[Summerland, BC] The team at Summerland BC winery, Solvero Wines, has unveiled its action plan to source grapes come harvest time, as they are not able to harvest fruit from the winery’s BC vineyards.
In late July, Solvero GM and Winemaker Alison Moyes embarked on a wine adventure when she travelled to Washington and Oregon, visiting the best AVA regions in search of premium, boutique-style Chardonnay grapes. Like many wineries, the vines in Solvero vineyards suffered bud damage due to two back-to-back winters featuring very frigid cold snaps. As a result, Alison is planning to source grapes that will be hand-harvested and processed into juice under her direction. She will be present in the US during the harvesting and processing to ensure Solvero standards are met.
Grape juice from Chardonnay grapes will then be cold shipped to the winery in Summerland, where it will be fermented as usual. The labeling will accurately reflect the specific vineyard location and year the grapes were sourced. Making wine from US grapes is a temporary measure to help the Solvero team continue offering wine while the vineyards recover. Moyes says it will be fun and interesting to make wine from premium grapes sourced from another region.
In the vineyards at home in Summerland, the Solvero team is working on “retrunking” the vines to have them back in production for 2025. In the meantime, the team is looking to fill the gap and maintain a sustainable Solvero supply on the shelf for its loyal wine club members, customers, and accounts. The team also has back vintages of some of their own wines on hand. As a small winery, they do anticipate selling out of certain wines every year but assure their customers that quality wine will continue to be available.
Background
What is an AVA?
An AVA is an “American Viticultural Area” – a designated grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that sets it apart from other regions. This is much like British Columbia’s own Designated Viticultural Areas, or DVAs, also called sub-Geographical Indications (or sub-GIs), which are now part of the VQA program in BC.
An AVA name on a bottle of wine means a minimum of 85% of the grapes in the wine have all come from that one specific region. BC requires 95% of the grapes to be from the DVA region for the name to appear on the label.
What is Retrunking?
Many of the vines in the Okanagan Valley that sustained bud damage from the cold are pushing new shoots from the ground. Retrunking uses the new shoots from the base of the vine to replace the existing damaged trunk.
The new shoots grow from the established rootstock and will push fruit in the following year, unlike planting brand new vines, which takes at least 2-3 years before they produce viable grapes. Once the new shoot is established, the original trunk is removed.
About Solvero Wines
Derived from Latin and meaning “truth in soil,” Solvero embodies a commitment to integrity and honesty in every aspect of viticulture and winemaking.
At almost 600m elevation, Solvero Wines is one of the highest vineyards in BC. The elevation, steep slopes and well-draining soils define this extraordinary site. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are showcased beautifully in the rugged landscape.
With Solvero, guests have the rare opportunity in the Okanagan to not only savour quality wines, but also to engage directly with the winemakers; learning about the land, vineyards, and the philosophies that shape every pour.
Visit www.solverowines.ca and follow @solverowines for the latest updates.
For more information, see – New wines from Solvero