Gray Monk's George Heiss Jr.'s 25th anniversary

Today is the 25th anniversary of George Heiss Jr's career as the winemaker with family-owned Gray Monk Estate Winery.

That makes him the one of the longest-tenured winemakers in the Okanagan.

(The deans of Okanagan winemakers still active are Ron Taylor, who began his career in 1970 with Andres; Elias Phiniotis, who began his career at Uncle Ben's in 1978 and has since been active with 20 wineries; Sandhill's Howard Soon, who joined Calona Vineyards in 1980 (under Elias Phiniotis); Walter Gehringer, who began working in Canada after his 1978 graduation from Geisenheim.)

Calona is a sister winery to Sandhill and Howard is the master wnemaker overseeing Calona, Peller Estates and Red Rooster as well as Sandhill. Walter and his younger brother, Gordon, operate the Gehringer Brothers winery which opened in 1986.

At Gray Monk, George (in photo above) and associate winemaker Roger Wong are preparing for the 2009 vintage in a winery that has just completed its latest expansion, adding a much larger tasting room, a floor of new offices for the staff (including the winemakers) and more room in the cellar. As well, the cosmetic changes to this popular north Okanagan winery give it a grand European appearance (see above).

Gray Monk, which opened in 1982, was founded by the winemaker's parents: Austrian-born George Heiss Sr. and his German-born wife, Trudy. In 1976, they were among the first - perhaps the first Okanagan growers - to import Pinot Gris, Auxerrois and Gewürztraminer vines to the Okanagan from an Alsace nursery. These remain some of Gray Monk's most important varieties. Today, however, the winery, either from family-owned vineyards or from contract growers, produces one of the largest portfolios of any BC producer.

The winery's initial vintages were made primarily by consultant Lynn Stark because George Jr. was still at wine school in Weinsberg in Germany.

Born in 1962 in Edmonton, George Jr. was sent to Germany at 18 to learn winemaking. He apprenticed with the Louis Guntrum winery at Nierstein before taking his professional courses at Weinsberg. He graduated in 1984, returning to his family's winery that summer.

The German training was appropriate for the varieties then dominating Gray Monk's portfolio. For many years, Gray Monk's white wines took a disproportionate number of gold medals each year at the Okanagan Wine Festival competitions.

Gray Monk was primarily a white wine house until the early 1990s. The first red wines, added to the portfolio at that time, were made without barrel-aging. George Sr. used to say that if people wanted wood, they should chew a 2x4.

That is no longer the case. The winery now has a barrel cellar to make reds that compete with those from peer wineries. As well, the winery in recent years has begun to make some excellent sparkling wines in the traditional method of Champagne, reflecting one of Roger Wong's skills.

Gray Monk is one of the few Canadian wineries that can boast of having four generations involved, counting Trudy's late father, Hugo Peter. He was the first member of the family to plant grapes in the Okanagan. In fact, Hugo went to Europe to source the vines that were imported from Alsace.

Today, George Sr. and Trudy continue as Gray Monk's ambassadors at large, having brought their entire family into management. Robert Heiss, the eldest of the three Heiss brothers, is Gray Monk's general manager while Stephen, youngest of the three, looks after marketing and information technology. One of Robert's sons is involved in viticulture. All the brothers operate vineyards.

Gray Monk's expanded winery is just the latest of the many additions that been completed since the winery first opened. The original winery nestled discreetly on the slope, surrounded by vineyards. The handsome facility just opening is anything but discreet as Gray Monk, now making 80,000 cases a year, scrambles to accommodate the thousands who visit the winery every year.

With a fine year-round restaurant, Gray Monk has become a destination Okanagan winery. Happily, it has managed to do so without losing the warm personality of the Heiss family.

My favourite wines at Gray Monk include:

Odyssey Merlot 2006 ($23.99) All of Gray Monk's reserve wines are released under the Odyssey label. This is a rich, full-bodied Merlot, with concentrated fruit - flavours of currants, blackberries, liquorice - and long ripe tannins. 90

Odyssey Pinot Noir 2006 ($26.99) A single-vineyard Pinot Noir, this is grown by Bill Collings in Okanagan Falls. The wine is firm in texture (suggesting ageability) with flavours of cherries and chocolate. 88

Odyssey White Brut 2006 ($26.99) This is a delicious and complex dry sparkling with with crisp notes of citrus but also with a creamy texture. The wine is based on Riesling, Chardonnay Musque and a touch of Pinot Noir. 88

Odyssey Rosé Brut NV ($26.99) This is a refreshing and festive wine, with delicate fruit flavours and a slightly off-dry finish. 88

Odyssey III ($19.99 for 500 ml) This is a port-style wine with delicious flavours of chocolate, red berries and liquorice. 88

Pinot Gris 2008 ($17.99)The winery's signature wine, this presents a big palate of ripe pear flavours with a touch of spice and grapefruit on the finish. 88

Chardonnay Unwooded 2008 ($16.99) Gray Monk was one of the first Okanagan wineries to recognize the virtues of Chardonnay without wood flavours. This is a refreshing white with notes of citrus on the nose and the palate. 88

Gewürztraminer 2008 ($16.99)This is a classic expression of the variety, beginning with spicy aromas. On the palate, there are layers of fruit, including grapefruit and lychee, with spice on the finish. 88

Latitude 50 Rosé 2007 ($13.99 - $11.99 currently in the wine shop) The winery's Latitude 50 series - red, white and pink - offer great value, one reason why they constitute half of the winery's production. The pink one is especially delicious, with its cherry flavours and its crisp, refreshing finish. 88

New releases from See Ya Later Ranch

Shortly after Vincor Canada took over Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards in 2000, I suggested to one of its senior officers that the winery’s unusual dog legacy presented a good marketing opportunity.

It took Vincor several years to take up this idea – probably not until one of their own marketers had conceived the idea independently and passed it through a focus group or two. Big companies do not go out on a limb without research.

Subsequently, the wine group has plunged in with considerable enthusiasm. There are four dogs memorialized on the labels of current releases.

This is the background. This Okanagan Falls winery is on property owned for over 40 years by Major Hugh Fraser, who died in 1970. A pet enthusiast – he was president of the Penticton chapter of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – he owned at least 12 different digs in succession. He buried the dogs under headstones which can now be viewed in a circle under a tree outside the winery’s tasting room.

Several years ago, Hawthorne Mountain created a premium label, See Ya Later Ranch, and that in time has become the name for the winery as well.

The legend is that the major’s British bride returned to Britain in the 1920s, leaving a note saying “See ya later.” The more likely story is that the major scrawled See ya later at the conclusion of his letters; and he was a prolific correspondent.

The SYL labels included the image of a cute white dog with wings, flying, presumably, to whatever heavens dogs go to. Then the winemaker, reacting to all the dog lovers in the world, began crafting wines which carry the names of several of the major’s dogs.

The first was an excellent red Meritage blend called Ping. The next was a terrific white blend (Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sémillon, called Jimmy My Pal.

The latest releases recall two more of the major’s dogs: Rover and Nelly.

This winery doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to welcoming dog owners and their pets. Dogs are definitely welcome at See Ya Later Ranch, one of the few Okanagan wineries with water accessible to pets.

Here are notes on the current releases:

See Ya Later Gewürztraminer 2008 ($16.99). This wine, available in the Liquor Distribution Branch as well as private stores, has just won a Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence. It begins with appealing aromas of spice and grapefruit, continues on to juicy flavours of pink grapefruit. The spicy Muscat bite on the finish and the refreshing acidity define the elegant structure. 90

See Ya Later Barrel-fermented Sémillon 2007 ($22.99). This rich, mouth-filling wine is available only in private stores. The wine, beginning with citrus aromas, has layers of flavour – tangerine, orange peel, butter and oak. 89

See Ya Later Nelly 2008 ($16.99). This rosé, widely available, is an unusual blend of Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Gewürztraminer. The wine’s deep hue, almost as dark as a red wines, comes from a prolonged cold soak of the juice on the skins of the red varieties. The aroma and the flavours suggest a bowl full of cherries and strawberries. Unfortunately, the acid is too low and the alcohol is too high (14%), costing the wine that refreshing character one wants with rosé. 85

See Ya Later Pinot Noir 2007 ($22). This is a big, robust wine, with good colour, with aromas of cherries and spice and with flavours of black cherries, mocha and vanilla. It is limited to private wine stores. 88

See Ya Later Rover 2007 ($24.99). This wine is available in both the LDB and private stores. It is Shiraz, with five percent Viognier, and has been aged 18 months in oak (French and American) before it was bottled. This is an appealing wine with ripe, long tannins and spicy flavours of juicy black cherries. 88

Church & State recruits second Burrowing Owl winemaker

Photo: Winemaker Jeff Del Nin

Some of the rising stars among British Columbia wineries have been changing places this summer.

One fascinating appointment by Church & States Wines has that winery plucking talent for the second time from Burrowing Owl Estate Winery.

In 2005 Church & State proprietor Kim Pullen brought Californian Bill Dyer back to the Okanagan as his consulting winemaker. Bill had been Burrowing Owl’s winemaker from that winery’s launch in 1997 until 2004.

Now Jeff Del Nin, the winemaker at Burrowing Owl since the 2006 vintage, becomes Church & State’s new winemaker in September. With Dyer continuing as the consultant, Pullen has assembled one of the strongest winemaking teams in British Columbia.

This season’s winemaker musical chairs was started in May when Kenji Hodgson left JoieFarm to take a winemaking sabbatical in France.

JoieFarm recruited Robert Thielicke whom had been part of Mt. Boucherie’s winemaking team with former banker Dave Fredericks. In 2008 Robert, who had been an assistant winemaker at Mt. Boucherie for five years, took over the senior winemaker slot when Graham Pierce took the winemaker/general manager post at Black Hills.

Dave Fredericks’s new partner at Mt. Boucherie is Jim Faulkner, who moved there in July from Church & State’s winery in the Saanich Peninsula.

Now, Jeff Del Nin is taking over Faulkner’s job, but not in the Saanich winery. Church & State is moving most of its wine production to a leased building south of Oliver, near to Church & State’s vineyards.

Fortunately for Burrowing Owl, Jeff has recently hired an assistant winemaker for that cellar, Scott Stefishen. A Canadian with training and experience in Australia’s Margaret River, he worked earlier this year as an assistant winemaker at Road 13 Vineyards.

Burrowing Owl is a hallowed wine brand in British Columbia but Church & State is coming on strongly. Earlier this week, Church & State accepted a Lieutenant Governor’s award for excellence for its 2006 Coyote Bowl Vineyard Syrah. This is the latest in a growing list of awards, including a double gold at the All-Canadian Wine Competition for Quintessential, the winery’s flagship red blend.

“I basically saw an opportunity with Church & State,” Jeff explains. “Kim has an absolute commitment to making the best wines in the valley, and having the best vineyards, therefore, in the valley. When you have a guy who is absolutely committed to being the best, that’s who you want to be with.”

Church & State currently produces about 12,000 cases a year, roughly a third of Burrowing Owl’s production. However, the winery owns or controls about 120 acres of vineyards, not all in full production yet.

“He’s a keen guy,” Kim says of his new winemaker. One of the details that appealed to Kim, a tax lawyer with a strong scientific bent, is Jeff’s background in chemistry.

Born in Thunder Bay in 1971, Jeff has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Lakehead University and a master’s in chemistry from Queens, where he specialized in plastics and polymer research.

After graduation, he went to Australia on a vacation, married an Australian and found work there. “I worked as an engineer and research scientist for a number of plastics companies, developing plastic products,” he says. “At the same time, I was developing my love of Australia wines. Pretty much every weekend, I was off to a different wine region.”

At one job, he spent two years developing synthetic closures for wine bottles. Here, he observed winemakers from close at hand and the penny dropped: “I started to think maybe I could do this for a living.” After dipping his toe in a course for amateur winemakers, he enrolled in the wine school at the University of Adelaide and did hands-on winemaking at Barossa Valley Wine Estate.

On graduation, Jeff decided to get experience in wine regions elsewhere. He got a job in 2006 with a Long Island winery in New York state but realized after a month that it was ill-suited for making the Australian style-wines that he had come to like.

As it happened, he had done his first-ever Okanagan winery tour on the way to Long Island and had been particularly impressed with Burrowing Owl. So he telephoned the Okanagan winery. By lucky coincidence, Burrowing Owl was looking for someone with his experience to help with the huge 2006 vintage.

Jeff should be able to apply some of his Australian artistry to Church & State in the current vintage.

He says that “2009 is for me on track to be one of the best years ever for big reds. I have been looking at my accumulated heat units, and we are on track for one of the warmest years ever … warmer that 2003 and warmer than 2006, if this momentum keeps up.”

Alberta regulators throttle BC wineries

Photo: Tinhorn Creek,one of the fine Okanagan wineries with Alberta owners




A potentially devastating blow has been dealt to British Columbia wineries by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC), the importer of wine into that province.

It appears that nearly every winery in British Columbia received a chilling letter, dated July 15, from Gerry McLennan, the chief executive of the AGLC. A similar letter was sent to courier companies.

This is the complete text of the letter to wineries:


Dear Sir or Madam:

Re: Illegal Shipping of Liquor into Alberta

We have recently received a number of complaints regarding one or more British Columbia manufacturers who have been shipping liquor (wine) to Alberta directly to customers in contravention of the federal Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act and the Gaming and Liquor Act and Regulation (Alberta).

All liquor imported into Alberta must be consigned and shipped to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission. Deliveries of liquor from outside of Alberta directly to any other address are in contravention of the federal Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act and could result in criminal prosecution.

Please govern yourself accordingly.

End of direct quote.

This is the sequel to what happened a year ago when both the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Manitoba Liquor Commission sent similar letters to a number of British Columbia wineries, warning them not to continue shipping directly to consumers outside this province. British Columbia liquor regulators supported those moves.

The effect of those moves was to curtail the growing, and significant, volume of sales outside the province through winery web sites.

The AGLC letter delivers the coup de grace to internet selling beyond British Columbia borders. It is a puzzle who would complain: possibly, private wine stores in Alberta who might see direct shipping as competition. More likely, the complainers are other liquor boards.

This is also a blow to wine tourism. Easily a third of the visitors to Okanagan wineries come from Alberta. When they find wines they like, they fill up their vehicles with cases of wine before heading home. Having established relationships with various wineries, they are likely to re-order and then to re-visit.

Technically, it is illegal for private individuals to transport liquor across provincial borders as well. That is rarely enforced but nothing stops the AGLC from asking the police to mount sporadic road blocks. Liquor boards have done that.

This action would have to be especially bad news for those wineries that are owned, in whole or in part, by Albertans. These include Therapy Vineyards, Hillside Estate Winery, Lake Breeze Vineyards, Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery, Tinhorn Creek, Ex Nihilo Vineyards, Golden Beaver Winery, among others. When their owners, shareholders and friends now order a case or two of wine, they will have to govern themselves “accordingly.”

In fact, this action likely will prove a disincentive to Albertans buying wineries in British Columbia. And there are a number of producers here currently trying to sell.

After the issue of cross-border shipments arose last summer, the Canadian Vintners Association, along with the British Columbia Wine Institute and the Wine Council of Ontario tried to craft a resolution that would preserve internet business.

They made a proposal to the Canadian Association of Liquor Jurisdictions (in effect, the provincial liquor boards). They suggested adopting the policy now in place in the Yukon where consumers fill out the necessary paperwork at a local liquor store, remit the Yukon tax and then have the wine shipped.

The CALJ rejected the proposal, sending the wine industry back to the drawing board. Clearly, the provincial liquor boards all are jealously guarding the stream of taxes they get from wineries. The CALJ’s tepid counter proposal was that liquor boards would seek to streamline the constipated way in which they now handle orders from private citizens.

This is all about tax collection. Direct shipments, for example, to Alberta consumers mean that the AGLC does not collect its minimal mark-up on those wines. Alberta, as we all know, needs more money.

The galling irony of the Alberta action is that it seems to fly in the face of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, a “freer trade” deal that was concluded in 2006 between Alberta and British Columbia. Unfortunately, the negotiators excluded liquor from its terms.

Perhaps the industry needs to get this before the courts and test whether the federal act, which was passed in 1928, is really valid. It would seem at odds with the Constitution Act of 1867 which says that “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other provinces.”

For discussion from a lawyer's perspective, I refer you to this excellent web site: www.winelaw.ca.

Meyer Family: master of Chardonnay

Meyer Family Vineyards, which has just released its two Chardonnays from the 2007 vintage, has begun to establish a track record for producing elegant and sophisticated examples of this varietal.

The winery, which began direct sales last year, is the brainchild of John "JAK" Meyer, an Okanagan developer turned wine lover. He is pictured above with his sisters, Laura and Terry, and (on his left) Chris Carson, his New Zealand-trained winemaker.



Chris joined Meyer before the 2008 vintage. The 2007 Chardonnays, reviewed here, were made by Road 13 winemaker Michael Bartier. Chris has worked with wineries in New Zealand, France and California that specialize in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In the 2008 vintage, Chris made both varieties for Meyer and, as a recent barrel-tasting showed me, did both very well.

Both of the 2007 Chardonnays are from the same 3.1 acre vineyard on the Naramata Bench that JAK bought in 2006 after a two-year search for just the right property. It is his intention to have a showpiece boutique winery built here eventually. That idea was shelved temporarily late last year when JAK bought a second vineyard (14 acres) just east of Okanagan Falls. Meyer is preparing to open a tasting room here this fall.

The Okanagan Falls vineyard, which has several more plantable acres,grows a mix of varieties. It is likely to be restructured, at least in part, to focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Chardonnay is JAK's passion and Pinot Noir is his winemaker's passion.

JAK decided to create a winery in 2003. Recognizing that his only experience was as a consumer, he sought the guidance of Vancouver wine educator James Cluer MW. A fundamental decision was to base the winery on a vineyard that JAK would own, not on purchased fruit. The Naramata vineyard's Chardonnay vines are now more than 10 years old. There also are mature vines in the Okanagan Falls vineyard.

With two vineyards and a skilled winemaker, JAK's original dream of a tiny boutique is now being reshaped into a 3,000 to 5,000 case producer.

"We may not make any money at this," he laughs, "but it sure is fun."

In each of the 2006 and 2007 vintages, the winery has produced two Chardonnay wines.

Meyer Family Vineyards Micro Cuvée Chardonnay 2007 ($65)- of which only 141 cases have been released - resulted from tasting and selecting the six best barrels of Chardonnay in the cellar that vintage. This wine is the match of a fine Burgundy, with intense flavours of citrus framed by toasty oak. The wine is finished with commendably bright acidity, giving it a crisp, fresh finish as well as the ability to age. The winery says three to five years. 92

Meyer Family Vineyards Tribute Series Chardonnay 2007 ($30)represents the remaining 399 cases of this vintage. It shares the flavours, aromas and crispness of its big brother, with a texture that seems a bit leaner. Again, the acidity, which is not at all overdone, lifts the fresh fruit flavours and gives the wine ability to develop in the bottle. 90

The wines in the Tribute Series pay tribute to various British Columbia artists. The 2006 vintage was dedicated to Emily Carr. This vintage is dedicated to Bill Reid "for his extraordinary contribution in restoring much of the dynamic power, magic and possibility to Haida art." The winery is donating $5,000 to the Bill Reid Foundation.

Until the wine shop opens, the wines are being sold (in cases of six) through the web site, www.mfvwines.com.

Cassini Cellars - newest winery on the Golden Mile

The Cassini Cellars winery, which had its grand opening earlier this summer, is a good example of how the wine industry is changing the Okanagan landscape.

A couple of years ago, this was the site of one of British Columbia's several lavender farms. In late 2006 Adrian Capeneata (above)bought the highway-side property, sold most of the lavender plants and replaced them with vines. While the vines were getting settled in, Adrian supervised the construction of his grandly conceived winery.

The wine shop is especially grand: the primary tasting bar is 10 metres long, enough to host 25 visitors at once. There is a smaller bar at the other end of the room if there is an overflow, as is certain to happen from time to time. This high-profile winery, with its convenient parking lot, is irresistible to bus tours.



Born in Romania in 1960, Adrian is one of those larger than life individuals that winery visitors find engaging.After managing a restaurent in his native land, Adrian came to Canada in 1990, shortly after the collapse of the Communist government in Romania. He started his career here in Montreal, learning French and English, working in restaurants and repairing and re-selling used cars.

He admits to being a serial entrepreneur. Coming to Vancouver in 1993, he began selling fitness club equipment and then set up his own company to build and service such equipment.

His interest in the Okanagan began with a vacation there. Soon, he was fixing up and reselling houses in Osoyoos (his wife is a realtor).

His interest in wine has two roots. His family in Romania had a vineyard, selling grapes to a cooperative. However, his appreciation for wine developed in the years when he worked in restaurants.

In 2006, he decided to develop a winery of his own, buying the lavender farm because of the strategic location and the property's potential as a vineyard.

Having also had a construction business, Adrian took more than a supervisory role in building the winery. By his estimate, he has invested $400,000 of his own "sweat equity" in the construction.

Originally, he wanted to called it Crazy Horse Winery. The potential for confusion with Inniskillin's Dark Horse Vineyard resulted in the current name, Cassini Cellars. Cassini is the surname of Adrian's Italian grandfather.

Winemaking here is done by consulting winemaker Philip Soo (whose other clients include Noble Ridge and Dirty Laundry). Working with purchased grapes in the 2007 and 2008 vintages, he crafted a solid range for Cassini's debut season.

Here are notes on the wines. The white wines are $18 a bottle while the reds are priced in the mid-20s.

Cassini Cellars Maximus 2007 Here is the winery's flagship red blend, made with 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 4% Malbec. Dark in colour, this is a full-bodied wine with cassis and chocolate aromas, ripe plummy flavours with notes of minerals and tobacco. The ripe tannins account for the rich texture. The wine has a long, satisfying finish. 90

Cassini Cellars Syrah 2007 This is an excellent, full-bodied Syrah, with aromas and flavours of deli meats, black cherries and pepper (there is a hint of white pepper in the aroma). 88

Cassini Cellars Merlot 2007 Dark in colour, this Merlot has good concentration. There is a hint of cassis on the aroma, with flavours of red berries, chocolate and liquorice. 87

Cassini Cellars Pinot Noir Reserve Plump and ripe, this wine has ripe strawberry flavours that are, at this stage, a little overpowered by the oak flavours. Another year in bottle will benefit the wine. 86

Cassini Cellars Gewurztraminer 2008 A very attractive example of this varietal. The spicy aroma jumps from the glass. On the palate, there is luscious sweet tropical fruit, The finish is rich, in the style of Alsace. 88

Cassini Cellars Chardonnay 2007 This is a fruit forward Chardonnay with subtle oak. Time in bottle has allowed the citrus flavours and fleshy texture to develop.88

Cassini Cellars Mama Mia Pinot Grigio 2007 This wine's whimsical name signals that it is a delicious summer sipper with a touch of residual sweetness. 87

Cassini Cellars Pinot Gris 2008 Light and refreshing, with flavours of pear and citrus, this is the winery's drier take on Pinot Gris. 87

Cassini Cellars Viognier 2008 A lovely unoaked wine, beginning with aromas of citrus and pineapples. The palate delivers those flavours in abundance. The hint of tannin in the finish, giving the wine a nice structure, is due to the fact that Viognier has more tannin in its skins than most white varieties. 88

SouthEnd Farm Winery opens on Quadra Island

The most northerly of the Gulf Islands with vineyards, Quadra Island, once again has a winery: SouthEnd Farm Vineyards opened this month.

Owners Jill Ogasawara and Ben McGuffie take pride is being the youngest couple currently with a winery in British Columbia. He was born in 1977, she in 1976. On the winery website, they joke that they are starting their retirement project 30 years early.

In a business filled with second careerists, it is rare to find two young people launching a winery. In the entire history of British Columbia wineries, only Walter and Gordon Gehringer were younger (barely) when they opened Gehringer Brothers in 1986.

SouthEnd Farm is the only winery on Quadra (the large island just off the coast from Campbell River) but not the first. Marshwood Estate Winery opened on Quadra in 2004 and closed two years later when the owners sold the business. The Marshwood vineyard, now called Nevermore Farm, still produces grapes, some of which have ended up in SouthEnd wines.

Ben McGuffie grew up on Quadra. His great uncle managed the island’s roads and is believed to have homesteaded the 12.5-acre farm that is now home to the winery and a small vineyard. Ben is an engineering graduate from the University of British Columbia. In recent years, he has been an engineer and manager at Catalyst’s pulp mill in Campbell River (a 10-minute ferry ride from Quadra).

Jill grew up in a logging community near Campbell River and met Ben in high school. She has a forestry degree and has qualified (but not practised) in landscape architecture.

They became interested in wine over a bottle of domestic plonk called Rotting Grape. Soon they were visiting Okanagan wineries and dreaming of their own. After buying the family farm from his parents in 2004, Ben and Jill began developing a vineyard, planting four acres of primarily Maréchal Foch, Petit Millot and Siegerrebe, with a little Leon Millot and Bacchus. Next year, they intend to add some Cabernet Foch (one of the disease resistant Swiss-developed red varieties already grown by several Vancouver Island producers).

They have also provided a market for the grapes from Nevermore and from another vineyard on Quadra.

SouthEnd Farm (guess which end of Quadra the winery is?) intends to be an estate producer only, with no imported grapes from the Okanagan.

While some winery couples divide the duties – for example, at Garry Oaks on Salt Spring Island, Marcel Mercier tends the vineyard while Elaine Kozak makes the wines – Ben and Jill share all duties, from vineyard to winery. Or almost all the duties: on their wine labels they acknowledge the help of the “Nevermore crew and our parents.”

Two of the debut wines – a white and a rosé - were sent to me from Quadra. I can report it is an impressive start.

SouthEnd Farm Ortega 2008 ($18.40) is crisp and refreshing, with clean citrus flavours and the impression of having a slight bit of effervescence. With only 10.6% alcohol, one can drink this wine all day. It is finished dry but the balance is very good. There is none of the searing acidity that I have found in some 2008 wines from the cool 2008 islands vintage. 88 points

The winery has also released an off-dry Ortega and an off-dry Siegerrebe.

SouthEnd Farm Bara 2008 ($18.40). Bara is the Japanese word for rosé, so I am told. The wine, made with Pinot Noir, has a lovely rose petal hue, with aromas and flavours of strawberries and cranberries. Again, it is well-balanced with just enough residual sugar to offset the acidity. This is a delicious, juicy summertime rosé, made all the more accessible because the alcohol is only 10%. 88 points.

The winery has also released a red wine, Turan 2008 (another name for the Agria grape) and Sutil 2008, a dessert wine made from Agria.

SouthEnd opened with about 6,000 bottles of wine. The website promises two other wines but there are no details so far.

These are excellent wines from a very difficult vintage. The 2009 vintage on Quadra Island, Jill reports, is shaping up to be far better, with riper grapes. Nevermore Farm tented its Pinot Noir this spring. Ben and Jill are planning to make a red wine this fall from these grapes, assuming the season continues to be warm and dry and ideal for the vines.