The Black Widow Winery 2019 Rosé was rated the best Blanc de Noir Style Rosé at the recent All Canadian Wine Championship. Seeing this result prompted me to update the earlier article on the Naramata winery.
Gewürztraminer and Schönburger Harvest
We first visited the Black Widow Winery in 2016, to see the Gewürztraminer harvest and experience the crush first hand. Shannon Lancaster did an excellent job of describing the “crush” process and as an added bonus provided samples of Sauser for us to taste.
We tried the freshly pressed Gewürztraminer grape juice and some Schönburger sauser that was a few days old. They were both interesting and delicious. Still white in appearance with some bubbles from the suspended yeast, sauser is an alcoholic beverage but usually less than 4% alcohol.
Suuser – or also referred to as sauser – is fruity and sweet, with refreshing acidity and appealing fizz. It is foggy in appearance, but don’t let that put you off. The cloudy look is simply the result of the juice not being filtered before its bottled.
Rumour has it that Sauser was invented by the Swiss. One year following a bountiful harvest, there was not sufficient winemaking equipment for all the grape juice resulting from the crush. Enter Sauser, an excellent way to work done the juice inventory!
Background
Dick and Shona Lancaster purchased the 7-acre Naramata Bench vineyard in 2000 and started right away planting more vines. In 2006, they built the Black Widow Winery and released their first single-vineyard wines. Today the annual production averages 2,200 cases– all from grapes grown on the Naramata Bench within a short walk of the winery. Many of the wines have won awards in National and International competitions.
Dick has a background originally in Biology (BSc., MSc.), an MBA in marketing and finance, and over 30 years amateur winemaking experience so the transition from a professional accountant (CMA) to grape grower/winemaker was very natural. Their daughter Shannon joined them full-time for the 2011 crush as assistant winemaker, helping in all aspects of the vineyard, B&B, and the winery.
Naramata Bench Vineyard
The Black Widow Estate sits on a steep slope adjacent to Naramata Road. This provides dramatic views of the region and an ideal micro-climate for growing many varieties of grapes. Proximity to the lake on the west and rock bluffs to the east contribute to a long, frost-free growing season.
The white wine varieties were planted in 1997-1998, while the reds were added in 2001-2002. The Lancaster’s have made many changes to improve grape quality, including the installation of drip irrigation, and trellising using the Scot Henry system.
Grape growing is very labour intensive. Pruning is done by hand in the winter. Shoots are thinned in early summer, sucker, trim excess growth, and leaves pulled to expose fruit to sunlight as the summer progresses. During the early stages of ripening (veraison), the vineyard team thins the green fruit to reduce the crop level so that the remaining bunches will fully mature. All harvesting is done by hand and only top quality fruit is selected.
The Wines
Black Widow Schönburger, Single Vineyard 2019
Sourced from Black Widow Estate, this is one of the winery’s most exclusive offerings.
Lush tropical fruit flavour, with delicate floral aroma of honeysuckle and tropical fruit. Finished off-dry.
Enjoy on its own or paired with salads, blue cheese, and delicate seafood. Black Widow is one of the very few producers of Schönburger in the Province. <1>
Black Widow Rosé 2019
The 2019 Rosé is a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a lesser amount of Syrah grapes to form the Cuvee. Following crush, the grapes soak on the skins for just a few hours before gently pressing.
The colour is a beautiful light pink hue. Aromas are reminiscent of watermelon, pink grapefruit, and strawberry. Fermented quite dry, the finish is very crisp and clean with a light spicy flavour. <1>
Ideal for summer patios and pool-side, or pair with paté, salads, fowl, lightly spicy dishes and BBQ.
Double Gold medal winner at 2020 All Canadian Wine Championships.
Black Widow Merlot 2017
Concentrated, dusty medium tannins, medium acidity. Flavours of black damson plum, black cherry, baking spice, dark chocolate and liquorice.
For the complete portfolio of Black Widow wines please go to the following link.
You should definitely visit Black Widow Winery the next time you are in Naramata.
Reference: <1> Information and tasting notes provided by Black Widow Winery.
Note: Originally posted in October, 2016.