SpearHead defends its Dual Citizen wines

Photo: SpearHead's Dual Citizen lineup

One concern among Okanagan and Similkameen wineries is whether the consumer boycott of American products will extend to the 2024 wines made with Washington, Oregon and California grapes. Many wineries turned to growers in those states after the devastating January 2024 freeze wiped out about 97% of vineyard production in the B.C. interior. Skipping a year of production was not an option if wineries wanted to retain skilled staff and keep their brands in the supply chain. Importing grapes became economically viable after government agreed those wines could benefit from the same mark-up waivers that VQA wines get.

SpearHead Winery in East Kelowna was among the producers that turned to growers in the United States. Vineyards in East Kelowna were among the hardest hit by the 2024 freeze. So far, SpearHead has released five wines under its Dual Citizen designation, two of which are reviewed here. “The Dual Citizen wines were bottled in early 2025,” the winery wrote in a statement on releasing the wines. “Today, like everyone, we’re very aware that the actions of leadership in the U.S. have created a reasonable bias in this country in favour of Canadian-made products. While Dual Citizen wines were made entirely at SpearHead Winery, obviously the grapes were grown in the U.S. In order to let our consumers know which side of the fence we are on, we’ve attached a sticker to every bottle explaining that the wine was ‘Made Before the Madness.’ Hopefully, the need for stickers will be short lived.”

I would not count on that, given the penchant of the Trump administration for bullying the rest of the world, including the country that is the oldest friend of the United States. However, that is no reason for not buying the wines made in British Columbia from imported fruit. We need to support all our own producers in view of the madness south of the border. As well, the wines are proving to be quite good and usually deliver value for the money. SpearHead’s Dual Citizen wines are worth having on your table. Here are notes on two of them, as well as notes on two fine Pinot Noirs from a winery whose winemaker, Grant Stanley, is one of Canada’s leading specialists with this varietal.

SpearHead Dual Citizen White Pinot Noir 2024 ($29 for 798 cases). The grapes for this wine are from the De Vries Vineyard in Washington State. Gentle pressing yielded juice with minimal colour, which was fermented cool in stainless steel. The wine presents with a delicate pink hue and aromas of strawberry and watermelon. There is a bowl of fruit on the palate, including juicy flavours of watermelon and pink grapefruit, with a lingering finish. 91.

SpearHead Dual Citizen Sauvignon Blanc 2024 ($29 for 550 cases). The fruit is from the Den Hoed Vineyard in Washington. The grapes were fermented at about 12C for three weeks in stainless steel. It begins with aromas of lime that lead to a delicious fruit salad of flavour, including lime and grapefruit. 90.

SpearHead Jagged Ridge Pinot Noir 2023 ($39 for 142 cases). The Jagged Ridge Vineyard near Naramata is a new grower contracted by SpearHead. The wine is a blend of 61% clone 943 and 39% clone 115. The clones were fermented separately with native yeast, with 21 days on the skins. The wine was aged 13 months in French oak barrels (25% new). The wine has aromas and flavours of spice and cherry, with lingering intensity of fruit flavours on the finish. 92.

SpearHead Cuvée Pinot Noir 2023 ($46 for 288 cases). This is a blend of four clones: 30% of 115, 25% of 114, 25% of 943 and 20% of 777. The grapes, some from Jagged Ridge and some from the estate vineyard, had a five to seven-day cold soak before fermentation, which took place on the skins over three weeks. The wine was aged in French oak barrels (40% new) for 13 months. This is a dark, masculine wine with aromas and flavours of plum, dark cherry and chocolate. 93.

Michael Bartier makes Pristine wines ... seriously

Photo: Michael Bartier in the cellar (Shari Saysomack photo)

Like most wineries in the South Okanagan, Bartier Bros. suffered from the devastating freezes of December 2022 and January 2024. The winery had a minimal harvest in the 2023 vintage and none in the 2024 vintage. Michael Bartier and his brother, Don, are well along at restoring their vineyards to production. Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc vines are being restored while Merlot and Sémillon vines have bee replanted. Sadly, Syrah has been removed and will be replaced with Chenin Blanc.

The winery has produced a 2024 vintage with Washington State grapes. Those wines have labelled “Pristine” and bottled under distinctive labels, alerting consumers that these products are from different terroirs than the usual Bartier wines. The choice of Pristine is also an apt description of the wines, made in a clean, crisp style. Michael worked with vineyards in three different American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Washington. The fruit typically was harvested by hand, trucked across the border and processed in the Bartier Bros. winery. Thise enabled the winery to stay in production in 2024. “The winery remains fully committed to returning to British Columbia grown grapes as soon as the vineyards have recovered,” writes Lindsay White, the winery’s marketing manager.

Here are notes on eight Pristine wines from Bartier Bros. along with five British Columbia reds from the Okanagan’s superb 2022 vintage. That has been, arguably, the best vintage so far in the Okanagan, a year in which the weather and the viticulturists’ skill sets lined up perfectly. I have enjoyed the “replacement wines” from 2024 but I can hardly wait for the return of wines from our own terroir. Here are the notes.

Bartier Bros. Pristine Rosé 2024 ($17.99 for 2,800 cases). The grapes are from the Columbia Valley AVA. The blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Pinot Noir, 2% Chard0nnay and 1% Riesling. Limited skin contact has given this wine a golden-hued rose colour. There are aromas and flavours of strawberry and watermelon. 88.

Bartier Bros. Pristine White 2024 ($17.99 for 845 cases). This is a blend of 46% Riesling, 28% Sauvignon Blanc and 26% Chardonnay. The grapes are from the Columbia Valley AVA. They were harvested at night and were crushed and pressed immediately before being transported to the Bartier winery and fermented in stainless steel. The wine begins with citrus and orchard fruit aromas leading to a tasty fruit salad of flavour. 90.

Bartier Bros. Pristine Vin Gris 2024 ($19.99 for 317 cases). This wine is made with Pinot Gris grapes from the Rattlesnake Hills AVA in Washington. The fruit was harvested at night, crushed and pressed and fermented in stainless steel. A little skin contact has picked up a light golden hue. The wine has aromas and flavours of peach and pear with a crisp, refreshing finish. 90.

Bartier Bros. Pristine Sauvignon Blanc 2024 ($18.99 for 1,260 cases). The grapes are from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The fruit was harvested at night and fermented moderately cool in stainless steel. The wine has aromas and flavours of citrus and peach. It has a refreshing finish. 89.

Bartier Bros. Pristine Riesling 2024 ($18.99 for 280 cases). The grapes are from the Rattlesnake Hills AVA in Washington State. The fruit was harvested at night, crushed and pressed immediately and fermented cool in stainless steel. It has aromas and tangy flavours of lemon with a crisp finish. 89.

Bartier Bros. Pristine Chardonnay 2024 ($18.99 for 398 cases). The grapes are from the Wahluke AVA in Washington State. This is an appealing fruit-forward wine with aromas and flavours of apple and pineapple. 90.

Bartier Bros. Pristine Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2024 ($19.99 for 333 cases). The grapes are from the Wahluke Slope AVA. They are harvested at night and pressed immediately. Fermentation was moderately cool in stainless steel. The wine presents with an appealing rose petal hue. It begins with aromas of strawberry and red plum, leading to flavours of strawberry and cherry. The structure is full and satisfying. 91.

Bartier Bros. Illegal Curve 2022 ($21.99 for 920 cases). This is a blend of 51% Cabernet Franc, 48% Petit Verdot and 1% Pinot Noir. Fermentation temperature was allowed to spike to 29C, with 21 days of skin contact. The wine was aged 14 months in neutral French oak. The wine begins with aromas of cherry, raspberry and blackberry. The palate delivers those flavours mingled with coffee and mocha. 92.

Bartier Bros. Cabernet Franc 2022 ($29.99 for 1,251 cases). The grapes are from the Black Sage Terrace Vineyard near Oliver. The blend includes 8% Syrah and 1% Petit Verdot. Fermentation temperatures were allowed to spike, with 26 days of skin contact. The wine was aged 14 months in neutral French oak. The wine begins with aromas of blackberry and black currant, which are echoed on the palate along with cherry flavours. 92.

Bartier Bros. Merlot 2022 ($25.99 for 1,264 cases). The grapes are from the Cerqueira and Black Sage Terrace Vineyards. Fermentation was allowed to spike to 22C, with 22 days of maceration. The wine was aged 15 months in neutral French oak. The wine has aromas and flavours of blueberry and cherry, with long, ripe tannins giving the wine a long finish. 90.

Bartier Bros. Pinot Noir 2022 ($39.99 for 224 cases). This is 97% Pinot Noir from the Thadd Springs Vineyard in the Thompson River Valley, with 3% Petit Verdot from a Similkameen vineyard. The latter varietal likely was in the blend to add colour. The wine was aged 17 months in neutral oak. It begins with aromas of cherries and spice. Full-bodied, it delivers flavours of cherry and plum with a note of forest floor on the finish. 90.

Bartier Bros. Syrah 2022 ($29.99 for 311 cases). This wine, which has 7% Merlot in the blend, is made from grapes from the winery’s Cerqueira Vineyard. Fermentation temperatures were allowed to run high; and the wine stayed on the skins for 23 days. It was aged 16 months in French oak. The wine has aromas and flavours of dark fruits mingled with black pepper. The texture is generous and the finish is long. 90.

Burrowing Owl and Wild Goose wines released

Photo: Burrowing Owl's Keller Vineyard in autumn 2024 (photo courtesy of Burrowing Owl)

Fans of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery can take comfort from the winery’s deep inventory of superlative red wines and from the somewhat limited frost damage suffered in the devastating 2024 freeze in the south Okanagan.

“Our home vineyard in Oliver did not produce much in terms of fruit,” Stephen Neumann, the winery’s brand ambassador, told me a few months ago. “We had a bit more luck with yields coming out of the 46 acres we have on the east side of Osoyoos. Shockingly, a particular 12-acre vineyard site of ours down there (the Keller Vineyard) dedicated to Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) seemed not to have been affected by the frost at all. We consider ourselves lucky for this, and although some replanting will take place on our properties in 2025, a great number of our vines did survive.” Other growers close to Osoyoos Lake tell a similar tale: the open waters of the lake tempered the climate in nearby vineyards. The cold did not always drop to a vine-killing temperature for a prolonged period. It is unusual for Osoyoos Lake not to be frozen over in January. However, the autumn of 2023 was mild and prolonged, holding off the usual freezing over of the lake by mid-winter. The open water saved many nearby vineyards. For the same reason, many Naramata vineyards lost buds but not always vines because Okanagan Lake tempered the climate there.

Because it had some production in the 2024 vintage, along with a deep inventory, Burrowing Owl did not import grapes for its own brand in 2024. “We have decided to hold to Burrowing Owl Estate Winery’s pledge to continue crafting wines from our vineyards in BC alone.” It was a different story with Wild Goose Winery, which Burrowing Owl owns. “As Wild Goose Winery has often relied on purchased fruit,” Stephen wrote, “it was decided that we would bring in juice from Washington and Oregon to continue production of wines under the Wild Goose Winery and Calliope Wines brands.” As with many Okanagan producers, the winery wanted to keep its production staff employed and the Wild Goose (and Calliope) brands in the market.

In a more recent note, Stephen wrote: “The 2025 season is off to a flying start, up to two weeks early with budbreak in our vineyards.”

Here are notes on recent releases.

Wild Goose Autumn Gold 2024 ($23.10). Grapes for this blend (varietal mix is not disclosed) were sourced in Washington and Oregon. This is a delicious wine in the familiar Wild Goose style: aromatic, packed with orchard fruit aromas and flavours, with a hint of residual sweetness. 90.

Wild Goose Chardonnay 2024 ($21.10). The grapes for this wine were sourced from vineyards in Oregon. This is a fruit-forward style, with aromas and flavours of apple and nectarine. The finish is crisp. 89.

Burrowing Owl Pinot Noir 2023 ($45). The fruit, after being destemmed and crushed, has three days of cold soak before a long 25-day fermentation. The wine was aged nine months in French oak (36% new). The wine has aromas and flavours of cherry, strawberry and raspberry with a touch of spice on the lingering finish. 91.

Burrowing Owl Malbec 2021 ($40). The grapes came from two of the winery’s Osoyoos vineyards. The wine was aged 16 months in oak (55% French, 30% American and 15% Hungarian, with 20% of the barrels being new). The wine begins with aromas of blackberry, chocolate and spice, leading to generous flavours of dark cherry, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry. The finish lingers. 92.

Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($45). Grown in one of the Okanagan’s finest vintages, this is a superb Cabernet Sauvignon. The long autumn allowed the grapes to develop concentrated flavours and long, ripe tannins. The wine was aged 18 months in oak (81% French, 12% Hungarian, 7% American, with just 10% of the barrels being new). The wine begins with aromas of cassis and blueberry, leading to delicious flavours of dark cherry, blackberry, spice and chocolate. The finish is persistent. 93.

Burrowing Owl Meritage 2021 ($53). The blend is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 18% Malbec and 6% Cabernet Franc. These were vinified and aged separately before being blended and given further aging. Total aging was 18 months. The barrel were 80% French and 27% new. This tightly-structured wine benefits from decanting, an indication that it will age well. As the wine opens, it evolves to a full-bodied, satisfying wine, beginning with aromas of dark cherry, black currant, black olives and spice. All of that is echoed on the palate. 95.

Black Hills releasing Nota Bene 2023

Photo: Ryan McKibbon, chief winemaker at Black Hills (photo courtesy of Black Hills)

The 2023 vintage of Nota Bene from Black Hills Estate Winery is the 25th vintage release of one of the great red wines from the Okanagan. For those who have collected verticals of Nota Bene, this is likely the last Nota Bene for a few years, due to the winter damage the vineyard suffered early in 2024.

“Vineyard redevelopment is our big focus for 2024,” Ross Wise MW, the chief winemaker and general manager at Black Hills, wrote when he released the 2022 Nota Bene. “Unfortunately, we have been heavily impacted by the cold events of the last two winters and we are replanting our Black Sage vineyards. As tough as this decision was, it is also an opportunity to build a resilient and productive vineyard for the future, more in tune with the current climate we are faced with.”

Since writing that, Ross has returned to his native New Zealand. The winery announced in April that he has been succeeded by Ryan McKibbon. "Since joining our winemaking team ahead of the 2022 vintage, Ryan has overseen the cellar under the guidance of Ross Wise MW. This move brought his career full circle, as he first worked for Ross as a harvest intern back in 2011. Since then, he's completed 16 harvests around the world, gaining experience at some of the world’s leading wineries, including Crystallum (South Africa), Hidden Bench (Niagara), and Felton Road (New Zealand), along with benchmark estates across the Okanagan Valley," the announcement read.

Nota Bene’s history was recounted in my book, Icon: Flagship Wines from British Columbia’s Best Wineries. Here is an excerpt:

Nota bene suggests that a person should “take notice”. That is exactly what happened with the very first vintage of Nota Bene in 1999. The acclaim from critics and consumers gave it a cult status that the wine has enjoyed ever since. The founders of Black Hills were two couples who had left city jobs in 1996 to plant 36,000 vines, mostly Bordeaux red varieties, in a vineyard on Black Sage Road. Senka Tennant, one of the quartet, was tasked with making the wine. She made the first three vintages of Nota Bene with advice from Rusty Figgins, a Washington state winemaker who had made numerous Bordeaux-style blends at prestigious Leonetti Cellars.

To allow one of the founding couples to retire, Black Hills was sold in late 2007 to a group of investors called Vinequest Wine Partners Limited Partnership. Many of the investors were Nota Bene collectors who now had an even more compelling reason to buy the wine. Senka Tennant’s final Nota Bene was the 2007 vintage, and she has been succeeded in the cellar by Graham Pierce. Vinequest has since expanded Black Hills with the purchase of a neighbouring vineyard in 2011 on which, in the following year, a $1 million wine shop was built. The winery at last had a tasting room commensurate with Nota Bene’s prestige.

Black Hills has the ability to produce more than 5,500 cases from its two vineyards. The volume of Nota Bene, however, is capped at 3,500 to 4,000 cases. The wine’s quality is consistent; it is always made with three estate-grown Bordeaux varieties. It was aged in oak for a year until 2014, when the winery extended barrel-aging to 16 months. The current oak regime is 80% French, 20% American; one-third of the barrels are new, one-third are a year old, and the remaining third are two years old.

Black Hills accompanied the 2023 Nota Bene with a new white, a Rhone-inspired wine called Aridus, a Latin word meaning dry. Here are notes on the two wines. Aridus was released at the winery on May 24 while Nota Bene’s release party at the winery is set for June 13.

Black Hills Nota Bene 2023 ($70 for 3,850 cases). The blend is 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc. The wine was fermented in French oak puncheons with wild yeast and was aged 18 months in French oak barriques and puncheons (41% new). The wine begins with aromas of dark cherry, plum, red currants, chocolate and spice. The palate echoes the aromas with an added note of sage. Long ripe tannins give the wine a long finish. 94.

Black Hills Aridus 2023 ($35 for 110 cases). This is a blend of 46% Roussanne, 40% Viognier and 14% Marsanne. The wine was fermented in French oak with selected and wild yeasts. It was aged 10 months on the fine lees. The wine’s aromas recall the scents of the dry South Okanagan vineyards, mingled with hints of pineapple and quince. The palate mingles savory flavours of sage with notes of quince wrapped around a mineral backbone. 93.