine club that was launched in 1973 and now claims a national membership of 18,000. The original general partner of the investor group that started Therapy Vineyards, John McBean, ran the Opimian Society in southern Alberta for many years. McBean and Therapy parted company this summer after an acrimonious dispute among the investors.

Ann Sperling is back!

Ann Sperling, one of the finest of Kelowna-born winemakers, made wine this fall in the Okanagan for the first time in 13 years.

Currently based in the Niagara Peninsula, Ann and Peter Gamble, her winemaker husband, are spearheading her family’s new Sperling Vineyards Winery in Kelowna. At the same time, they are winemakers for Camelot Vineyards, another new Kelowna winery. Both wineries expect to be open in the summer of 2009.

The Sperling winery completes the circle of history. Through her mother, Ann is a member of the Casorso family that planted the first vineyard in the Kelowna area in 1925.

The East Kelowna vineyard that supplied grapes for the new winery is on Casorso Road. The first vines were planted here in 1930 by Napoleon Peter (Pete) Casorso, Ann’s grandfather. When he retired in 1960, the vineyard was taken over by his daughter Velma and her husband, Bert Sperling, who are Ann’s parents.

Ann, who was born in 1962 and has a food sciences degree from the University of British Columbia, stared her winemaking career in 1984 at André’s in Port Moody. She went to CedarCreek in 1991 and then moved to Ontario in 1995. There, she consulted for several wineries before becoming the inaugural winemaker for the well-regarded Malivoire winery. Several years ago, she took over as the winemaker at the new Southbrook winery in Niagara, Canada’s first certified biodynamic winery. Ann Sperling sorts grapes

Peter Gamble started his winemaking career at Hillebrand Estates Winery and ran the Ontario VQA program for a number of years. Over the past decade, he has consulted on the launch of several leading Niagara wineries including Stratus. Currently, he and Ann are the consulting winemakers for Benjamin Bridge, a sparkling wine project in Nova Scotia. They also own a seven-acre vineyard of 1920s-era Malbec vines near Mendoza in Argentina and are working with a winemaker there to make premium wines.

As busy as those careers have been, one thing had been missing in Ann’s life. “I have always wanted to make wine with my parents’ vineyard,” she says. “I got to make wine with some of the grapes when I was at CedarCreek, but not anything extensive.”

This summer, the family agreed to move ahead at long last with a small premium winery to complete the Casorso legacy. The partners in the project are Ann’s parents; her oldest sister Susan and brother-in-law Paul Richardson; and Ann and Peter Gamble.

The Casorso legacy is remarkable. It began when Giovanni Casorso (Ann’s great grandfather) arrived from Italy as an agriculturist with Father Pandosy’s Oblate Mission. One of his sons, Charles, planted the first vineyard in the Kelowna area in 1925. Two other sons, Pete and Louis, planted vines five years later on the Casorso Road property (as the street was named years later).

Rosa, Ann’s great grandmother, was the single largest investor in the consortium that launched in 1931 what later became the Calona winery. Subsequently, the Capozzi family acquired control but Pete remained a shareholder in Calona well into the 1960s.

Today, the 45-acre Sperling Vineyard, which sells its fruit to Mission Hill, includes a 45-year-old planting of Maréchal Foch, a 35-year-old planting of Riesling and another old planting of Perle of Csaba (a Muscat variety), along with Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. There are recently planted blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to support the production of premium sparkling wine.

This vintage, Ann and Peter shuttled alternatively between winemaking duties in Ontario and Kelowna. They have produced about 600 cases for Sperling Vineyards (some grapes still hang for icewine) and about 400 cases for Camelot, all of it done this fall in the Camelot winery, located a five-minute drive from the Sperling vineyard.

Camelot is owned by Rob Young and Denise Brass, two Air Canada flight attendants who have lived on an East Kelowna apple orchard for several years. Two years ago, they replaced the trees with vines and erected a winery.

Then serendipity came into play. They needed a winemaker and learned that Ann and Peter needed a facility in which to make the Sperling wines because Sperling has not yet applied for a licence. The Camelot winery was the ideal facility for Sperling’s first vintage. Ann and Peter also signed a three-year agreement to make Camelot’s wines.

This winter, the Sperling family plans to get a winery licence for the Pioneer Country Market, the busy restaurant, market and deli that Velma Sperling as run for years on Kelowna’s Benvoulin Road.

In yet another closing of the circle, the market is just down the road from the Pandosy Mission where Giovanni Casorso got his start in the Okanagan.

Kathy Malone moves to Hillside from Mission Hill

A second surprise has emerged from the Naramata Bench’s Hillside Estate Winery. The new winemaker is Kathy Malone, recruited from the cellars of Mission Hill Family Estate Winery.

She takes the place of Kelly Symonds. As I reported in this blog last month, Kelly is moving to California Cult Classics in North Vancouver, a super-premium U-Vin that works with California grapes.

Kathy is a long-time Mission Hill veteran and has had substantial responsibility for making many of Mission Hill’s best-selling wines. Her move to Hillside is said to be prompted by a desire to work a small winery environment.

How good is Kathy? Put it this way: John Simes, Mission Hill’s senior winemaker, is advertising for two winemakers to replace her. One position is for a “commercial” winemaker to deal with the non-VQA wines that are made with imported wines.

The other is for a winemaker to take over production of Mission Hill’s growing range of small lot wines, such as the just released Quatrain (red blend) and the Perpetua Chardonnay.

Wade Stark, who has worked with Kathy for the last 10 years, looks after the bulk of the VQA portfolio, including the Prospect Winery products.

In the week that Mission Hill has advertised the positions, the winery has received more than 50 resumes, including applications from France, from Italy, from Napa and Australia.

According to Simes, some of the resumes are quite impressive.

“I think we are going to get someone who will bring some serious experience,” he says. “It has absolutely blown me away. People are noticing that there is real winemaking going on in the Okanagan.”

Tinhorn Creek wines may not follow the price rise trend

Tinhorn Creek’s 2005 Oldfield’s Collection Merlot, just released at $28 a bottle, should be a $35 wine on the basis of its inherent quality.

There’s a good chance that the next vintage of this premium red will also sell for less than $35. Over the next few weeks, the management at Tinhorn will sit down to talk about wine pricing for next year’s releases, just as the economy shows signs of tanking.



“We wonder if this is the time to raise the price,” admits Sandra Oldfield, the general manager and the winemaker at Tinhorn Creek.

That is great news for consumers who have come to expect Tinhorn Creek to deliver value. Indeed, in Wine Access magazine’s recent International Wine Awards competition, the winery’s $18 “regular” 2005 Merlot was judged the best value Merlot.

If a market leader like Tinhorn Creek is thinking of holding prices, look for many of its peers to do the same. If that happens, VQA wine, now averaging about $18 a bottle, should plateau after rising from a $13 average a decade ago. That is not an unreasonable price, given the limited scale of production in the Okanagan compared with, say, the massive wineries in Chile
or Argentina.

By Okanagan standards, Tinhorn Creek is a large winery. Its annual production of about 40,000 cases gives it the financial resources to hold the price line during tough times. Perhaps the owners should have been more aggressive when pricing their Oldfield’s Collection or reserve wines when the opportunity was there a year or two ago. But they didn’t. The Tinhorn Creek fans are going to get relative bargains for a year or so at least.

The Oldfield’s Collection 2 Bench White 2007, the winery’s top white, is only $23 a bottle. This wine has a marvellous tropical fruit aroma, good mineral and fruit notes on the palate and a crisply dry finish. It is a blend of five white varieties: Sémillon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and a dash of Muscat. It is an outstanding food wine. 88

The Oldfield’s Collection Merlot 2005 ($28) is a dark red with attractive aromas of red fruit and vanilla that are preserved by the screw cap closure. This elegantly svelte wine has flavours of plums and blackberries. While the tannins are long and ripe, there is a structure here that suggests good aging potential as well. This wine, which has eight percent Cabernet

Franc and two percent Syrah, spent 16 months in new French and American oak and as long again aging in bottle before release. The winery produced 1,551 cases. 90

Tinhorn Creek also released two other reds in October. The 2006 Cabernet Franc ($18) – the winemaker once said this is her favourite red – has the bright fruit aromas and the vivacious flavours of spicy currants and blackberry that are typical of the variety. The wine has a firm texture but is drinking well already. Some 2,566 cases were released. 87

The 2006 Cabernet Merlot ($18) is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot. The varietals were aged separately in American oak before being blended and bottled last spring. The Cabernet Franc contributes aromas of red currants and mint. On the palate, the wine has a generous texture and an easy quaffability. The winery made 1,611 cases. 86

New releases: Pentage Winery's six pack

The Pentâge Winery at the south edge of the Penticton city limits has, for the most part, flown beneath the radar screen since opening in 2003. There are a couple of reasons why founders Paul Garner and Julie Rennie have maintained a low profile.

First, there has been no tasting room because, until recently, Julie continued to work at her day job in Vancouver (executive secretary to a top financier). Meanwhile, Paul was fully engaged with created a spectacular winery in 4,000 square-foot man-made cave in the mountainside. It has taken him at least two years but the cave was completed for the 2008 crush. There is a spot set aside for a wine shop.

Secondly, Paul’s real priority has been the development and nurturing of his vineyards, most of which now are producing good quality grapes.

With most of the heavy lifting done, the owners of Pentâge now seem to have a little more time to tweak their marketing. This fall’s release included six wines spanning three vintages, including three 2007 whites. The latter come along just as 2007 Okanagan whites – most of which are released earlier in the year – are getting hard to find.

Not only are the wines good but, unlike some wineries, this one has its prices rooted in reality. The wines are well-priced for the quality, in some instances better than the international competition.

The release includes the winery’s flagship red, Pentâge 2005 ($29). The winery’s unusual name is rooted in the Greek word for five, pente, because there would be five varietals blended in the winery’s best wine. The 2005 is a blend of 45% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Syrah and 1% Gamay. The result is a wine with a powerful aroma of plums and spice and sweet fruit that just explodes from the glass. The flavours are a complex play of red currants, liquorice, chocolate and spice, laid over an earthy minerality. The structure is firm and robust. This wine drinks well now with decanting but can easily be cellared for another five years. 89 with potential to break into the 90s with age.

Pentâge Merlot 2005 ($25) begins with red berry aromas and flavours of currants, spice, plums and vanilla. The structure is robust with long ripe tannins and good concentration. It is a touch firm on the finish but that suggests the wine also has a fine potential to age. 88

Pentâge Pinot Noir 2006 ($23) has an attractive ruby hue in the glass. The aroma begins with a touch of toastiness as well as cherry. This is a bold, even gamy, Pinot Noir, with red berry flavours and a hint of that earthiness that Burgundy lovers appreciate. 87

Pentâge Gewürztraminer 2007 ($18) is an excellent Alsace-style of this variety; a boldly fruity but dry wine ideal for serving with your Christmas turkey, at a lot less that Alsace gewürztraminer. The wine has spice on the nose, with flavours of citrus and lychee and a spicy finish. The texture is rich and the finish is long and satisfying. 90

Pentâge Sauvignon Blanc-Sémillon 2007 ($20). A wine with greenish tinges, it has an attractive grapefruit aroma. Not surprisingly, there are also grapefruit flavours, with a good backbone of acidity and minerals and with a dry finish. This tangy wine is a good food wine. 87

Pentâge Pinot Gris 2007 ($18). This is a lean, tangy Pinot Gris, with aromas and flavours of lemon and with bracing acidity, which is surprising since the 13.5% alcohol suggests the grapes were picked close to optimum ripeness. The wine is crisp and refreshing; it needs food to show off its best qualities. 86

The wines can be ordered on-line from the winery's website, www.pentage.com

New releases: Quails' Gate reds

There was little respect for Maréchal Foch wines in British Columbia before an Australian winemaker at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery in 1994 made an Old Vines Foch so big and rich that he passed it off at one tasting (only briefly) as an Australian Shiraz.

The wine has had a cult following ever since the first release. The winery has just released the 12th vintage, some 9,300 bottles of the 2006 Old Vines Foch Reserve at $40 a bottle. Who would have predicted that a wine from a French hybrid grape not even permitted anymore in Europe would command such a serious price? And deserve it.

Once again, this is a bold, robust wine with a dark, almost brooding hue in the glass. There are aromas of vanilla and plum, along with flavours of vanilla, mocha, plum and black cherries, even with a hint of port. The texture is rich and round, with soft tannins. The wine has been aged in new American oak barrels which add a note of spice. It is a very satisfying red, just the wine for game dishes. 90 points.

The secret here is that the grapes come from 40-year-old vines in the estate vineyard at Westbank that are well-farmed. The knock on Foch in the 1980s was that the wines were thin and medicinal. The problem was that the vines, which are quite vigorous, were over-cropped by virtually all growers. When Quails’ Gate started cropping Foch at low tonnages comparable to its vinifera grapes, lovely full-flavoured wines resulted.

A few vintages ago, Quails’ Gate bought an Osoyoos vineyard that has Foch vines which currently are 26 years old. These grapes go into the 2006 Old Vines Foch ($25) and the winery has released 26,500 bottles of this wine. Once again, the wine is dark enough to practically stain a table clothe through the glass. The aromas and flavours include plums, black cherries and mocha. The wine is slightly less concentrated than the OVF Reserve, which probably has something to do with the sandy soil in the vineyard. The alcohol is higher, at 14.8% compared with 14.4%, because grapes get riper in hot Osoyoos. It’s another delicious wine, also great for game. 87

Two other fine reds also have just been released by Quails’ Gate.

The winery has released 6,200 cases (12-bottle cases) of 2006 Merlot ($27), made primarily from grapes grown at the estate vineyard near Westbank. Winemaker Grant Stanley, who likes to live on the edge, fermented the wine with wild yeasts. He also gave it extended skin contact to extract maximum colour and flavour. The result is a plump, full-bodied Merlot. It begins with attractive aromas of red berries. It is layered and complex on the palate, tasting of plums, red fruit and chocolate, with long ripe tannins. 89

The winery also released 2,200 cases of 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($27), all of it from grapes grown on the Westbank vineyard. It says a lot for how well the vines are farmed that the winery makes a Cabernet so good from a comparatively cool site. This wine is every bit as delicious as Cabernets from hotter terroirs in the Oliver and Osoyoos area. Winemaker Stanley approached this much as he did the Merlot (both were aged 18 months in French and American oak barrels).

A medium-bodied wine, it is deep in colour, with aromas of spicy red berries, vanilla, chocolate and the classic cedar/cigar box note that Bordeaux lovers will appreciate. The long ripe tannins frame attractive sweet berry flavours on the palate. 89

The bottom line: four very solid red wines.

Deol Winery is newest Cowichan Valley winery

Gary Deol (l), grower and co-owner.

The Cowichan Valley’s newest winery, Deol Estate Winery, opened quietly last Saturday. It is the seventh British Columbia winery operated by an East Indian family; and there are others under development.

This is the classic story of immigrants who, after doing hard scrabble work when they arrived in British Columbia, are now part of the main stream of the province’s vibrant wine industry.

By a remarkable coincidence, Deol is the third winery owned by East Indian immigrants to open this year. Kalala Organic Estate Winery opened in July in Westbank. Chandra Estate Winery near Oliver began selling wines this summer but plans a grand opening next spring.

Already thriving are Westbank’s Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery (which opened in 2001); Desert Hills Estate Winery (2003) and Orchard Hill Estate Cidery (2007), both near Oliver; and Richmond’s Sanduz Estate Winery (2006).

Surgit Deol’s family immigrated to Canada from the Punjab in 1980, and spent a few years in the Cowichan Valley before moving to Oliver in 1982. As Surgit’s son, Gary remembers, there were perhaps four East Indian families there at the time. Today, he estimates that 300 live there and a number of adapted their Punjabi farming skills to growing grapes. In a growing number of examples, this has progressed to opening well-regarded wineries.

In the 1980s, the Deols, in addition to operating their own orchard, worked in some of the leading vineyards in the south Okanagan. When the searing Okanagan sun caused some health problems, they decided to return to the more moderate Cowichan Valley.

In 1999, the family bought a former dairy farm north of Duncan and, starting the following year, developed a 23-acre vineyard (Gamay, Maréchal Foch, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and a few odds and sods). They have been selling grapes to other Vancouver Island but in 2007, looking to extract more value from their farm, they kept back enough fruit to make 1,600 cases of wine.

The cool, wet 2007 vintage on Vancouver Island challenged vineyards trying to ripen wine grapes. The winery owners turned this to an advantage. Rather than make insipid reds from the Gamay and the Pinot Noir, they made a refreshing rosé with the Gamay and a crisp white wine with the Pinot Noir. They froze the Chardonnay grapes and then made an Oregon-style icewine.

Maréchal Foch, the workhorse of Vancouver Island, seldom fails to ripen; so the winery was able to make a full-bodied, barrel-aged red.

All the wines are available currently in a tasting room that the Deol family has built in a renovated century-old farm house. Like the family and like the wines, it has a warm, unpretentious ambiance.