The Wine Festival wasn’t totally sold out but a very enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Laurel Packinghouse to taste the latest wine from the small guys (less than 2000 cases produced annually).
There were 22 wineries represented, all with a minimum of 3 pours so the challenge was how to cover this much wine in only two hours. There was no way to do justice to all the wines, so my apologies in advance to the wineries I missed. The Festival arrangers kept a close eye on the clock. No one entered before 2 O’clock and no pours after 4 PM.
Bella Wines
I started with the bubbly at Bella Wine. Jay Drysdale was pouring a flight of three 2013 SPARKLING BLANC DE BLANCS. All are 100% Chardonnay sourced from growers in Oliver, Kamloops and Keremeos. The wines were all cross-flow filtered, then bottled and capped by hand for the second fermentation. The wines spent eleven months on lees and were hand riddled, hand disgorged and finished brut natural in style with no dosage added. All are great value sparkling wines. Jay hinted that this year’s vintage would be a challenge due to vastly different acid and sugar levels in the chardonnays compared to previous years
Anarchist Mountain Vineyards
Andrew Stone was pouring his Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay is lightly oaked which lets the delicate citrus flavours shine through. The pinot is light in colour but has a bold taste. Aromas of cherry and strawberry are echoed on the palate, with delicate and lingering fruit flavours. Silky tannins give the wine good weight.
BC Wine Studios
Siren’s Call Syrah is a big red with aromas of black cherry, oak and spices. On the palate, there is more black cherry and plum with classic notes of white and black pepper. Siren’s Call Harmonious is a blend of 39% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 14% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Syrah. This is a medium-bodied wine with bright aromas of cherry and vanilla with silky tannins. The Merlot is sourced from Anarchist Mountain where the cropping is low at around only 3 Tons per acre.
Black Cloud
Bradley Cooper was pouring a flight of Pinot Noir, starting with the 2012 and working to the two older vintages. I really like the younger 2012 which was edgier than the older wines that processed finer nuances. Slight notes of plum and cherry with a finish of fig and raspberry. Black Cloud produces only Pinot Noir, and they do it well. The Pinot based Rose was also excellent.
Black Market Wine Company
Black Market Wine Company is the new brand owned by Rob Hammersley and Michelle Shewchuk from Calgary and Okanagan Falls. Production is only about 180 cases. They were pouring the Syndicate red, which is a solid Bordeaux style blend and the Secret Society white.
Corcelettes Estate Winery
Corcelettes Estate Winery Keremeos is operated by Charlie Baessler and his family. Production is quickly heading for 2,000 plus. One of the rarest white grape varieties in British Columbia is Chasselas, which happens to be the major white in Switzerland. Corcelettes Trivium is a blend of 50% Chasselas and 25% each of Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. Charlie indicated that the early harvest would not be a problem for them this year as the Chasselas grape thrives on heat. The standout wine for me was the Corcelettes Menhir 2013 (200 cases). This is the winery’s flagship red, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Syrah. Intense spicy peppery, plum and blueberry aromas of Syrah combined with the savoury dried herbs, and currant of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Part 2 comes after about an hour of serious tasting.
Deep Roots Winery
Will Hardman, the winemaker, is the 4th generation of the family to be working the property. He learned to make award-winning wines in New Zealand and South Africa and now brings that expertise to his wines made in Naramata. Will was his usual funny self and was pouring an excellent Syrah. The winery describes this as a “ripe and brooding” cool-climate Syrah. It begins with aromas of blueberries, blackberries and black cherry. Those carry through to the flavour, along with notes of raspberry. The wine also shows the classic gamey flavours and the hints of pepper.
Giant Head Estate Winery
Christina Young was pouring Giant Head Gewürztraminer 2014. The 15% Riesling gives the wine has bright acidity to complement the aromas and flavours of guava, pear and lychee. The finish is very dry. An excellent white. The Pinot Noir was medium-bodied, lots of cherries and good value for $30.
Lariana Cellars
Just a brief visit to try the 2014 Viognier with notes of apricot and green apple and a 2012 red blend “TWELVE”(53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah, 21% Merlot and 1% Carmenère. Dark in colour, I could pick up the chocolate and spice flavours. Lariana produces less than 1000 cases.
Marichel Vineyard
A small artisan winery on the Naramata Bench owned by Richard Roskell, who’s also the winemaker. I had the opportunity to sample their Syrah which is very good wine from a cool vintage. They produce 1200-1500 cases per year.
Nagging Doubt Winery
Nagging Doubt is a small artisan winery located in South East Kelowna. Rob Westbury was pouring Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and red blend–The Pull. The lightly oaked chardonnay was excellent. The Pinot Noir was exceptional with a gorgeous violet nose and the red blend was extremely smooth. The Pull is 40+% Merlot and was cropped at about 5 tons per acre but the grapes were hand-sorted to provide smooth tannins with nice acidity.
Nighthawk Vineyard
NightHawk Vineyard just opened their doors on Green Lake, near Okanagan Falls. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to sample their tiny case lot Pinot Gris, Viognier, Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Cab-Sauv, or Syrah – none of their wines is over 112 cases.
Riverstone Estate Winery
Riverstone Estate Winery is a small, family-owned and operated vineyard and winery near Oliver. Ted Kane and Julie Planiden were pouring two Bordeaux blends and the white Splash. I only had a chance to try Splash which is a very enjoyable blend of Viognier, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer with tropical aromas and flavours.
Roche Wines
Roche Wines Dylan Roche was pouring their Pinot Noir and Rose. The Pinot and Rose were both classic Burgundy style wines.
My apologies to the other winemakers I missed. So much BC wine, so little time.
Cheers,
Julian