Howling Bluff's Pinot Noir epiphany

Photo: Luke Smith

Like Paul on the road to Damascus, Luke Smith, the owner of Naramata Bench’s Howling Bluff Estate Winery, has had a conversion.

Luke once was a collector of Bordeaux wines (until selling his collection at a profit). He had a Bordeaux blend in mind when he began planting Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties in 2004 and 2005.

In a 2005 interview with me, he spoke of his ambition to make a “blockbuster” Merlot. To be sure, he planted some Pinot Noir but it was not central to his ambition for the winery.

It is now. He is switching over most (but not all) of his vineyard to Pinot Noir. When the remaining vines are planted this year, he will own or manage about 6.5 acres of Pinot Noir – or about two thirds of his vineyard.

“Mother Nature is telling me that my vineyard makes a good Pinot Noir,” he has learned after nine years of farming. “Mother Nature could be really pulling my leg, but talking to enough people whose opinions I value, I have come to the conclusion that one out of four years on the Bench you have the possibility of making a world class Bordeaux blend, with just Bench grapes. Three out of four years you have a chance of making a world class Burgundy, or Pinot Noir, on the Bench, because of the weather. So why would I fight that?”

There is no doubt that his property on Three Mile Road produces excellent Pinot Noir. Howling Bluff’s debut Pinot Noir in 2006 won a Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence. The 2008 Pinot Noir, a gold medal winner, was judged the red wine of the year in the 2010 Canadian Wine Awards.

And I have news for you. The 2009 Pinot Noir, which will be released in late April under the Summa Quies label, may well be the best Howling Bluff Pinot Noir so far.

It is not cheap to alter a vineyard’s varietal mix. Fortunately, Luke has the resources to do it, having been a successful stock broker before his career in wine. Credit him also for being open-minded enough to understand what the vineyard was telling him.

Although the varietal mix is shifting, the winery remains tightly focussed, making one white and (mostly) two reds.

The white is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (70%) and Sémillon. He has been on a learning curve with those vines, too, eventually figuring out that perhaps the vines were not getting enough water or nutrients. Any such farming deficiencies seem to have been worked out, however.

The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon ($19) will be released at the end of April. It is a delicious white, with aromas of grapefruit and clover honey. The grapefruit is echoed on the rich palate; and the wine is crisp and tangy on the finish. 90.

Sin Cera, as Howling Bluff calls its Bordeaux blend, originally was to become a 1,000-case production annually. With the vineyard conversion, it is being limited to about 300 cases annually, hand-crafted wine from vines hand-tended to produce a stunning limited quantity red.

A tank sample of Sin Cera 2009 - the wine will be released perhaps this fall for just over $30 – is already impressive and shows great potential to develop in the bottle. It is a chewy, concentrated red with flavours of plums, olives, figs and with long ripe tannins. 90-93.



At centre stage is the Summa Quies Pinot Noir 2009 ($32). This wine begins with glorious aromas of strawberries. Big and fleshy on the palate, yet with the classis silky texture emerging, this seductive wine has flavours of cherry and strawberry that linger and linger. 92.

Summa Quies is the name of Luke Smith’s vineyard. A Latin phrase that Luke once saw in a Hugh Johnson book, it means, more or less, attaining peace. He considered it for the winery name but, after some consumer hesitance, he opted for Howling Bluff, inspired by the winds that howl across his vineyard.

The winery label, with an image of a howling wolf, was a little too much critter label for high-end restaurants. They were willing to list the wines on the basis of their quality but the label proved to be a deterrent. The new Summa Quies label, clean and elegant on textured white paper, has the look of timeless luxury.



Photo: Chris Carson

Credit some of Luke’s conversion to Pinot Noir to his consulting winemaker, Chris Carson. An Edmonton native, he trained and worked in New Zealand. He started advising Howling Bluff just before the 2008 vintage.

“Chris got here late July, August,” Luke told me in 2009. “The first thing he wanted to see was the Pinot Noir.” In no time, the vineyard crew was dropping crop, ensuring the vines would produce high quality fruit.

When it came to vintage, the winemaker introduced Luke to some old-world winemaking tricks including wild yeast, high temperature fermentation and gentle handling of the must. That summer, Luke had spent $15,000 on a new must pump. The winemaker refused to let him pump the must. “He explained we will never use the must pump again,” Luke says. “When the tannins are ripe, the worst thing you can do is put them through a pump.”

What happened next is one of the legends at Howling Bluff.

Luke was ordered to strip to his underwear, get into the tank of wine and grape skins and transfer it to the press bucket by bucket. “I thought it’s a hazing ritual - he’s going to haze his boss,” Luke remembers. “I said, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me!’ He said, ‘no, I’m not.’ I said okay. So I’m in the tank.”

He was still wondering whether it was a leg pull when Jacqueline Kemp, Chris’s wife and also a winemaker, happened to come by.

“I pulled myself up out of the tank and asked, ‘Jacquie, is he hazing me?’ Deadpan, she said, ‘No, that is how you make good wine’.”

It became Canada’s red wine of the year and Luke has never looked back in his passion for Pinot Noir.

Blasted Church looks for a new winemaker again

Did Harley Hatfield blow another fuse at Blasted Church Vineyards?

This week began with the surprising announcement from the winery that winemaker Richard Kanazawa has left Blasted Church, “effective immediately.”

Richard has been the winemaker there for four years, a longer tenure than any of Blasted Church’s previous four winemakers.

Whatever the reason for this parting of ways, Richard has been making excellent wines, as I noted during a recent tasting of new Blasted Church releases with him in the winery.

One of the most impressive was the 2010 Hatfield’s Fuse, a complex seven-grape white wine which, at 6,000 cases, is perhaps the flagship wine for Blasted Church.

It is said to be named for Harley Hatfield, the foreman of the crew that used dynamite to loosen nails in heavy timbers while dismantling a church being moved to Okanagan Falls in 1929.

The press release from Blasted Church proprietors Chris and Evelyn Campbell was terse and to the point:


Blasted Church wishes to announce that the firm has begun a search for a new winemaker to succeed Richard Kanazawa, who is leaving the company, effective immediately.


"We have enjoyed a highly productive and successful four year relationship with Richard as our Winemaker," stated Chris & Evelyn Campbell, owners of Blasted Church Vineyards. They added, "We believe that at this stage of our development, Blasted Church will benefit from the insights and talents of a new Winemaker. We wish Richard the very best as he champions his winemaking career into the future."


The Company has initiated the search process for the new Winemaker, with the assistance of Watson Advisors Inc. in Vancouver, BC. The search will span both the domestic and international markets.


Located in the Okanagan Falls, BC, Blasted Church is recognized for its bold and fresh approach to winemaking.



Photo: Richard Kanazawa

Richard, who was born in 1972 in Langley, started as a deliveryman for Domaine de Chaberton after a brief career playing professional rugby in Japan. His eight years at Chaberton supported studies in food technology at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, preparing himself, he hoped, for a winemaker’s job. “I had a lot of experience at Domaine but I couldn’t get a cellar hand job in British Columbia if my life depended on it,” he recounted later. “I thought if I can’t get a job here, going overseas was my best opportunity.”

In 2002 he went to Australia, taking courses at Charles Sturt University and working at several wineries. The Simon Gilbert winery recognized his potential. “They said I was being wasted in the cellar, so I moved up to the lab.” He returned to Canada in 2004 with winemaking experience on his resumé, joining Red Rooster for two vintages. The debut 2006 Malbec at Red Rooster won a Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence. Because he switched wineries after that vintage, he got to finish the 2006 Blasted Church Syrah which also won a Lieutenant Governor’s award.

Don’t expect to see him absent from the industry for long. Richard and Jennifer, his wife, have been developing wines for their own label. Currently, he has about 500 cases of two reds still in barrel – a Meritage and a Syrah Viognier Mourvedre – for potential release in 2012.

Here are notes on current releases from Blasted Church.

OMG 2008 Sparkling Wine ($24.99). Blasted Church’s first sparkling wine, this is a cuvée of Chardonnay (50%), Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir (25% each). It displays toasty aromas and flavours reminiscent of some Champagne, with good weight on the palate and with finish that is crisp and tangy. 88-90.

Chardonnay Musqué 2010 ($17.99). This is an unoaked wine made from the aromatic clone of Chardonnay. It has floral, spicy aromas mingled with notes of apple and citrus and pear flavours. The wine has a fresh, juicy texture and a long finish. The winery produced 285 cases. 90.

Pinot Gris 2010 ($19.99). The winery produced 2,580 cases of this popular white. The wine is simply yummy, with a touch of citrus on the nose and with layers of tropical fruit flavours on the palate. 90.

Gewürztraminer 2010 ($16.99). There is still some of the winery’s 2009 on the market but the release of this is imminent. It is a delicious example of the variety, with aromas of spice and citrus and flavours of peach, lychee and ginger. 89.

Mixed Blessings 2010 ($17.99). The winery has produced 302 cases of this aromatic white, a blend of Riesling (64%) and Gewürztraminer (36%). The wine begins with expressively fruity aromas. The palate is juicy with flavours of lime and grapefruit and the finish is tangy and fresh. 90.

Hatfield’s Fuse 2010 ($17.99). The blend here is as complex as any of the new white blends taking the consumers by storm: Gewürztraminer (25%), Pinot Gris (19%), Pinot Blanc (18%), Chardonnay (13 ½%), Ehrenfelser (13 ½%), Optima (6%) and Riesling (5%). There is layer upon layer of fruit on both the nose and the palate – melons, guava, apricot. The fruit intensity gives an impression of sweetness on the palate but the finish is refreshingly dry. 91.

Riesling 2010 ($18.99). This is about to be released. Like most dry Rieslings, it will benefit with six months to a year of bottle age, so that the glorious apple and citrus aromas and flavours can emerge fully and so that the classic note of petrol becomes more pronounced. Even with a balancing amount of residual sugar, the acidity is still bracing. 88.

Rosé 2010 ($17.99). Not yet released, this is an appealing dry rosé comprising Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Malbec (29%) and Cabernet Franc (16%). The wine has aromas of cranberries and strawberries which carry through on the palate to a dry, peppery finish. 88.

Big Bang 2009 ($18.99). In the issuance of new labels last year, the winery rebranded its Dam Flood as Big Bang. This is a red blend of Gamay Noir (60%), Lemberger (16%), Merlot (15%) and Maréchal Foch (9%). It succeeds as a light to medium-bodied summertime quaffer, tasting of plum and cherry. The winery made 1,470 cases. 88.

Pinot Noir 2009 ($24.99). Not yet released, this is an attractive wine with the classic silky texture of the variety and with aromas and flavours of strawberry and cherry. 89-90.

Merlot 2008 ($25.99). Not yet released – the excellent 2007 is still in the market – this wine begins with a spectacular aroma of lingonberries. On the palate, it presents an array of berry fruits and a texture that is ripe and concentrated. 91.

Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot 2008 ($25.99). The winery has released about 2,000 cases of this red. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon (48%), Merlot (44%), Malbec (4%), Petite Verdot (3 ½%) and Cabernet Franc (1/2%). This is a dark, brooding Bordeaux blend with some cedar notes on the nose and with flavours of black currants and black cherry. 88-90.

Red Rooster strikes gold with $17 Chardonnay

Photos: Winemaker Karen Gillis and medal-winning Chardonnay

Thirteen Canadian wineries – the majority from British Columbia - brought home medals from the 2011 Chardonnay du Monde competition in France.

The only gold medal was won by Red Rooster Winery of Penticton for its 2009 Chardonnay. The winery made 1,793 cases and is selling the wine only for $16.99.

It was also judged one of the 10 best wines in a competition in which 914 Chardonnay wines competed.

This competition is now in its 18th year. The same sponsors have also launched competitions for top Syrah, Muscat and Sparkling Wines.

It is difficult to figure out from the web site just precisely how the judging is organized. One assumes that wines are judged in categories of style and probably by country. I note that French wines seem to have dominated, perhaps because it is easy for them to ship their wines to this competition,

Whatever the format, it is still a big achievement to win medals in the world’s biggest Chardonnay competition.

It has to especially satisfying for Red Rooster and Karen Gillis, the winemaker, to win gold with a $17 wine that is readily available. The wine begins with aromas that, as one of my tasting companions put it, say “drink me!” There are notes of apricots, peaches and honey on the nose. On the palate, there are clean citrus flavours and a good, creamy weight. The finish is crisply clean. This is a barrel-fermented wine but the oak is very subtle, supporting the fruit flavours.

Try it yourself and find out what impressed the judges.

Below is the complete list of Canadian medalists.


Gold RED ROOSTER WINERY
Red Rooster Chardonnay 2009

Silver VOLCANIC HILLS ESTATE WINERY
Chardonnay Icewine 2008

Silver ROYAL DE MARIA WINES
Ice Wine Chardonnay Niagara Peninsula 2007

Silver SEE YA LATER RANCH
See Ya Later Ranch Chardonnay 2009

Silver SANDHILL
Sandhill Chardonnay 2009

Silver INNISKILLIN WINES
Inniskillin Canadian Oak Aged Chardonnay Icewine 2007

Silver INNISKILLIN WINES
Inniskillin Three Vineyards Chardonnay 2009

Bronze MISSION HILL FAMILY ESTATE
Mission Hill Family Estate Five Vineyards Chardonnay 2009

Bronze ROAD 13 VINEYARDS
Road 13 Vineyard Jackpot Chardonnay 2008

Bronze NOBLE RIDGE VINEYARD & WINERY
Noble Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay 2008

Bronze BURROWING OWL ESTATE WINERY
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery Chardonnay 2009

Bronze JACKSON TRIGGS OKANAGAN ESTATE
Jackson Triggs Sun Rock Vineyard Chardonnay 2007

Bronze CEDARCREEK ESTATE WINERY
Platinum Chardonnay 2008

These were the 10 best gold medal wines in the competition.


Country Product Winery

France Vin de Pays d'Oc Terradria Collection 2007 Les Vins Georges Dubœuf

Switzerland Valais AOC Fin Bec Chardonnay 2008 Cave Fin Bec

Czech Republic Chardonnay Vyber z Hroznu 2006 Vinarstvi Josef Valihrach

Austria Chardonnay Grubthal 2007 Weingut Muster. Gamlitz

Canada Red Rooster Chardonnay 2009 Red Rooster Winery

France Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Earl Alain Couvreur

France Champagne Spécial Club 2005 Champagne Vazart-Coquart

France Vin de Pays d'Oc Mas du Novi 2009 Saint Jean de Noviciat

Switzerland Valais AOC Chardonnay - Elevé en Barrique Les Coteaux de Sierre 2009 Cave Clos des Cypres

Lebanon Château Ksara Chardonnay - Cuvée du Pape 2010 Ksara

Class of 2011: SummerGate Winery

 

Photo: Gillian and Mike Stohler

Mike and Gillian Stohler, the owners of one of two new Summerland wineries opening this spring, would like consumers to bring back wine bottles for re-use.

They are not alone is trying to get real bottle recycling established; a number of wine producers are offended that returned wine bottles are simply crushed.

For the Stohlers, this is part of the green sensibility governing how they manage their SummerGate Winery. It is one of the handful of organic wineries in British Columbia.

They made the decision to be organic as soon as they bought this Summerland vineyard in 2007.

“We have a young family of four little ones,” Mike explains. “We did not want the chemicals around for practical reasons.” Other wineries advised them, as newcomers to wine growing, to “learn to walk first and then start to run. No, we threw caution to the wind.”

They now have their first wines, all white, in their tasting room as well as in a few restaurants and in Liberty Wine Stores in Vancouver. Judging from the quality of those wines, being organic is not a disadvantage for this couple.

Born in Ontario in 1972, Mike was managing a Vancouver call centre and Gillian, trained in accounting, was working there when they decided in 2003 to move to the Okanagan and to a different lifestyle. “We realized, as some people do, when you are climbing up the corporate ladder, sometimes it is leaning against the wrong wall,” Mike says. “We were young enough to make a change.”

They took their time finding a property, making their decision in 2007 before Okanagan real estate values inflated out of sight.

They bought the property where winemaker Eric von Krosigk had already planted about nine acres of grapes, intending to develop a winery dedicated just to sparkling wines. His project was shelved for personal reasons and the 9-acre vineyard was sold.

Half of the vineyard is planted to Muscat Ottonel, propagated with cuttings that Eric obtained when he was working with Hillside Estate Winery, where Muscat Ottonel is a flagship wine. The remainder of the vineyard is planted to Riesling and to Kerner.

“I love Kerner” says Mike. While at a German wine industry trade show a few years ago, he and Gillian researched the origins of the grape. It is a 1929 cross of Riesling and Trollinger, named for some obscure reason after a poet called Justinus Kerner. There is, in fact, a move in Germany among quality producers, to release the wine as Justinus K.

Mike is not going that far yet because Kerner does not have a bad name in British Columbia. He has even added to his vineyard’s Kerner acreage, having found that the variety is well suited to his comparatively cool site.

 

Photo: SummerGate property

SummerGate’s red wines are a few years down the road. A neighbour with a good 4.5-acre site is proposing to plant Pinot Noir, along with Gewürztraminer, for SummerGate. Even when those vines are producing, SummerGate will remain a boutique winery.

“It is all about careful growth,” Mike says. “Being big is not part of our plan. We’re happy doing what we are doing.” The winery made about 450 cases in 2009 and about 600 cases last year. All wines are priced at $19.90 a bottle.

When he is not busy now as a realtor with one of the major firms, Mike is managing the vineyard with the discipline necessary for good wines. “We crop down to one or two tons an acre,” he says.

Gillian – she pronounces her name with a hard G – is the winemaker. She has taken Okanagan College winemaking courses. In its initial vintage, SummerGate also called in a consultant, Kelly Symonds, the former winemaker at Hillside. As well, both a German winemaker and one from New Zealand spent several months here under a hosting program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

Her small batch winemaking begins with grapes that Mike and his crew pick into small buckets, not large bins, so that the fruit does not get squashed on the way to the winery. The grapes are fermented at cool temperatures to preserve the aromatics. Whenever wine is moved in the winery, dry ice is used to shield the wine from air. This reductive winemaking yields fresh, clean and focussed wines.

Here are notes one the debut releases.

Muscat Ottonel 2009 Stohler Family Reserve: This begins with the variety’s classic signature, a floral aroma of rose petals. On the palate, the wine is fresh and crisp, with citrus flavours and with the defining bite of spice on the dry finish. 88.

Kerner 2009 Stohler Family Reserve: The 61 cases of this wine have been sold at the winery but may still be in restaurants. The wine is balanced to finish off-dry. There is enough residual sugar to add a richness to the creamy mid-palate and a lift to the tropical fruit aromas and flavours. 89.

Riesling One 2009 Stohler Family Reserve: In 2009, the Riesling harvest at SummerGate was interrupted by poor weather. The grapes picked in early October produced this wine. It begins with aromas of citrus and a classic hint of petrol. On the palate, the wine is crisp with flavours of lime and green apples. The finish is tangy and refreshing. 90.

Riesling Two 2009 Stohler Family Reserve: The late-picked Riesling had a touch of botrytis and lower acidity. The wine begins with a hint of honey comb on the nose and a touch of honey mingling with the citrus flavours. The finish is dry but softer than its partner. 88.

SummerGate Winery
11612 Morrow Avenue,
Summerland.
www.SummerGate.ca
Telephone: 250-583-9973
When to visit: Afternoons Friday through Monday May 1-October 31; weekend afternoons in winter; and by appointment.

Class of 2011: Ancient Hill Estate Winery

This blog on Ancient Hill Estate Winery is the first in a series looking at the surprising number of new wineries opening this spring – what I call the Class of 2011. This winery will open May 1.

Ancient Hill, which is located on a hillside east of and above Kelowna International Airport, is not far from where one of the earliest grape-growing trials took place in the Okanagan. Starting about 1930, Hungarian-born brothers Eugene and Virgil Rittich did extensive evaluation of vinifera grapes. They also wrote British Columbia’s first wine book, discussing their results and counselling how to make wine. Their name has survived as a street name not far from Ancient Hill.

Richard Kamphuys (rhymes with compass), who owns Ancient Hill with wife Jitske, notes that Lemberger, one of the varieties recommended by the Rittich brothers, thrives in his vineyard.

The couple came to the Okanagan from Holland and bought an apple orchard. Richard, who was born in 1963, completed an advanced economics degree at the historic Erasmus University in Amsterdam before decided he wanted a rural lifestyle for himself and his family.

Richard was actually born in Iran because his father was working there at the time. “I have no connection to Iran except that I was born there,” he says wryly. “There is nothing Persian in my background but it makes for interesting border crossings nowadays.”



“We arrived here in 1992,” Richard says. “I actually looked at the wine industry at that point, but people were still of the mindset that you could not successfully grow vinifera here, that it was an enormous risk. So I never pursued that angle. It was only 12 years later that I had come back to it. When I came here, the common wisdom was that you cannot grow the vinifera here. Who am I to question that? I am new to the area. I didn’t come here to establish a vineyard and a winery. I came here to establish a business and live here.”

The previous owners of the property, encouraged by the Rittich trials, planted grapes on the hillside in 1944. But they abandoned the vineyard when a hard winter killed many of the vines and even some apple trees. About 40 of those ancient vines, probably Okanagan Riesling, still survive.

When apples became unprofitable, Richard and Jitske replaced the orchard in 2005 with 27,000 vines over about six hectares (15 acres). They planted mid-season ripening varieties: Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Lemberger, Zweigelt and Pinot Noir.

The biggest block, about a quarter of the vineyard, is Baco Noir, a red French hybrid that is an insurance policy for Richard in case there is another hard winter. “The Baco Noir was a choice we made just to make sure,” he explains. “When I was studying up to get into this industry, I found that many people had abandoned the old varieties that were here without giving them a chance. They are winter hardy. People seem to forget that we are a lot closer to the North Pole here than in Europe.”

Richard’s preparations for the wine business included taking both viticulture and winemaking courses at Okanagan College. At the same time, he has retained Christine Leroux as the consulting winemaker for Ancient Hill.

To design the winery, they hired Robert Mackenzie, the Penticton architect who has been involved with numerous Okanagan wineries. His early sketches were for a modernistic building with lots of glass until Richard and Jitske said they preferred a winery with an old world feel. The architect came up with a handsome structure which sits comfortably in the landscape. The view from the tasting room takes in vineyards and, in the distance, the Kelowna airport.

Richard and Jitske already are considering promoting a stop at the wine shop for passengers either arriving early for a flight or waiting out a flight delay.

Here are notes on the debut wines at Ancient Hill.

Pinot Gris 2009 ($17.95). The winery is releasing 125 cases of this wine. It is a juicy-textured and easy-drinking unoaked white with flavours of apricots and pears. 88.

Gewürztraminer 2009 ($18.95). The winery produced 630 cases in 2009, purchasing about half the grapes required from Winfield-area vineyards. (All of its wines in 2010 are entirely estate grown.) This wine is finished dry, with food in mind. It has the classic spicy aromas and spicy/citrus flavours of the variety. 88.

Lazerus 2009 ($19.95). This red, with a production of 205 cases, is an unoaked blend of 61% Lemberger and 39% Zweigelt. As in Austria, the varieties blend well. Richard settled on a proprietary name because he figures these varietal names don’t sell themselves in this market. The wine has a juicy texture without being heavy. It begins with aromas of red berries and caramel candy and has flavours of blueberries and currants. 88.

Baco Noir 2009 ($24.95). This is the winery’s big red, aged in American oak. It has ripe flavours of plum with a hint of mocha and a spicy sweetness on the otherwise dry finish due to the good oak match. The winery made 140 cases. 90.

Yet to come is a Pinot Noir from 2009, still maturing in oak.


Ancient Hill Estate Winery
4918 Anderson Road
Kelowna BC V1X 7V7
T 250.491.2766
W www.ancienthillwinery.com
When to visit: 10 am-5 pm daily

Hester Creek draws on Vincor talent again

Photo: Rob Smith

Hester Creek Estate Winery has added firepower by dipping into the talent pool at Vincor Canada.

Rob Smith, who was Vincor Canada’s Okanagan sales manager for the past 13 years, has been named sales director at Hester Creek.

He was recruited primarily for his track record in sales. “He knows everyone, and is well liked for his easygoing nature and professionalism,” Hester Creek said in its announcement.

Before going into the wine business, Rob managed a Whistler restaurant for several years, experience that will serve him well now that Hester Creek also is opening a restaurant.

This is the second time that Hester Creek has attracted a Vincor veteran. Mark Sheridan joined Hester Creek last year as general manager after 10 years as Vincor’s director of vineyard operations in the Okanagan.

Born in Australia, where he trained, Mark arrived in the Okanagan just as Vincor began planting its extensive south Okanagan vineyards. By the time he left the company, wines from those grapes were winning awards around the world.

Recruiting talent from Vincor is only part of what Curt Garland, Hester Creek’s owner, has been doing to transform this winery, which he bought in 2004, into one of the Okanagan’s leading producers. He lured a veteran winemaker, Rob Summers, from Ontario where he had been the national winemaker at Andrew Peller Ltd. Last year, Hester Creek replaced its old winery with a thoroughly modern facility equipped with state-of-the-art winemaking tools.

LaStella and Le Vieux Pin's new releases

Photo: Severine Pinte-Kosaka

Making good wines from a great vintage is a matter of routine.

The Okanagan’s 2010 vintage, on the other hand, was a difficult one – the type of vintage in which the winemaking cream rises to the top.

Thus it was that I approached, with considerable anticipation, a tasting of wines from Le Vieux Pin and LaStella (sister wineries) that included several 2010 wines.

Adding to the anticipation was the change in the winemaking team that occurred last summer when Severine Pinte-Kosaka, a French winemaker, took over at LaStella, complementing James Cambridge at Le Vieux Pin. Judging from this tasting, it is a strong team. Their 2010 whites are excellent.

The vintage was scary, starting with a late and cool spring, followed by a cool summer. Most growers began dropping some crop to that the vines would ripen the remaining grapes. The unusual (for the Okanagan) rain in early September set up ideal conditions for mildew and rot. The weather turned after mid-September to produce a long, dry autumn that basically saved the vintage. Given the prevalence of rot, most wineries had to sort their grapes carefully, ensuring that only healthy fruit was crushed.

Overall yields were down but the fruit, when healthy, delivered vibrant flavours. The 2010 wines from meticulous producers are surprisingly good.

This was undoubtedly the most challenging of James Cambridge’s four vintages at Le Vieux Pin. A graduate of the Niagara College winemaking program, James began his career at the Creekside winery in Ontario and then worked at the Henry of Pelham winery before moving to the Okanagan. Here he spent a few years at Summerhill Pyramid Winery before taking over at LVP.

Severine Pinte-Kosaka’s winemaking career in the Okanagan began with the 2010 vintage. Born in France in 1973, she has a master’s degree in viticulture from the winemaking school at Montpellier. Her husband, Michael, is a Vancouver native who was running Butterfields and Robinson tours in France. Severine has had some Canadian experience, having worked briefly at Langley’s Domaine de Chaberton Winery and also in Ontario before returning to France and kicking her career into high gear in Bordeaux and then in Languedoc. Among other posts, she spent 10 years as head winemaker for a large co-operative producer.

All along, she kept a close watch on what was happening in the Okanagan because she and her husband visited British Columbia regularly. She met one of the owners of LaStella and Le Vieux Pin in 2007 and stayed in touch.

She moved to British Columbia in 2010 with her husband and their two children. “The Okanagan is a wonderful place for raising children,” she says. She was available in August that year when the winemaker’s position came open at LaStella.

Next month, the wineries will start releasing 2010 wines along with wines from earlier vintages. Here are notes on some of those new releases, with retail pricing; restaurant pricing is a little lower.




LaStella Leggiero 2010 ($25). This unoaked Chardonnay is inspired by the style of northern Italian Chardonnays. (The mandate of LaStella is to lean stylistically toward Italy while Le Vieux Pin leans to Rhone-style wines). This wine, with a release of only 330 cases, begins with appealing aromas of flowers, apples and bananas. On the palate, the citrus and apple flavours have a clean, crisp, and laser-sharp focus. The finish lingers. 90.




LaStella Vivace 2010 ($25). With a production of 630 cases, this is a Pinot Grigio that nails the Italian style precisely. The wine is light and fruity with aromas and flavours of citrus and fresh pears. The hint of residual sweetness, balanced by good acidity, adds to the charm. 88.

LaStella Moscato d’Osoyoos 2010 ($19.90 for 500 ml). The winery is releasing 450 cases (half litre bottles) of this elegant aperitif, a blend of three Muscat varieties. Light in alcohol at 9% and finished with slight effervescence, this wine begins with attractive floral aromas and has spicy fruit flavours, with a refreshing tang on the finish. 90.

LaStella Allegretto 2008 ($45). The winery is releasing 188 cases of this wine, a ripe Merlot from Osoyoos vineyards. The intense and concentrated fruit flavours recall black currants and lingonberries, with an overtone of jam on the nose. 90.

LaStella Allegretto MMVII ($45). This is the previous vintage. LaStella is stopping the use of Roman numerals on its front labels after receiving some flak from the regulators. Does no one study Latin anymore? The winery released 240 cases of this wine. It is a dark, brooding Merlot with notes of chocolate, black cherry, tobacco and oak and with firm tannins. This could be the wine to cellar while drinking the 2008. 88-90.




Le Vieux Pin Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($35). The appeal of the LVP wines begins with labels that include all the essential information. The consumer learns that the grapes for this came from Osoyoos and Oliver vineyards that produced an average 3.3 tons an acre (low tonnage implies intense flavours). This dramatic white has aromas of lime, grapefruit and guava that explode from the glass. It delivers those flavours powerfully, finishing with notes of herbs, spices and even white pepper. This is one of the most expressive Sauvignon Blancs to come from the Okanagan. Some 430 cases are being released. 92.




Le Vieux Pin Vaïla Rosé 2010 ($28). Pinot Noir for this wine was harvested on November 4 (2010 was also a late vintage) and juice for this rosé was drawn off after 24 hours on the skins. The wine, with a 340-case production, begins with an attractive salmon pink hue. It has aromas and flavours of strawberry, rhubarb and pink grapefruit and has a refreshing tang on the dry finish. 90.

Le Vieux Pin Merlot 2008 ($35). This is the final Merlot from LVP as the winery makes the transition to Rhone varieties. Some 350 cases are being released. This is an appealing Merlot, plump and fleshy with blackberry and black currant flavours. 90.

Le Vieux Pin Syrah 2008 ($45). This is the inaugural Syrah from this winery. Most of the 487 cases being released in April have already been allocated. The wine has the classic notes of pepper in the aroma and flavour, along with black cherry and plum. As well, the flavours are richly meaty and earthy in the Rhone style. 89-91.

As the year moves along, look for Le Vieux Pin to release a 2009 Viognier-Marsanne ($35), in the winery’s migration to a portfolio biased to Rhone varieties.