Rosés fit for the new Riedel wine glass

The appreciation of rosé wines has risen dramatically during the past decade – to the point that Riedel Crystal of Austria has just announced a wine glass specifically for rosé.

It is in the stemware maker’s Vinum Extreme series, launched in 2000 primarily for New World wines. This glass has a specially designed bowl and diamond shape, creating a wider than normal surface area in the glass to improve evaporation. The company says this intensifies “the wine’s aromas and silkiness as it enters the mouth.”

“Rosé has become one of the most frequently enjoyed and trendy wine styles worldwide, especially in the US,” said Maximilian Riedel, president and CEO of Riedel Crystal.

The company designed the wine glass in consultation with rosé producers in Provence. However, the shape would be suitable for virtually any rosé.

Most of us have been drinking rosé wines with standard stemware for white wines. You will continue to enjoy the wines even if you never buy Riedel’s rosé glass.

It is a fact (at least in my opinion) that Riedel stemware always makes the wines taste better. I have attended four or five tasting demonstrations, including at least two led by Maximilian’s father, Georg. There is no doubt that wines are diminished in poor stemware but are vastly better in the proper glass.

The easiest way to grasp this is taste a Pinot Noir from, say, a hotel banquet glass and then taste it from a Riedel Pinot Noir glass. Pinot Noir, along with most other wines, dies in banquet glasses but remains alive and full of flavour in the Riedel glass.

I have no doubt that a good rosé will be better in a Riedel glass.

Here are notes on a selection of recent British Columbia rosés that I have enjoyed, even without the Riedel glass.

Bench 1775 Glow 2014 ($19.90). This is a Malbec rosé, Salmon pink in hue, it has aromas and flavours of strawberry and rhubarb. It is a light, refreshing and dry rosé recalling rosé wines of the south of France. 89.

Black Widow Syrah Rosé 2014 ($23 for 80 cases). This dry rosé  is loaded with flavour. It begins with aromas of strawberry and raspberry and goes on to flavours of cherry and plum, with a lingering finish. 90.

Clos du Soleil Rosé 2014 ($19.90 for 867 cases). This is a rare and delicious example of a Cabernet Sauvignon rosé. The appeal begins with the colour, which glows like ruby. The wine has powerful aromas of strawberry and raspberry. On the palate, there are intense flavours of strawberry, cherry and rhubarb. The endless finish is crisp and dry. 92.

Covert Farm Family Estate Rosé 2013 ($18.29). This wine begins with an appealing cherry hue. It has aromas of cherries with an undertone of pomegranate and sweet tobacco. It may sound like an odd descriptor for a rosé but it sets up a savoury complexity which carries through to the palate with cherry and strawberry flavours. This is 75% Merlot, 21% Pinot Noir and 4% Syrah, co-fermented and aged on the lees. Note the wine also has a year of bottle age. With a dry finish, this is a rosé to pair with grilled salmon. 90.

Hester Creek Cabernet Franc Rosé 2014 ($19.95 for 1,000 cases). The salmon pink colour and the generous fruit flavours get their start with 12 hours of extraction on the skins. The fermentation was long and cool and was stopped when 10 grams of residual sugar remained. That gives the wine its juicy texture. It has aromas and flavours of strawberry, cherry and rhubarb. 90.

Mission Hill Five Vineyards Rosé 2014 ($14.99 ). The wine just gleams in the glass like a pale ruby. Fruity aromas, notably cherries, burst from the glass. On the palate, there are juicy flavours of strawberries, watermelon and pomegranate. The finish lingers. The hint of residual sweetness adds to the generous texture of this delicious summer wine. It is  85% Merlot, 10% Pinot Noir and 5% Syrah. 90.

Quails’ Gate Rose 2014 ($18.14 for 7,975 cases). The astonishing production indicates just how big the demand is for rosé. Quails’ Gate is one of the wineries that has driven this market over the past decade with flavour-packed rosé. This dry rosé is 80% Gamay Noir, 10% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Gris, all kept separate during fermentation and then blended. The wine has an appealing salmon pink hue with aromas of strawberry and cranberry. On the palate, this is a big, satisfying bowl of fruit – strawberry, watermelon and pink grapefruit. 90.

Red Rooster Reserve Rosé 2013 ($19.10 for 480 cases). This is a blend of  35% Malbec, 27% Cabernet Franc, 15% Syrah, 8% Mourvedre, 7% Petit Verdot, 3% Pinot Noir and 3% Grenache. The winery’s tasting notes are a bit more verbose than mine but I totally agree with them. “‘Pretty in Pink’ colour with a summer fresh aroma of strawberry, watermelon, crab apple, red currant, cherry and rose petal.  The medium frame is supported by refreshing acidity.  Flavours of red berry, currant and red cherry fill the mouth.  Refreshing red fruits and red berry tea notes linger on the finish of this extra-dry rosé.” 90 

Roche Rosé 2014 ($19.98 for 185 cases). Roche is the label of artisan producers Dylan and Pénélope Roche who have a small vineyard on the Naramata Bench. This wine is 93% Zweigelt and 7% Schönburger (co-fermented). The wine begins with a brilliant jewel-like hue. It has aromas of strawberries and pink grapefruit, leading to flavours of strawberry, pomegranate and cherry. The wine is refreshing, with good body and with a lingering dry finish. 91.

Sage Bush Rosé 2012 ($NA). The wine begins with a pale, slightly bronze tint. On the nose, there are aromas of strawberry jam that are echoed on the palate. There is an appealing spoonful of sweet fruit on the palate. Bottle age has added a roundness to this wine without taking away from its freshness. 89.

Howling Bluff adds a rosé

 Photo" Howling Bluff's Luke Smith

Howling Bluff proprietor Luke Smith was a successful investment advisor when he began a career switch in 2004 to start planting the winery’s Summa Quies vineyard.

A decade of hard work in the vineyard and the winery has not knocked the edge from his enthusiasm for this second career. Visitors to the tasting room discover a man who finds wine growing as bewitching as ever. And that is despite the viticultural U-turn he has made.

Initially, the preponderance of his seven-acre vineyard was planted with Bordeaux varieties. The goal was to make a flagship red blend called Sin Cera. That is Latin for “without wax” coined by Roman stone carvers when working with marble so perfect that no wax was needed to hide the cracks.

Howling Bluff’s Sin Cera wines were always well made. Even so, Luke discovered by 2008 that the Bordeaux reds, at least on his property, had some limitations. It was a gradual epiphany after several vintages that led to a reduction in Bordeaux red plantings and a significant increase in Pinot Noir. He had only planted an acre of Pinot Noir at first.

“It was the culmination of what it was like to farm all of those varieties I had,” he says. “The Pinot Noir is definitely more work but at the end of the day, every single year, the Pinot Noir was ripe. All the other red grapes? No. Merlot was the most consistent but everything else was quite finicky.”

He retained some Merlot and a little Malbec for a small ongoing production of Sin Cera. Most of the original plantings of Bordeaux reds have now been grafted over to Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc. (The white Bordeaux varieties perform better on his Naramata Bench site than the reds.)

He is not at all distressed that Howling Bluff has transitioned so dramatically away from his original concept of making Bordeaux reds.

“I said to myself how horrible would that be if all I made was a world class Pinot Noir?” he says.

He has the awards to show it can be done. He has won three Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellent and two of those were for Pinot Noir.

In 2014, he took another step in his commitment to Pinot Noir by making a rosé. The initial motive was to further improve his Pinot Noir table wine through the classic technique the French call saignée. The term means “bleeding” some juice from freshly crushed red grapes to concentrate the remainder prior to fermentation.

To make this rosé, Luke bled about 10% of the juice from his tanks of Pinot Noir. This juice was put into a stainless steel tank and was fermented at a cool temperature.

“That rosé is as close to a dangerous wine as I have ever made,” Luke says. He means dangerous in the sense that one cannot stop drinking it. If consumers agree with him, it likely will be a permanent addition to the Howling Bluff portfolio.

Here are notes the current releases.   

Howling Bluff Sauvignon Blanc 2014 ($20). Spectacular tropical aromas explode from the glass. The lime and the lemon aromas translate into exuberant flavours of those fruits. The wine is crisp and zesty with herbal notes on the finish. 91.

Howling Bluff Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon 2014 ($20). This is a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Sémillon. The Sémillon anchors the wine and adds complexity and texture to the tropical exuberance of its partner. This wine is rich on the palate, with flavours of peach and ripe apples added to the notes of lime and herbs. The finish is lingering. 92.

Howling Bluff Rosé 2014 ($25). The wine, made from juice bled from tanks of Pinot Noir, was released May 1 and may already be sold out. It is juicy and refreshing, with aromas and flavours of strawberries. A touch of residual sweetness fleshes out the flavours and lifts the aromas. 91.

Howling Bluff Summa Quies Pinot Noir 2012 ($35 for 500 cases). I can’t do better than reproduce some of the winery’s notes. The wine shows “a nose of berry fruit; strawberry, plum, raspberry with floral undertones of potpourri … hints of allspice, fennel, lavender and cedar.” Yes, it is that complex, with flavours of cherry, mocha and spice and with the earthiness on the finish that Burgundians call forest floor. The wine is youthfully firm but is beginning to develop the classic silky texture. 91.

Howling Bluff Sin Cera 2011 ($25 for 225 cases). This is 82% Merlot and 18% Malbec, aged 18 months in new and used French oak. The wine is firm in texture, with flavours of black currant, black cherry, dark chocolate and espresso. As the wine opens up, it reveals a core of sweet fruit on the mid-palate. 90.

Stag's Hollow delivers value

Photo: Winemaker Dwight Sick (left) and Larry Gerelus

The current releases from Stag’s Hollow Winery at Okanagan Falls include three wines offering excellent value.

This winery, which opened in 1996, has a portfolio of about two dozen wines, offered at a range of price points up to $40-$50. That includes one of the best Merlot wines in the Okanagan and a rare example of Grenache. These are wines appealing to collectors.

However, proprietor Larry Gerelus and Dwight Sick, his winemaker, are clearly not ignoring the average consumer who just wants a good bottle or two without breaking the bank.

The quality and the work that has gone into these three wines certainly would justify a higher price.

Start with the Sauvignon Blanc. One can dial in a crisp lemony white with laser beam freshness simply by fermenting it all in stainless steel. Dwight went for more complexity. While 80% was fermented in stainless, the other 28% was fermented slowly, at a cool temperature, in new French oak. (Do you know how expensive French oak is?) Then the wine spent two months on the lees which were stirred once a week.

Or take the Riesling. The grapes were harvested in two lots. The first lot was fermented in stainless steel for about 28 days at 15 degrees C; then fermentation was stopped to leave a touch of residual sugar. The second lot was fermented in new 300 litre French hogsheads (do you know how expensive French hogsheads are?). Fermentation of the second lot to total dryness was done with indigenous yeast. The wine was left on the lees for a month, with bi-weekly stirring. Then the lots were combined.

And the detail tweaking was not over. Dwight blended three per cent Muscat Ottonel into the final blend. What that adds is a noticeable hint of spice on the finish. It also helps to moderate the bracing acidity.

Or the Heritage Block: detailed winemaking went into this Bordeaux blend, including aging the wine 18 months in French and American oak. The five grapes in the blend were sourced from three different vineyards in the south Okanagan. Half the berries were left whole and uncrushed, a technique to capture more fruit but not too much tannin.

The bottom line is that the winery has put a lot of work into these three wines but has managed to release them at popular prices.

Here are notes.

Stag’s Hollow Sauvignon Blanc 2014 ($17.99 for 399 cases).

The wine begins with aromas of guava and lime which are echoed in the flavour. The wine has good weight on the palate, the result of fermenting 20% in barrel and stirring the wine on its lees for two months. The lees work has added an herbal complexity to the dry and lingering finish. 90.

Stag’s Hollow Riesling 2014 ($17.99 for 849 cases). The bold aromas of lime and pink grapefruit give this wine immediate appeal in the glass. On the palate, there are flavours of lemon, green apple and stone fruit, with a hint of spice from the three per cent Muscat Ottonel blended into this wine. The bracing acidity gives the wine a crisp, dry finish. This wine has great aging potential. I would strongly urge cellaring this for several years so that bottle development fully unlocks all the qualities. 90-92.

Stag’s Hollow Heritage Block 2012 ($21.99 for 2,200 cases). This is a blend of 49% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Franc, 8.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot. The wine begins with aromas of black currants, black cherries, vanilla and chocolate. There are flavours of black cherry mingled with savoury hints of sage and cedar on the finish. The tannins are long and ripe. The wine’s 18 months aging in French and American oak have given the wine an accessible texture as well as an ability to age for at least five years. This is excellent value. 90.

Class of 2015: Bordertown Vineyards

 Photo: Bordertown owner Mohan Gill

Bordertown Vineyards & Estate Winery

9040 92^nd Avenue,

Osoyoos, V0H 1V2

Telephone: 1.866.949.4210

Wine shop open 10 am-5 pm daily from mid-May to mid-October

The number of wineries in Osoyoos increased to six with the opening of Bordertown Vineyards & Estate Winery in May.

Bordertown greets visitors to the town with a highway-side wine shop immediately north of the community. The tasting room, with an entrance framed by stone-sheathed pillars, is an attraction that will not fail to draw wine tourists. 

Bordertown is the latest venture by an energetic agriculture entrepreneur named Mohan Gill.

Born in India in 1976, he came to the Okanagan with his parents in 1993. “March 10, 1993,” he says with striking precision.

“I went to Oliver Secondary School,” he recounts. “Then I started working.”

It seems he has never stopped working. He bought his first orchard (with an older brother) in 1996. He took other opportunities to expand until he and his brother today operate 110 acres of orchards in the Okanagan.

To accelerate his business, he began delivering his own fruit to Vancouver buyers in 1999 with his pickup truck. He turned over fruit delivery to another agency in 2007 but he still packs cherries, peaches and apples under his own brand. His customers include several major retailers.

Mohan dipped his toe into viticulture by planting two acres of grapes in 2005. A quick study, he was comfortable enough with grape growing that he expanded to 20 acres in 2007.

As he had done with tree fruits, he has continued to increase his vineyard holdings. He now grows 38 acres of grapes at two Osoyoos vineyards and another 50 acres in a Peachland vineyard. He has been selling grapes both to major Okanagan producers and to smaller producers, including Mark Simpson of B.C. Wine Studio. Mark was one of the people who encouraged Mohan to expand into winemaking.

Encouragement also came from Jason Parkes (left), the winemaker at First Estate Winery in Peachland. Consequently, Mohan engaged Jason as his winemaker. In its debut vintage in 2013, Bordertown made close to 3,000 cases of wine. Two-thirds was sold in bulk while 147 cases of Syrah and 586 cases of a Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend are being offered under the Bordertown label.

Bordertown’s production jumped to 10,000 cases in 2014, quickly transforming Osoyoos’s newest winery into one of its largest as well. Mohan also continues to sell grapes to other producers.

“On this property I am growing five different varieties: Chardonnay, Riesling, Muscat, Gewürztraminer and Viognier and Pinot Gris,” Mohan says, referring to the vineyard near the winery. He also has Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris and a young block of Grüner Veltliner.

The Peachland vineyard, a cooler terroir, is planted primarily in white varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Riesling.  He also grows Pinot Noir there.

Jason should have no problem coming up with interesting wines from a selection like that.

Mohan already has his next expansion in mind. “I have an orchard and a winery business,” he says. “When I have free time, I will also launch cider. The cider business is going well, too.”

Here are notes on Bordertown’s initial releases.

Bordertown Gewürztraminer 2014 ($18.99). Gold in hue, this is a rich and ripe wine with aromas and flavours of grapefruit. There is also the variety’s classic spicy aroma. The oily texture of the wine reminded me very much of an Alsace Gewürztraminer. 88.

Bordertown Pinot Blanc 2014 ($18.99). It is encouraging to see an excellent wine from a variety sometimes overlooked by consumers. The wine has aromas and flavours of apples. It is crisp and fresh on the palate with a dry finish and with good minerality. 90.

Bordertown Riesling 2014 ($18.99). This is a relatively light Riesling (alcohol of 11.15%) but it has a nice spine of minerals with aromas and flavours of lemon and lime that are still developing. The finish is dry. Cellar this wine for a year so that the flavours have a chance to emerge fully. 88.

Bordertown Living Desert Red 2013 ($24.99). This is a blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot, aged in American oak. This blend shows the power of Osoyoos reds. It begins with aromas of plum and blackberry mingled with a note of oak. It delivers flavours of black cherry, black currant and vanilla, with a finish that lingers. 90.

 Bordertown Syrah 2013 ($29.99). Again, the wine is bold and ripe. There are aromas and flavours of black cherries and plum mingled with black pepper and earthiness. 90.

SpierHead releases single vineyard wines

 Photo: SpierHead Winery

In late summer of 2013, a brief but devastating hail storm savaged the Gentleman Farmer Vineyard at SpierHead Winery in East Kelowna.

The setback prevented the winery from making either a vineyard-designated Pinot Noir or Riesling from that vineyard in 2013.

However, winery proprietor Bill Knutson reacted by sourcing Pinot Noir from a grower in Summerland, just released as the Golden Retreat Vineyard Pinot Noir. Bill also negotiated a long-term contract for these grapes. That is good news for lovers of SpierHead wines since it extends the winery’s admirable Pinot Noir portfolio.

The Golden Retreat Vineyard is also the source of Pinot Gris for SpierHead. As a result, the winery’s current releases include two vineyard-designated wines from Golden Retreat along with a Gentleman Farmer Riesling 2014, the latter vineyard having recovered from the previous year’s hail damage.

Both are excellent vineyards, judging from the wines. Gentleman Farmer typically produces Riesling with the bracing acidity and the 2014 is no exception.

Bill notes that the 2014 Pinot Gris is similar in style to the 2013 Pinot Gris. “That wine,” he says of the 2013, “won all kinds of accolades, including being named one of only five platinum winners at the 2014 B.C. Wine Awards.”

There is a longer-term appeal of Golden Retreat to SpierHead.   “The Golden Retreat Vineyard grows some different Pinot Noir clones from those in our vineyard,” Bill points out. “Most notably, the wine contains 60% Pommard, which is a clone that we do not grow, although I have a small amount coming for planting in 2016. To me, this clone introduces a spiciness that I don’t usually recognize in the Dijon clones.”

Here are notes three current SpierHead releases.

SpierHead Riesling 2014 Gentleman Farmer Vineyard ($19 for 200 cases). With an acidity of 9.2 grams a litre and just 4.3 grams of residual sugar, this is a wine with a crisp and tangy finish. It has aromas and flavours of lime and lemon, with a good spine of minerality. The wine is good now but has great potential to express its rich complexity better if cellared for several years. 88-92.

SpierHead Pinot Gris 2014 Golden Retreat Vineyard ($19 for 710 cases). The wine begins with an appealing aroma that mingles hints of herbs with citrus and apple. On the palate, there are flavours of melon and apple. The wine, fermented and aged in stainless steel, has good weight. 90.

SpierHead Pinot Noir 2013 Golden Retreat Vineyard ($26 for 60 cases). This is 60% Pommard clone, 40% clone 667. The wine was barrel-aged 10 months in French oak (likely not new, judging from the fact the wine is fruit forward). The wine has aromas of cherries, leading to flavours of cherry and plum, with a hint of mocha. The wine has begun to develop the classic silky texture. That was more noticeable, along with a juicy concentration of flavour, when the wine was retasted the day after it was opened. Like the Riesling, the wine will evolve toward a peak in two or three years. 90.

Arrowleaf Cellars: too good to pass over

 Photo: Arrowleaf's beautiful new wine shop

At the recent All-Canadian Wine Championships, Arrowleaf Cellars of Lake Country won four gold medals and a bronze medal.

The wines that won gold were Riesling 2014, Pinot Gris 2014, Gewürztraminer 2014 and First Crush Rosé 2014. The bronze went to the winery’s 2012 Merlot.

Given that performance, I was stunned by what a food critic had to say about Arrowleaf in a weekend column on the North Okanagan in a national newspaper.

“If you have to skip one winery, take a pass on Arrowleaf Cellars,” the critic wrote. “The new glass-and-concrete facility may be gorgeous, but the wines, in my opinion, have always had an unpleasant musty flavour.”

The judges at the All-Canadians (I was one) had a more credible opinion of the wines.

So did the judges at the Okanagan Wine Festival “Best of Varietal Wine Awards” this spring. The four Arrowleaf wines that were finalists were the Riesling 2014, First Crush White 2014, Solstice Pinot Noir 2012, and Gewurztraminer 2014. 

Arrowleaf’s 2012 Pinot Noir got a gold medal last fall at the Mondial des Pinots competition in Switzerland.

One could go on. It is hardly unusual for Arrowleaf wines to garner awards. I have tasted Arrowleaf wines since the winery’s grand opening in 2003. I have never had a musty wine. Some wines have appealed to more than others but none has been flawed. Arrowleaf Gewürztraminer is often my go-to Okanagan Gewürztraminer.

There might be a few Okanagan wineries that don’t inspire much enthusiasm in me, but Arrowleaf has never been one.

And now that the winery has opened its new wine shop, you would be making a big mistake by giving the winery a miss.

The wine shop, which encompasses a barrel room and a private tasting room, is the work of architect Robert Mackenzie, the Kelowna architect who has designed a number of iconic wineries. This is his most beautiful winery building yet.

The building, which has a patio with terrific views over vineyards toward Okanagan Lake, also includes a restaurant called The Kitchen at Arrowleaf. It had just opened after the food critic was through Lake Country and it did not get reviewed.

I’d say that Arrowleaf was lucky on that score.

Mission Hill changes the guard

 Photo: Courtyard and bell tower at Mission Hill

John Simes, the legendary chief winemaker at Mission Hill Family Estates, is turning over the cellar to Darryl Brooker, the currant winemaker at CedarCreek Estate Winery.

Darryl becomes Mission Hill’s chief winemaker with the 2015 vintage. John will now devote himself totally to managing the Okanagan vineyards that support Mission Hill and its sister wineries.

Mission Hill and the other wineries are operated by VMF Estates, the holding company set up in 2014 by Mission Hill proprietor Anthony von Mandl. The personnel change was announced today by VMF Estates.

The VMF wineries in addition to Mission Hill include CedarCreek (purchased in early 2014), Martin’s Lane (under construction near CedarCreek) and CheckMate Artisanal Winery. The latter is the former Antelope Ridge Winery on the Golden Mile, which Von Mandl acquired in 2012. The first CheckMate wines are expected to be released later this year.

Darryl Brooker clearly was one of the key assets that came with the purchase of Mission Hill.

Born in Canberra in 1973, Darryl (left) is a graduate of Charles Sturt University in Australia. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science - Wine Science, as well as a graduate diploma from Adelaide University in Wine Business.

He made wine at Villa Maria Estate in Hawkes Bay and at Mountadam Vineyards in Barossa Valley in Australia.  He came to Canada in 2003 when he was hired to launch Flat Rock Cellars in Ontario. He moved to the Andrew Peller group, working at Hillebrand and Thirty Bench, before joining CedarCreek in 2010.

He embraces both traditional and new world winemaking practices. He employs wild yeasts; he ferments some wines in concrete eggs. In 2013, CedarCreek became the first Okanagan winery to ferment some reds in a 400-litre clay amphora made in Italy.

He was also tasked with designing the new Martin’s Lane Winery, now completing construction. He also made the 2014 vintage for Martin’s Lane, a winery specializing in Pinot Noir and Riesling.

He is certainly stepping into big shoes. No winemaker has had as much impact on the Okanagan as John Simes, beginning with the 1992 Chardonnay that won the prestigious Avery’s Trophy at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London in 1994. It was almost certainly the first major award to an Okanagan wine from an international competition.

Born in 1950 at Palmerston North, near Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, John (below) at first put his applied science degree to work with an ice cream company. He joined Montana Wines Ltd., then New Zealand's largest winery, in 1978 and moved quickly from managing the bottle cellars to become a senior winemaker and vineyard manager.

In 1991 Mission Hill’s von Mandl began wooing John, whose wife Sheilagh is from Vancouver. The winemaker pondered the offer throughout the first half of 1992, accepting just before the vintage in the Okanagan.

He arrived at Mission Hill in September 1992, with some of the early grapes already arriving. "Most of the grapes in the Okanagan are harvested at the end of September and into early October. I had a chance to start to get things changed in the way the fruit was processed in the winery," he told me a few years later. "We totally changed almost everything that happened with the grapes, including when they were picked. I spent a huge amount of time trying to sweet talk the growers into not harvesting, to leave the fruit hanging on the vine."

Most of the Chardonnay for the award-winning wine came from vineyards in the Oliver area that have since been acquired by von Mandl. John was impressed as soon as he saw the grapes. "I could tell the fruit was brilliant," he told me. "I called Anthony [von Mandl, Mission Hill's owner] and I said this fruit tastes as good as I've ever seen Chardonnay taste. It cries out for new oak for barrel fermentation."

With the immediate green light from von Mandl, John had about 100 American oak barrels shipped to the winery in time to barrel-ferment the Chardonnay.  Some of the Chardonnay also was fermented in stainless steel tanks and the two lots were blended into the 1992 Grand Reserve Barrel Select Chardonnay, as the wine was called.

The award put the Okanagan on the map. It certainly transformed Mission Hill. "In terms of our company, the impact has been phenomenal," John told me later.  "It gave everyone in the organization confidence that we could do it, that the resource existed to make international quality wines, and that if we did, people would pay reasonable dollar values for them that would give us sufficient return to re-invest. Until that wine, the business confidence, from the owner of the company right down to the sales guys, wasn't there."

In the year after winning that award, Mission Hill began a $10 million capital expansion program. It included almost one million litres of new stainless steel processing equipment and hundreds of new oak barrels. In 1996 the winery purchased vineyard property, its first, at Osoyoos and began planting 150 acres of vines on a sun-baked site on the Canada-United States border. The winery has invested continually since then, both in vineyards and in state of the art winemaking facilities.

"The Chardonnay was the start," John said. "The Chardonnay is no longer the only wine which has done something worth talking about internationally.”

The pinnacle of the Mission Hill portfolio is Oculus, the Bordeaux blend that John first created in 1997. It crowns a large and impressive portfolio of wines, many of which are grown on the nearly 1,000 acres of estate-owned vineyards.

These vineyards now get John’s full attention. “I see our vineyards as the last frontier in allowing our wines to become amongst the most sought-after in the world,” he said in a statement. “With the von Mandl family’s commitment to continually raising the bar and their commitment to leading edge research and technology in our vineyards, there is no telling where we can go from here.”