Quinta Ferreira is a winery that's found just outside of Oliver on the Black Sage Road. That being said it's on the far side of the tracks when driving down Hwy 97 and it on the opposite end of the road when we find ourselves on Black Sage Road to visit the likes of Burrowing Owl or Black Hills. As such, it's one of those wineries that I'm more familiar with the name than I am with the wines. The winery recently won Canadian Red Wine of the Year from Wine Access magazine for its 2009 Syrah; so, I figured it's high time we paid their wines another visit.
Family owned and operated, Quinta Ferreira was established in 2007. The Ferreira family, however, have been farming in the Okanagan since the 1960's when they immigrated from Portugal (which helps explain the roots to the name "Quinta"). Although the second generation in Canada continued to farm and grow tree fruit, John and Maria (now Mom & Dad) decided to start converting the orchards into grape vines in 1999. They now produce around 5000 cases annually in a wide array of wines - 10 reds and 7 whites - and son, Michael, is carrying on with the family's new direction by becoming the lead winemaker for Quinta Ferreira.
Despite not have many of their wines in our collection, I have added their Syrah, Malbec, Pinot Blanc and an earlier vintage Chardonnay to The List. This 2008 joins the '07 that was added to The List all the way back at #141. The winery now offers both an oaked and unoaked version of Chardonnay. We opened the oaked wine and it saw barrel ageing in both French and American oak. I'm not a big fan of heavy oaking with my whites but the winemakers showed some restraint with this vintage and I could still sense enough fruit coming through to find that it paired nicely with the cream and shrimp sauce.
I did manage to score a couple bottles of that 2009 Syrah and I'm looking forward to when we pull the cork on one of those bottles. In the mean time, the Chardy might not have pulled in the same hardware I think it helps show that the winery is definitely moving in the right direction.
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I've opened the 2007 Merlot and 2008 Obra-Prima in the last month. I am blown away by what they've been able to accomplish. Incredible lush fruit with solid structure. Deliscious now, I'm sure these wines could age 5-10 years. So impressed by Quinta Ferreira. Wish it were more widely available in Alberta.
ReplyDeleteHey Scott, Thanks for the tips. I'll have to keep an eye open for the Obra-Prima.
DeleteAs for finding BC wines in Alberta, even we Vancouverites have trouble finding a great many BC wines - unless we go to the Okanagan or order directly from the winery.