SpierHead Rosé Foray

One of the constant topics mentioned in any general blogpost, article or fact sheet about the BC wine scene is that there is a perpetual parade of new - and even newer - wineries. The latest count has increased to over 300 wineries in the province. I'm likely exposed to as many local wineries as the next guy and I can't come close to keeping up with all of them - let alone try or be familiar with all their products and directions.

SpierHead debuted on the scene when it was named Best New Winery in 2012 at the BC Wine Awards. Even with that admirable arrival and a couple of years under their belt, I knew very little about them until we met with proprietors, Bill & Marina Knutson, for a tasting and tour during last year's BC Wine Appreciation Bus Tour. I picked up some of the winery's stellar Pinot Noir at that time to lay down but, then, I was reminded of SpierHead during the recent BCWAS Gala 10th Anniversary Tasting. I picked up some of the Rosé at that time and figured I didn't want to wait to give it a try.

1930.  2013 SpierHead Pinot Noir Rosé (Okanagan Valley VQA)

Deep with colour, the juice for this Rosé soaks on the skins for two days. The depth of hue might suggest bigger flavours and sugars than its lighter Rosé cousins, but don't be fooled. There's still plenty of juicy acidity that cries out for warm weather or food - or both.

SpierHead's first vintage of Rosé in 2012 just happened to win Double Gold at the All Canadian Wine Awards. My guess - and hope - is that the 730 cases of Rosé made this year will disappear quickly and lead the powers that be to make the Rosé a regular part of the SpierHead portfolio.

The winery is located in the hills on the eastern side of Kelowna - not too far from a favourite of our's, Tantalus. Boo and I don't generally make it up that way during our Okanagan forays. I'm thinking that we need to make more of an effort.

A New Wine to Hug

A short time back, the BC Wine Appreciation Association celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a Gala Tasting that featured just shy of 50 BC wineries from around the province. I'm told it was one of the (if not THE) biggest gatherings of BC wineries ever held. With that many participating wineries - and with most of them pouring four wines - there were far too many wines to taste them all.

I did my darnedest to hit as many tables as I could, but even a seasoned piker like me barely scratched the surface. Rather than simply concentrate on producers and wines that I'm very familiar with, I made a conscious effort to try some wines and regions that I didn't know so well. One hitherto unknown winery that particularly caught my attention was a new producer coming out of the Similkameen Valley: Hugging Tree. I had an interesting chat with two of the winery principals about their location and organic approach to viticulture.

I ended up ordering three of the wines that they served up.

1928.  2013 Hugging Tree Rosé (Similkameen Valley)

Now that I have the wines in hand, I opted to go with the Rosé as the first to knock back. Made from Merlot and Cab Sauv juice, there's a good shot of fruit on the palate, with strawberry and tree fruit up front and evident. That profile might not be too surprising since half of the Makepeace family's 60-acre property had already been planted with apples and peaches when they purchased it. The balance of the lands were raw and were planted with grapes - largely red Bordeaux varieties.

With summer just around the corner, I suspect I'll be pouring a healthy number of Rosés. I'll need to keep this one in mind. Too bad, there wasn't a lot of this vintage to go around - around 235 cases or so only.

It's a good thing that Boo and I like to drive along the Hope-Princeton Highway and through the Similkameen whenever we travel to the Okanagan. We'll likely be able to fit in a visit to the new tasting room on one of those forays. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later.

Yikes - Some Things Are Easier to Swallow

Another Canucks/Flames playoff game, another BC Syrah.

It's Game 4 of the series and our Canucks haven't exactly been taking it to the upstart Flames. Game 4 is going to be rather pivotal and the Canucks were heading into the game down two games to one.

Unfortunately, the wine was far better than the game.

1904.  2009 Le Vieux Pin Syrah (Okangan Valley VQA)

If memory serves, I picked up a couple bottles of this '09 vintage after a BC Wine Appreciation Society tasting with Le Vieux Pin and its sister winery, La Stella. Indeed, I see that fellow BCWAS'er and fellow blogger, Russel Ball, wrote about that tasting and his Adventures in BC Wine post confirmed our tasting of the this Syrah. The wine wowed us then and it continued to work its magic now.

It was gratifying to see that the bit of ageing we'd given the bottle hadn't hurt it at all. It remained a big bodied wine with lots of fruit and a wonderfully long finish. I only wish that this description was just as applicable to the Canucks (but that wasn't the case tonight). This was only the second vintage of Syrah produced by Le Vieux Pin. So, I'm looking forward to seeing if the wines can get any better as the vines mature.

I'd also recalled the story that Russel recounted where the the winery's general manager, Rasoul Salehi, proudly advised us that this wine was breaking ground for them in Europe and how a Michelin-starred restaurant on the continent was selling this wine at €35 a glass. Pretty crazy seeing as how that's probably more than the full bottle went for over here. Not sure that I could afford a full bottle at those restaurant prices though. It would have to be a major treat - much like tickets to an actual Canucks game.

As mentioned, the wine was much better than the game. The Canucks lost the game by a 4-1 score and now their backs are against the wall. If they lose one more game to the Flames, their season is over - and I'm hardly ready for that given all the wines, Syrah and otherwise, that I have to open.

Here's hoping.

Pinot Envy

I don't always take the opportunity to add a bottle to The List when it comes to the various tastings hosted by the BC Wine Appreciation Society - primarily because I don't finish an entire bottle with the folks I'm immediately next too. But how could I not add a bottle after another stop on the series of BCWAS 10th Anniversary tastings. After all, this time around it was a double blind Pinot Noir tasting.

This is the third blind tasting that BCWAS has thrown to feature popular varietal wines that are regularly produced and well received in BC, the first two being Cabernet Franc and Syrah. This Pinot tasting was exciting because the province's wine regions are becoming particularly well known for their Pinot Noirs. Growing conditions in the province can be quite similar to those classic Pinot regions: Burgundy, Oregon and New Zealand. So, it was time to see how BC's Pinots measured up - against both some international wines and amongst our own producers.

The plan was to hold a double blind tasting of twelve wines - nine from BC and three international. Attendees (almost all members of BCWAS) were to taste all twelve wines and identify their top five choices in order. A grand compilation of those picks was then tallied and the big reveal was made.

In choosing the evening's wines, the Society (and, in the spirit of full disclosure, I was named Cellarmaster last year) tried to pick wines that both represented a variety of BC's wine regions and were wines that could boast a pedigree amongst their peers. As such, we included wines from Lake Country, Kelowna, Okanagan Falls, Summerland, Osoyoos (all in the Okanagan Valley) and the Similkameen Valley. Choosing the three international wines was a little more difficult in that there were a lot to choose from and we were trying to keep the price points in a similar range - and, funnily, nice Burgundy, Central Otago and Oregon's Willamette Valley wines tend to skew a tad higher than a lot of the local wines.

Society members were both pleased, if not a little surprised, to see how the results flowed. The Burgundy (2009 Louis Jadot Santenay) - which was incidentally the most expensive wine of the night at $45 - and the Willamette Valley (2013 Evesham Wood) both finished in the bottom four, as did Blue Mountain's 2011 Reserve. Those familiar with Okanagan wines know that Blue Mountain was one of the first BC wineries to become known for producing wines worth searching out - and their Pinot Noir has always been at the forefront. I think there were a number of folks surprised by the "poor" placing. Rather than recap all of the wines that evening and elaborate on the final results, I'll just refer everyone to Russell Ball's comprehensive Adventures in BC Wine post. Russell has put together a great recap of the wines and how they were received.

As reported by Russ, four of the wines stood out in the choices made by the attendees at large. I think it will suffice to say that my tastes weren't necessarily in sync with the rest of those in attendance. Only one of my five picks was included in the evening's top four - where it finished third. Even though I'd ranked my fifth choice, I think I'll make that the bottle that I add to The List.

1881.  2012 Meyer Family Vineyards - Reimer Pinot Noir (Okanagan Valley VQA)

I'm hardly taken aback by seeing a Meyer wine near the top of our highly sophisticated poll/tasting. After all, the winery's proprietors, JAK Meyer and Janice Stevens, set up shop to explore their passion for premium, single vineyard Pinots and Chardonnays. Quite the fave of BCWAS, this bodes well for a dinner that the society is going to host with Meyer Family Vineyards in late May.

I was drawn to the full body the Reimer displayed in comparison with the other wines but I found it displayed a more earthy, minerality profile than some of the more fruit forward wines that were poured. Regular readers will know that I can be a sucker for big fruit.

The tasting's top two picks of the night - the 2013 Eau Vivre (the only wine from the Similkameen Valley) and the 2012 Kim Crawford Rise and Shine Central Otago didn't break out of the pack for me. The fact that my faves for the evening were revealed as Haywire's 2011 Canyonview, the aforementioned Blue Mountain Reserve and Cedar Creek's 2012 Platinum Block 2 served to re-inforce the fact that I've gravitated to those wines and wineries on many occasion when given a choice. It would seem that I like those wines whether I know what's in my glass - or not. The biggest surprise for me was that I'd ranked the 2012 50th Parallel Pinot as my third pick and I was only recently introduced to them - in fact, it was on last year's BCWAS Bus Tour. Guess they'll be yet another winery to watch for down the road.

All in all, I think the Society was more than pleased by the evening. Some of the participating wineries may not be so thrilled with their placing but it's interesting to note that every one of the twelve wines received an assortment of votes. Indeed, every wine - save one - received at least one first place vote.

I'm already looking forward to the next varietal blind tasting that BCWAS is going to host. The early contender is Riesling - and you know I loves my Riesling.

An Evening of Oculus - BCWAS's 10th Anniversary Bash

I don't often add bottles to The List from the various tastings that I attend throughout the year; however, I'm making an exception with this one. Throughout 2015, the BC Wine Appreciation Society is celebrating its 10th Anniversary and my favourite gang of guzzlers is rejoicing with a line-up of exciting festivities. The first of those bashes is perhaps the most extravagant tasting that the society has ever offered - a twelve-year vertical tasting of one of the province's most iconic wines: Mission Hill's Oculus - in the lush surroundings of the Vancouver Club.

Society cellarmasters had accumulated nine vintages of Oculus over the years and Mission Hill graciously provided some of the 1999 - one of the earliest vintages produced - as well as the 2011 and 2012 vintages that haven't even been released yet. Ingo Grady, the winery's director of wine education, joined Society members for the tasting and he regaled the assembled wine lovers with stories of the winery's goals, trials and tribulations as Mission Hill strives to achieve its goal of making a wine that can rank with the finest of Bordeaux wines.

I think everyone in attendance knew that they were lucky to participate but the prestige of the tasting became even more evident as, shortly after the tasting, articles were published by both John Schreiner and Anthony Gismondi - two of the most notable wine scribes in BC. Indeed, even Ingo stated that he wasn't sure that the tasting would ever be held again. Private collections of the wine through the years will be few and far between and the winery itself - much to its surprise - found out that it no longer has any of the 2000 or 2001 vintages left in its own cellar.

We learned that the first vintage of Oculus was released in 1997 when approximately 500 cases was made. While production has increased over the years, the total number of cases is still likely to be less than two or three thousand. Along with increased production, a fairly dramatic change in the wine's make-up occurred in 2005 when the winery brought in renowned Bordeaux consultant, Michel Rolland, to help give some assistance and direction. Ingo pointed out that the winery's owner, Anthony von Mandl, and winemaker, John Simes, realized that achieving their goal would be a lengthy process and the winery readily acknowledges that the wine is still a work in progress as everyone behind the wine realizes that they are still learning about the make-up of the Okanagan soils, the growing season and cropping levels. The production of Oculus has seen the introduction of practically an entire "winery within the winery," the creation of dedicated cellar areas and the use of infra-red imaging of the vineyards to assist in the pinpointing of ripening patterns and of parts of the vineyard block that might need additional attention.

I found it interesting to hear that the assemblage of each vintage's final blend is overseen by 15 tasters - one of whom will be from outside the winery to ensure some independent input into the blending. The final wine is now primarily Merlot with Cab Sauv and Cab Franc making up the balance. Petit Verdot has been used in some vintages; however, the winery's Petit Verdot hasn't been up to the desired standard and it hasn't been included in the last four vintages that have been completed. Malbec has never been used in the blend as winemaker, Simes, doesn't feel that Okanagan Malbec is typical of the variety and isn't well-suited for the region.

Back in the day of those first bottles in 1997, they sold for $35 and the price was considered to be an extravagant ask. John Schreiner stated in his article that, at the time, the average price for a bottle of BC VQA wine was around $12. Oculus now retails for $100 - one of a very few BC wines that command a price in that lofty range - but Ingo stresses that the winery feels that they actually need to "over deliver" when they charge such a price.

Thus far, Mission Hill hasn't had any problems selling all the Oculus that they can produce though. The price might, however, give you an idea why I've only added the wine to The List on a couple of occasions: the first being back at the very beginning blog - a 2003 at #10 to be precise - and the other when I added both the 2000 and the 2005 vintages (at #819 and #820) to urge on the Canucks during their ill-fated 2011 Stanley Cup series with the Bruins. The Canucks won that game but I guess I should have opened more Oculus during the later playoff games.

1849.  2009 Mission Hill Oculus (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I think everyone had a difficult time picking a favourite vintage at the tasting. Some of the vintages, particularly the older ones, saw a profound change in profile over the course of the evening. Both Boo and I quite enjoyed the '09 though (as did most of our table companions and Gismondi and Schreiner). The wine was rich and received full marks for an abundance of dark, ripe fruit.

I wouldn't mind a few bottles of that wine in our cellar but I'm afraid I shall have to rely on the kindness of strangers if I'm to have another chance at this great vintage.

On top of the awesome selection of wines, the evening featured a few moments of wit and camaraderie as well. Ingo pointed out that a magnum is "the perfect size for three people so long as one is a non-drinker." Then, John Schreiner raised some laughs of his own when he remarked, "Good God, doesn't everybody do verticals at home?"

The Society also paid homage to Tim Ellison and Francis Dorsemaine, the brilliant minds behind the creation of BCWAS, and also gathered the four members in attendance who were actually among those present at the very first Society tasting those ten years ago.

And, of course, having enjoyed Tim's sartorial splendour at events over the Society's first decade, our past President was obliged to show the assembled gang that he cold still pull off a bit of colour - if only with his socks - all these years later. An even bigger chuckle was earned by Francis when he revealed that he could also sport some wild shades of his own when he lifted his pant leg to show a bit of brightness that even Tim could be proud of.

All in all, it was a great start to BCWAS's second decade. Here's toasting the rest of events to come and wines to be drunk in the year and years to come.

Poplar Grove Viognier

One of the most enjoyable treats on the 2013 BC Wine Appreciation Society's edition of the annual Bus Tour was our visit to Poplar Grove winery. I've written about the Bus Tour already though; so, let's just skip to tonight's bottle - because, if visiting Poplar Grove was a treat in itself, getting a chance to try - and to buy - this wine was an added bonus on top of that treat.

1454.  2012 Poplar Grove Viognier (VQA Okanagan Valley)

While touring and tasting with proprietor, Ian Sutherland, he explained that Poplar Grove (not including the entry level Monster line) makes six core wines. He continued to explain that they like to experiment with small batch wines - wines where they may have access to limited fruit or wines where they incorporate trial production methods that they might have run across while travelling and taking in other wineries around the world.

The 2012 Viognier is a wine that incorporated both concepts. The winery doesn't have a lot of Viognier grapes to work with - only enough to produce 400 cases in 2012. The growing season, that year, delivered fruit with no shortage of structural acidity. As such, the winemaking team decided to borrow a strategy developed by Leeuwin Estates - one of the star producers in Margaret River, Western Australia - for its renowned Artist Series Chardonnay. Leeuwin found that standard batonnage (the practice of stirring the decaying yeast cells in wine as it ages to impart a "creamier" texture and more complex flavour) introduced oxygen into the wine which, in turn, resulted in a reduction of the fruit on the palate. To battle that loss of fruit, Leeuwin started putting its barrels on rollers which allowed a more gentle stirring of the lees - with no introduction of oxygen.

A prime goal of Poplar Grove's in making its whites is to both capture and preserve the "primary fruit flavours." The desire to add some balance to the 2012 vintage's acidity - while preserving the wine's fruit - led to the adoption of the Leeuwin manoeuvre.

The finished wine definitely impressed our BCWAS crowd. Unfortunately, at the time we toured the winery, the Viognier was in such short supply it was supposed to be only available to Wine Club members. I guess this is where Membership (in BCWAS) had its privilege. I managed to score a couple bottles and, tonight, I figured it would match up nicely with some fresh sablefish. It did.

Much to Boo's dismay - and his ever present "No Buy Leash" - I've been chatting to a few other BCWAS members about joining the Poplar Grove Wine Club. If that's what it takes to guarantee further access to more of these small batch wines, I may just need to succumb to the temptation.

New Kid on the Rosé Block

Prior to preparing for this year's BC Wine Appreciation Society's Annual Bus Tour, I can't say that I knew anything about Culmina Family Estate Winery. With the doors to the winery only having been opened to the public for a couple of weeks prior to the Bus Tour, I'd seen the name mentioned once or twice but had no idea of who was behind it or how it was looking to fit into the ever-growing BC wine landscape.

Luckily, all that changed when one of our BCWAS gang arranged a tour and tasting at the winery on the Monday after the Bus Tour had ended. I briefly mentioned in my last post that I intended to open one of Culmina's wines in the near future. I hadn't quite expected for that bottle to be the first one opened upon my return - but when Boo served up a squash and roasted garlic agnolotti, I thought this new Rosé I might be able to smooth over some of his ruffled feathers when he found out that I'd brought another five cases of wine home with me.

The thought was that, if I served him a wine that he really liked, I'd just tell him that all the wines I bought were of that calibre and that I had to show great restraint to limit myself to the number of bottles that I did buy.

I'm not sure that my plan succeeded, but it did provide an opportunity to tell Boo (and you) some of Culmina's interesting story. The winery is the newest adventure of Don and Elaine Triggs, and daughter Sara, in the Canadian wine industry. Don is - or was - the "Triggs" component of  Jackson-Triggs, one of Canada's most celebrated wineries, and was one of the driving forces behind the establishment and success of Vincor Canada before the country's leading wine producer was purchased by Constellation Brands.

Everything about Culmina reads careful thought and high end investment. Even the winery's name alludes to the Triggs' hopes that this will be a fitting tribute to the culmination of Don's years of love for and hard work in the wine business. There certainly doesn't appear to be any sparing of expense in laying the ground work for what will hopefully be a strong family legacy.

Don took our group out into the vineyard immediately next to the winery and gave a "master class" in considerations to be addressed when setting up a winery and vineyard. During the couple of years that Don "took off" from the business, his mind was clearly still looking toward the establishment of Culmina. A number of winery and vineyard sites in the Okanagan were considered before Don purchased the current lands - and even then the process behind choosing this site involved extensive deep pit excavations to view soil type, ongoing temperature and sunlight measurements, satellite studies to track shadow patterns of the local mountains, elevation studies and water retention levels.

The studies continued even after the lands were purchased. Don had engaged the services of consultant Alain Sutre to maximize the potential of the Okanagan site. Sutre had been exposed to the Okanagan through his work with Osoyoos Larose, Burrowing Owl, Painted Rock and Poplar Grove - all premium producers in the region - and he was confident that Triggs could produce the premium wine that he was looking for. With Sutre's assistance, Culmina determined that the best varieties for the 44-acre home, or Arise Bench, vineyard were the red Bordeaux varieties. Wanting to produce high end white wines as well, thoughts turned to adding another 60 acres on two hillside benches above the Arise vineyard. Margaret's Bench (named in honour of Don's mother) has seen the planting of Riesling, Chardonnay and what could possible be the Okanagan's first Grüner Veltliner and Stan's Bench (named for Elaine's father) where Chardonnay and Riesling are grown in the cooler section and Petit Verdot and Malbec planted in the lower part of that bench - where those blocks receive the "highest Degree Days of anywhere on the Culmina property."

Trying to determine the best grapes to plant in the vineyard wasn't the end of decision making process however. The vineyard has been divided into blocks that average in size at around 1.2 acres. The blocks were demarcated for uniformity of soil and the vines have been planted on five different rootstocks, each chosen to best match the soil type. They have also used at least two clones of each of the grapes (with the exception of the Grüner Veltliner and the Viognier) to try and best match the clone to the varying micro-climates above the ground. The end result is a "patchwork quilt" of plantings according to Don.

They have also decided to go with high density plantings - up to 2044 vines per acre - whereas the norm is generally between 900 and 1300. The thought is that the higher density forces the vines to fight harder to find nourishment. That fight, in turn, forces the roots to dig deeper into the soils, hopefully leading to a greater expression of the vineyard or terroir in the finished wine.

Although they don't currently anticipate that the winery will seek certification, they are trying to incorporate important sustainable aspects into vineyard practices. While not fully organic or biodynamic, all the vineyard posts are untreated wood, they use organic sprays on the vines and they water in the middle of the rows to encourage greater plant and bug diversity. An example of the high end technology being put to use at the winery is that vineyard sensors relay ongoing information to a winery computer, allowing vineyard management to choose to water only in specific blocks as needed.

It was also intriguing to hear Don tell of their decision to undertake a research study by planting 500 vines of Viognier in a bush vine manner. The intent is to use drip irrigation and gobelet pruning (which involves no trellising) - common in Spain and Southern France - to see if the roots will go deep enough to find their own source of water.

We even experienced a novel method of discouraging perdition of the ripening grapes by local birds - new to me at least. Rather than using the ubiquitous cannons to scare the birds off, Culmina has speakers in the vineyards that randomly play the calls of predatory birds. The first time we heard those calls, we all wondered "what the heck was that."

I could go on but it might be best to just direct you to the Culmina website where you can find extensive notes on their site selection and vineyard development. It's kinda like a touch of wine geek paradise.

After our vineyard tour, we visited the inside of the new winery as well and, after hearing about all the care taken outside, it was no surprise to learn that no expense was spared on the inside either. Culmina's approach is seen right at the start with their use of a Bucher Oscillys destemmer - the first to be imported into Canada - that incorporates a more gentle handling of the fruit during the destemming and crushing stages. A full gravity fed production. Tanks chosen for an easier punchdown of the fermentation cap. Extended maceration periods. Particular specifications for their barrels (sourced from five French coopers and incorporating a blend of oak from four different forests). All decisions and procedures chosen to lead to a more complete wine.

As many of the vines are still too young to produce fruit that can be used for winemaking, Culmina only offers three wines currently and production of those wines was so small that all purchases are limited to two bottles of each of the wines.

I particularly liked the story behind the Dilemma Chardonnay. Much of the Arise vineyard had been planted previously, including an 11.6 acre block that featured 16 year old vines. After testing samples from previous vintages and deciding to release a couple of vintages of the Chardonnay, Don and crew faced a dilemma - do they continue with the Chardonnay as planted or re-start? It was ultimately concluded that the method for planting of the vines was wrong, the root stocks weren't suited for the soils and even the Chardonnay grape wasn't the best choice for the vineyard. Accordingly, all of the existing vines were ripped out and replanted. That difficult choice is now reflected in the name of the wine.

1425.  2012 Culmina Saignée (VQA Okanagan Valley)

As much as I liked the Dilemma story, it's the Rosé that I reached for to accompany dinner. A 50/50 blend of Cab Sauv and Gamay Noir, this is a Rosé named for the production method used. The word "saignée" finds its root in the French word for "bleeding" and the wine is made by bleeding off some of the crushed juice before it has had much contact with the skins (part of the process that imparts the deeper colours of red wine). The method allows a greater concentration in the red wine that is left to ferment on the skins while the juice that was "bled" off, is fermented separately to produce a Rosé wine.

The Culmina Rosé is completely dry and very reminiscent of the Rosés of Southern France. This is no White Zinfandel. It's alive with acidity and subtle fruit and it will be interesting to see how this current - and rather unique - Cab/Gamay blend changes over the years as more vines mature and additional fruit becomes available to the Culmina team.

In fact, it will be interesting to see how the whole Culmina portfolio develops in the years to come. I truly enjoyed our visit so soon after the doors to the winery were opened to the public. I look forward to more visits in the future. I'm not so sure that the opening of the Saignée was enough to get me out of  Boo's bad books, but I don't think there'll be any problem getting him to join me for that future visit.

The Long Road Home

It would seem that, no sooner than the 2013 BCWAS Bus Tour had started, it was over. It was one jam-packed weekend - plenty of laughs, wine and food. But regular life - read, "work" - was calling and, as much as I would have liked to keep on keeping on, I needed to hit the long road back to Vancouver.

But not without a couple of quick stops along the way.

For some time now, I've been looking forward to checking out Painted Rock's brand spanking new - and spectacular, I might add - tasting room. We actually timed it (almost) perfectly because the "ribbon" hadn't been cut on the grand opening for even a week. I say "almost" perfect timing because, unfortunately, owner John Skinner was back in Vancouver and we couldn't enjoy the new digs with its "proud papa." In retrospect, it might be a good thing that John wasn't there because there's no way we would have been able to fully take in everything there'd be to tell in the short time that we had. A group of us had booked one last "side" tour and tasting and we were definitely cutting our time short if we were going to arrive in time.

Painted Rock may have the newest showcase showroom but everything about Culmina Family Estate is brand new. After six years of preparation, Don and Elaine Triggs (Don being the Triggs of Jackson Triggs - one of Canada's best known and lauded wineries - before he sold his interest) threw open the doors to Culmina. Quite the character, Don took our little gang for a quick visit into the vineyard where he relayed all the decision making that went into the site selection and planting for his dream of producing a Bordeaux wine to hopefully rank up with the best that BC - and the world for that matter - has to offer.

Don was very generous with both his time and his take on the BC wine industry. We'd seen some pretty crazy machinery over the last couple of days - some of the "toys" (that are anything but) at Mission Hill and Poplar Grove were of sorts I'd never seen before - but Don has spared no expense in pulling together some of the sharpest equipment to be found. That dedication is even more inspiring when you consider that Culmina is currently producing a fraction of what the big boys are producing.

The culmination of Don's years of experience in the wine industry, I'll be sure to open one of his wines soon so that I can give a fuller recount of our visit.

Culmina was my last stop before heading home and, since Culmina is on the Golden Mile below Oliver, it made sense to continue down to Osoyoos, connect with Hwy 3 and take in the views of the Similkameen Valley - one of my favourite driving routes. I wasn't stopping at any of the top notch Similkameen wineries this time (say "hey" Orofino) but with vistas like the one below, can there be any wonder why the valley and the Hope-Princeton hit countless "top scenic driving routes?"

As entertaining as this long weekend might have been, it certainly kept me away from the computer. And that, unfortunately, just compounded the number of wines I still have to blog.

Heavy sigh.

PS. Just for those who know that I was on Boo's "No Buy Leash," personally, I think I was pretty well behaved. I only bought a total of four cases of wine. Not bad, I figure, for 13 wineries and what's likely one of the biggest VQA bottles shops in the entire province. (Well, four cases if you don't count the one that was pre-ordered at Red Rooster that I was just picking up - and I don't.)

2013 BCWAS Bus Tour Begins

One of the perks of sharing a suite for the Annual BCWAS Bus Tour with Shelback and Chewbacca is that they coordinate breakfast so that we're well prepped to take in a day of wine tasting. Having Chef Boy KC in the suite with us made things even easier this year. He was so omnipresent in the kitchen that all I had to do was worry about OJ and coffee. A task that is not beyond me - even early in the morning.

Chef KC's treats were offered to Dolce & Gabbana (otherwise known as Gloushan - in honour of the great couple names like Brangelina or Klaine), Mr. Technicolour, Haley and Cockney Queen. With Mr. T. joining us, the "Sabering of the Breakfast Bubble" became a must event for all future Bus Tours - even if some attempts to sabre were less successful than others.

1421.  2006 Blue Mountain Blanc de Blancs (Okanagan Valley)

As far as starts to the morning go, this special vintage Blue Mountain brut is hard to match. I can't speak for the others, but there was NO OJ being mixed with this baby in my glass. Made in the Méthode Traditionelle, this 100% Chardonnay brut was aged sur-lie for five years before being disgorged, finished off with dosage and aged for an additional nine months before release. This was anything but an easy bottle to find; so, it was a very generous bubble to be shared with our  assembled gang - especially before 8.00 a.m.

1422.  2008 Steller's Jay Brut (VQA Okanagan Valley)

It's a whole lot easier to find a bottle of the Sumac Ridge stalwart but Steller's Jay is a treat in itself. Sabering a bottle of Jay seems entirely appropriate to the Bus Tour as well - seeing as how Sumac Ridge is on tomorrow's itinerary. I also recall that my first attempt at sabering some bubbly was a bottle of Steller's Jay while on the BCWAS Bus Tour two years ago.

The Steller's Jay is also made in the traditional Champenoise method; however, Sumac Ridge adds a component of Pinot Blanc to the classic Champagne grapes - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Serving up both of these lauded BC bubbles was just the kick we needed to get us started for our first day on the bus. A true breakfast of champions, I'd say.

Our first stop with the entire BCWAS gang was Upper Bench Estate Winery - the new-ish winery found at the start of the Naramata Bench. 2013 will be only the third vintage for Upper Bench and winemaker/proprietor, Gavin Miller. Gavin and his wife, cheesemaker Shana, purchased the winery from part of the Lang/Holman bankruptcy a few years back. Accordingly, they are still working primarily with the grapes planted by the previous owners. Gavin is working on revamping the vineyard and is transitioning to organic farming.

They currently offer four whites, three reds and a rosé and our tasting was a first introduction to the winery for most of the folks on the bus. The accompanying cheese tasting was equally eye-opening to the crowd. I'd dropped in on Upper Bench during a previous visit to the Naramata Bench because I'd heard that Shana used to be the assistant cheesemaker at Poplar Grove. That asterisk on her resumé and the fact that Gavin had previously been part of the winemaking team at Painted Rock made them folks to be contended with in my book.

If part of the reason for the Bus Tour is to introduce our members to new facets of the BC wine scene. I think a check mark was earned with Upper Bench.

My fave of the tasting was the 2012 Chardonnay and, yes, despite the No Buy Leash, I did pick up a bottle of that Chardy to add to The List in due course (as well as two of Shana's tasty cheeses).

Our next stop was just up the road at Poplar Grove. I doubt anyone on the Bus Tour was unfamiliar with Poplar Grove - long a star producer in the Okanagan. This was the first time, however, that I'd been on a tour of their facilities and a first chance for an extensive tasting in the winery's new showcase, reserve tasting room. The unveiling of the general tasting room a couple of seasons back was incredible enough, but there's just a touch more cachet to a private group tasting being led by Poplar Grove's founding winemaker Ian Sutherland. He was particularly engrossing when talking about the process behind the design and construction of the new showcase winery. Ian talked of his years of travelling the world - something that allowed him to, fortuitously, co-opt some of the best ideas he'd encountered in wineries visited along the way.

The wines are always impressive at Poplar Grove but, during our tour, I admit I was immediately drawn to Maxine, a 40 foot tank used to blend the red wines. The tank is so big that it holds the contents of four smaller tanks and thereby allows all of the finished wine to be the same blend - instead of a "mostly the same" blend. The shipping behind this baby was a story in itself.

Picking a favourite wine at Poplar Grove is like choosing a favourite child. I will say, however, that I was particularly taken with the 2012 Viognier during our tasting. That might well be because it's a limited production wine that is generally only available to Poplar Grove's wine club members. Lucky them.

And, lucky us, not only because we got to try the Viognier but because lunch had been arranged at the winery's on-site restaurant, Vanilla Pod. Sitting out on the patio - with a commanding view of Penticton and Okanagan Lake, we had a superb lunch. I'm hard pressed to come up with a memory of ever having tasted a better tomato salad. Each of the myriad of heirloom tomatoes was better tasting than the last and combination of those tomatoes, high end olive oil and balsamic and a delectable fresh burrata was sublime. They could have served me another three of those salads and I'd have been good for the rest of the day.

There was more food - and wine - to come though; so we moved on to our next stop on the tour - Township 7.

Brad Cooper, winemaker at Township 7 - and all-around funny guy - arranged for all of us bus folk to get involved in an inter-active blending exercise. Soon, Brad was going to need to start work on the winery's flagship blend, their Reserve 7. He thought it would be an interesting exercise for us to break into groups - and work with the same component wines that he'd have to work with - to come up with our own blend. He led us through a tasting of each of the separately aged wines and spoke of what he saw as their most compelling traits. We then tried a team approach at creating a wine worthy of impressing Brad and the buying public.

Working with Dolce & Gabbana and R-Ball, I'm sure there was little doubt that our take on the classic Bordeaux blend was the "winning" blend. I will say that, in all honesty, even Brad said that he was impressed with our finished wine. Now, he might have said that to everyone, but we gave him our systematic breakdown all the same so that he could re-produce it for the winery. We agreed that no credit or consultancy fee would be necessary, but that we'd be more than happy to take a case of the finished product.

There were additional wines to try in the tasting room but, after a couple, I opted to take a glass of red and plop down in the sun (and shade) for a bit - because, of course, blending and tasting a winning wine is hard work.

Our last stop on the Tour for Day One was Red Rooster. Anyone familiar with this blog knows that Boo and I are very well-acquainted with the gang at Red Rooster since we've been long time participants in the winery's Adopt-A-Row program. The winery was in full motion during our visit. Not only was winemaker, Karen Gillis, off-site tending to early harvest concerns but General Manager Blair Dufty was busy tending to all the parents and kids that had shown up for the local Fire Department interaction and appreciation day.

I'll admit that I missed a bit of the very extensive tasting of the winery's portfolio. I knew I'd tried most of the wines already (and probably had most of them at home in our "cellar") but I wanted to check out how our Adopt-A-Row babies were doing and, naturally, to chat up a fireman or two. Our Malbec grapes were coming along nicely and so were the firemen and their hoses. Being the intimate that I was with Red Rooster, I was even made a Junior Fire Chief.

Try and top that one.

I will give Mr. Technicolour his due though when he cracked up the gang by announcing that "the big difference between Bob and Charles' row and all the others is that their Malbec is much fruitier."

And on that happy note, we all got back on the bus and headed home for a brief respite before dinner.

Dinner was at the resort's Local Lounge and Grill and they didn't hold back anything in an attempt to add a little wow factor. Dinner featured a combination of wines from Tom DiBello and Van Westen Vineyards. Tom's is a well known name among Okanagan winemakers as he steered the way for many years at CedarCreek. He left CedarCreek a few years back and now spends his time consulting and producing a very limited 300 cases of his own Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah. Originally basing his wine production at Okanagan Crush Pad, he has just relocated to Van Westen Vineyards.

1423.  2011 Van Westen Vineyards VD Pinot Noir (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

I don't generally add a bottle to The List from wine dinners but tonight's extravagance calls out for one. I think my favourite pairing of the evening (before everything just got to be a little bit too much for one sitting) was the VD Pinot Noir with the bison tartare. This has to be one of the most interesting choices in wine marketing that I've ever come across. For those not familiar with Van Westen Vineyards, all of their wines have proprietary names that start with the letter "V." This Pinot is a co-effort between Rob Van Westen and Tom and, wisely or not, they took the first letter from both of their names and came up with "VD" since the wine was being released on Valentine's Day.

I'm not so sure that everyone will want to offer up a glass of VD to their sweetie on Valentine's Day but I was okay with it tonight.

Plenty of food. Plenty of wine. And a bunch of plumbed tuckered BCWAS folks. If there was any effort in taking the party a little further into the night, it did so without me. I definitely needed a little beauty sleep before doing it all over again the following day.

Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 6 - Orofino

Many of the participants planning to attend the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference wouldn't be able to raise their hand if asked "How many of you have ever finished off a bottle of BC wine?" I'm willing to bet a couple bottles of that wine that even more of those hands would have to stay down if the question were to be phrased as "How many of you have tried a bottle of wine from the Similkameen Valley?"

Yes, there is more to BC wine than just the Okanagan Valley.

The Similkameen and Okanagan Valleys may be neighbours - just like Napa and Sonoma - however, the Okanagan has a much higher profile for its wines. That may not be entirely surprising, given that the Okanagan has been home to the majority of BC wineries since the modern era of the BC wine industry started in earnest in the 1980's. The Similkameen has long been known for its agricultural bounty though and many of the grapes that were grown over the last three decades were destined for Okanagan wineries.

In recent years, many of those grapes have been staying in the valley as the Similkameen has seen a burgeoning of wineries in its own right. Indeed, a few years back, the Similkameen Valley was named by enRoute Magazine as "one of the world's 5 best wine regions you've never heard of." That sentiment was echoed more recently in Vines magazine when the Valley was lauded as "one of the 6 most underrated wine regions in the world."

I figured I'd use this stop on my pre-WBC13 tour to introduce everyone to one of our favourite Similkameen wineries - Orofino Vineyards.

John and Virginia Weber started Orofino after they'd decided to change up their respective lives as a teacher and a nurse back in Saskatchewan. Thoughts of operating a greenhouse turned to growing grapes - the latter being far more "romantic" especially when you hail from Saskatchewan - when they discovered two properties were available, the first being one in Okanagan Falls and the second a six-acre vineyard in the Similkameen. They drove all night, on a Thanksgiving weekend, across the prairies and through mountain passes, to the thriving metropolis of Cawston (pop. 900-1000) and immediately "fell in love" with the Similkameen vineyard. It certainly didn't hurt that the vineyard had been planted with grapes in 1989 and the vines were already well-established. A deal was struck and the Webers then simply needed to learn something about grape growing and winemaking.

That was in 2001 and, at the time, the Similkameen wasn't known as a wine-producing region. The "frontier feeling" of the industry appealed to the Webers and they saw "a great opportunity to build something." However, they realized that participating in a new industry can be problematic as well. The small size of the industry makes it expensive to get the equipment and barrels needed to make top wine. Weather in the Similkameen can be challenging as well as the region is "really on the edge of where vinifera can survive and prosper." The weather is always going to be a concern but John feels that the local weather may also play a part in helping make BC wines as good as they can be. The prohibitively high cost of land doesn't help either - unless you're backed by deep pockets.

Realizing they were taking on a challenge, John figured he might need to supplement his experiences of pulling beer taps in England and making beer at a Saskatchewan brew pub, John took a wide-ranging collection of courses at Okanagan University College - covering farming, winemaking and marketing aspects of the industry. For the first so many years, the Webers sold their grapes, finally releasing their first vintage of Orofino wines in 2005.

Photo from Scout magazine

The wines were definitely well received from the start and it didn't hurt that the Webers had an interesting story to catch people's attention with in the early days. A healthy amount of press was garnered by the fact that Orofino was the first (and possibly still the only) winery in Canada made from straw bales. The construction method is not only environmentally friendly, its 21-inch thick walls gives the winery wonderfully high insulation properties, creating ideal conditions for maintaining constant barrel room temperatures and keeping the buildings cool in the summer, desert heat. John's sense of community building was evident when, in June 2004, they built the accompanying tasting room. A 5-day educational workshop was designed to allow 22 people the opportunity to participate in a hands-on experience of learning the dynamics of straw bale construction.

Photo from Orofino website

The Weber's innovation and commitment to environmental self-sufficiency didn't stop with the straw bales either. More recently, John was involved in the design of and installation of new "hybrid solar photovaltaic and solar thermal heating" systems. I'm not going to pretend to understand what all that means but Orofino is the first winery to this install new technology and it allows the tasting room to operate pretty much "off the grid." John has been quoted as foreseeing the application of this technology to other BC wineries that could benefit from the economic savings as well as significantly reduce the winery's energy footprint.

When asked for his view on the whole "signature grape for BC" debate, John responded that he felt "we are too young of an industry to determine that. Our market is predominantly provincial...and to ask BC consumers to love our Pinot Blanc or Cab Franc or Merlot because that is what we do best would turn our business plans upside down and we would all need to look for an export market. We should capitalize on our local/tourist market and produce a variety of wines to satisfy and keep their interest. I like making a number of wines and I am not sure which I would choose if you ask me to pick just one. That would be no fun and would stunt the growth and experimentation of what does well. Look at what Syrah has down here in the past 5 years! What's next?"

Accordingly, you might not be surprised to see that Orofino produces a healthy range of whites and reds - and even a new Moscato Frizzante bubble that has proved to be very popular. The wines are largely vineyard specific and are a combination of estate grown and locally sourced grapes.

1299.  2008 Orofino Red Bridge Red (BC)

When choosing an Orofino wine to add to The List in this post, I grabbed this bottle of Red Bridge Red as it is consistently one of our favourite BC Merlots. It was only after I'd opened the bottle that I realized that, of course, I'd chosen the one wine that Orofino makes that isn't made from Similkameen grapes. Silly me. I could have gone back and opened a different bottle to highlight the local terroir but I decided that, if the grapes are good enough for John to continually buy them as his only non-Similkameen grapes, the wine is good enough for this post.

The Red Bridge Red (now called Red Bridge Merlot) is named for a local landmark, is 100% Merlot and is a single vineyard wine from the Oak Knoll Vineyard in Kaleden - a 25 minute drive from Orofino. The wine is unfined and unfiltered and is intense with dark fruit. Production is limited to under 1000 cases and I'm a fan.

If you read through this blog, you'll also see that we've knocked back our fair share of vintages of Orofino's Riesling as well. John is particularly found of making Riesling and I'm particularly fond of drinking them. I'm really looking forward to orchestrating a side-by-side tasting of the three single vineyard Rieslings he produced for the 2012 vintage as this is a first for Orofino. All of the grapes were grown in the Similkameen - either on the home estate or at near by vineyards - and John was excited to experiment with barrel ferments and wild yeast ferments in making the wines. They aren't available yet but I'll be watching for them.

A couple of years back, I was fortunate enough to participate in a memorable luncheon at Orofino during the 2011 BC Wine Appreciation Society's Fall Bus Tour but John and Virginia also host an annual event that I've never been able to attend - but would dearly love to. The 100-mile diet took BC by storm a couple of years back but this special winery evening takes locavore dining to a new level, its being a fundraising, five course dinner that features only foods provided by artisan producers from within a 1.6 mile radius of the winery. I read that, one year, the dinner even featured butter and ricotta that was made from Orofino's own dairy cow. I'm hoping that they'll keep hosting the dinner and that, one of these years, we'll be able to fit it into our calendar.

Not to say that John's a stereotypical example of the adage, "it takes a lot of beer to make a good wine," John is a fan of craft beer and both he and Virginia would be willing to pop more Champagne corks (if only the wallets were more willing) as they do love their bubble. As mentioned, Orofino currently produces its Moscato Frizzante, but John's not adverse to trying his hand at playing with some traditional method sparkling wine down the road.

While John understands the reach of social media and tries to "use it to stay in the game," he, somewhat sheepishly, admits that Orofino's presence on Facebook and Twitter is limited as "we were really dragged into it as neither Virginia nor myself are really keen to get involved." You can follow their Twitter handle, @OrofinoWinery, though and catch some of their latest news. I'll be watching for the release of those 2012 Rieslings.

If anyone attending WBC13 is flying into Vancouver, you should consider renting a car and driving the Southern route to the Okanagan. The Hope-Princeton is one of the nicest drives in Canada and the continuation of Hwy 3 through the Similkameen just makes the journey all the more enjoyable. The Similkameen Valley is a favourite of our's and, now that wineries like Orofino - and Herder and Seven Stones and Forbidden Fruit and Clos du Soleil and others - are integral parts of the Valley, it's even more enjoyable than it already was.

And, it'd be a first hand introduction to the fact that, as wonderful as the Okanagan can be, there's lots more to be discovered when it comes to BC wine.

Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 3 - Blue Mountain

Like bubbles? If so, you may well be apt to agree with Lily Bollinger when she states that "I only drink Champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty."

It's time to gear up for a third stop on this pre-WBC13 road trip and I ran across that quote while taking a look at Blue Mountain's website. Obviously, you can't buy a true "Champagne" from this - or any other winery in the Okanagan - but Blue Mountain is well known for making some of the finest bubbly in BC. Indeed, the range of sparkling wines makes up about a quarter of the winery's total production and they are all made as Méthode Traditionelle or Méthode Champenoise wines.

Blue Mountain makes four bubblies: a Non-Vintage and a Vintage Brut, a Blanc de Blancs and a Rosé Brut and I think it's safe to say that any one of them - if you can find a bottle - will compare favourably to similar wines from the "real McCoy." And, no doubt at a far more reasonable price. The sparklers are made predominantly from the traditional Champenoise grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir - however, both the Non-Vintage and Vintage Brut feature a small percentage of non-traditional Pinot Gris, giving the Brut its own touch of a house style.

As highly acclaimed as Blue Mountain's sparkling wines are, they may not be the wines that the winery is best known for. Indeed, there's a lot more to the winery than some well-made Brut.

The Mavety family has been farming the home vineyard since 1971; however, at that time, the family was only growing grapes for sale. During those early years, the BC wine industry definitely suffered from a lack of a clear vision. It was really only a change in economic times during the 80's and a desire on the part of Ian and Jane Mavety, Mère and Père, to improve the basic nature of BC grape-growing and winemaking that resulted in Blue Mountain's transition from grape vineyard to winery in 1991.

The winery has been a favourite of BC wine lovers basically since that first vintage in '91 and the view from the vineyard is now one of the most recognizable vistas when it comes to BC winemaking. Standing at the winery, the view overlooking Vaseux Lake towards McIntyre Bluff has graced their label since Day One and become iconic. But, more than a pretty view, consistency has been a hallmark of the winery - as in consistently good - and Blue Mountain really did come out of the gate running.  Perhaps it's true that, back in 1991, there wasn't all that much competition, but there is now and Blue Mountain has had to work hard to stay in the public's eye.

The winery has always been family-owned and operated and, even today, production is limited to around 16,000 cases annually.

As much as the wines have been consistently popular, the winery itself has had to adapt to the changing industry. A new tasting room was opened in 2011 and public access changed dramatically. Prior to the new tasting room, visitors needed to call in advance to arrange a tasting. Whether it was because there was often no wine available to sell or not enough family members around to man a tasting room, the winery was often associated with an unfortunate reputation of being aloof or unapproachable. When a forest fire ravaged the Okanagan in 2003, the Mavety's were lucky when the fire stopped short of their vineyard. The joke of the day, however, was "Why did the fire stop at Blue Mountain's gate? It didn't have an appointment."

Suffice it to say that that was then and that the winery has raised its profile and is far more interactive with the wine buying public nowadays. The winery welcomed the BC Wine Appreciation Society during its annual Fall Bus Tour last year - the first bus to invade the winery on mass - and current winemaker, Matt Mavety, led a BCWAS tasting last Fall that was a great hit with the club. The updated website is informative. A winery blog premiered in June 2012 and there's even a Twitter handle @BlueMtnWinery. Whether the expanded approach stems from greater competition and an ever-growing number of wineries, to a more direct involvement of the next generation of Mavety's in day-to-day operations or just to the fact that the winery has a larger staff today, the change seems to be well received.

Ian and Jane Mavety have been the face of Blue Mountain for decades but the winery is seeing a thorough integration of the next generation. As briefly mentioned, their son, Matt, is now head winemaker. After contributing "cheap labour" to the winery since he was 14, Matt finished his viticulture studies at UBC and in New Zealand and jumped into the winemaking business full bore, taking over the reins, as winemaker, in 2005. His sister, Christine, now operates the marketing side of Blue Mountain.

The story always comes back to the wines though. For the most part, the winery has been inspired by French wines as opposed to New World styles. They currently grow six varieties of grapes - primarily Burgundian: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc - and all of Blue Mountain's wines are made only from estate grown grapes. After 40-plus years in the vineyards, the Mavety's have a great handle on what's been done in the vineyard and what might be expected. The vineyard itself has a bit of everything in terms of terrain: east-, south-, north- and some west-facing slopes that are all planted with the same grape varieties. Over the years, the family has learned that each of the layouts of the terrain impart different characteristics to the fruit and that diversity allows for a greater depth of complexity when the grapes are blended together.

I'd mentioned the prominence of the sparkling wines in Blue Mountain's portfolio and, indeed, Boo and I served the Non-Vintage Brut at both our original commitment ceremony in 1998 and at our 10-year anniversary party (and formal marriage ceremony since it was legal in Canada by then). The winery, however, might be recognized even more for its Pinot Noir - and it's a bottle of Pinot that I'm going to add to The List for the purposes of this post.

1286.   2007 Blue Mountain Striped Label Reserve Pinot Noir (Okanagan Valley)

The winery grows nine different Pinot Noir clones - three of which are used solely for the sparkling wines - the assortment of clones giving Matt, as winemaker, an opportunity to take advantage of the different traits that each of the clones exhibits and impart a greater complexity to the finished blend. Aficionados of the winery already know that Blue Mountain has traditionally produced a cream and a striped label. The striped label wines have always been known to be a reserve level; however, it's only been recently that the word "Reserve" was actually added to the label. A quarter of the winery's production is released as striped label wine; but Matt was clear to point out to the BCWAS crowd that they make all their wines to a "reserve" level. There is no difference in how the fruit for the two labels is grown - whether it be thinning, shoot positioning or any other means of vineyard care. Furthermore, they ferment and age their wines block by block in the same manner. It's just that certain lots or barrels seem to offer a fuller expression of what happens in the vineyard.

Whatever the winemaking régime was behind our Pinot, it worked. The wine had a gorgeous nose, full of cherries and red fruit with hints of vanilla and spice. The flavours were just as expressive. And smooth. We had our first glass with duck confit and thought it matched wonderfully and, then, the wine opened up even more as we whiled away the evening, glass in hand.

Returning from our bottle at home to the winery as a whole, Matt has also advised that their vineyards enjoy a rocky soil and a micro-climate that is distinct from the sandier soils found on the Black Sage Bench, the sub-region that is on the same side of the valley but found to the South of Blue Mountain and its Okanagan Falls neighbours. The Mavety's refer to their little area as the "Vaseux Bench" and it is a few degrees warmer in the winter - which can be critical to a vine's survival in the Okanagan - and is a few degrees cooler in the summer which is beneficial for the winery's white varieties. Accordingly, all of Blue Mountain's wines are made from cooler climate grape varieties.

Starting in 2001, Matt also oversaw the introduction of some wild yeast fermentation of their wines (as opposed to using cultivated yeasts). The use of wild yeasts can be risky but many feel that it also lends itself to more expressive wines. Up to one-half of some particular varietal wines at Blue Mountain might now have seen wild yeast fermentation.

Blue Mountain is also one of the few BC wineries to emphasize the possibility of the Gamay Noir grape as a star in the Okanagan. Few wineries consistently offer a varietal Gamay wine and Matt has been quoted as saying that the "varietal has so much potential and is under-rated." He feels that Gamay Noir offers so much more than just being used as a blending grape or for Rosé wines and he notes that the winery always sells out of the thousand or so cases that they release each year.

Personally, one of the most interesting practices that has been introduced at the winery is that their latest plantings are seen as adding a new facet to Okanagan vineyards. The winery has decided to change over to high density planting - where both rows and vines are planted closer together. The new alignment of vines is closer to Burgundian practices and results in almost twice or even three times as many vines per acre than were previously planted. The vines are only just starting to reach their potential and the winery is still learning how these vines might need to be tended to differently in terms of canopy management and exposure to the sun and optimal yields but, so far, they are happy with the "interesting fruit" that is resulting from even the young vines.

With the new plantings, the winery is also introducing a higher degree of sustainable viticulture and they have worked hard on expanding the winery's composting program. The new planting method has also required the introduction of some new equipment. With the tighter spacing of the rows, the old tractors no longer fit amongst the rows. When I saw one new piece of machinery, my immediate thought was that I'd stepped onto the side lot of a Star Wars production. I'd love to see that baby in action.

Old. New. Consistency. Innovation. Blue Mountain and the Mavety's seem to be spokesmodels for all of those topics. I just know that the winery and I go back a long ways and that I hope to enjoy their wines for many years still to come.  After all, we're well on our way to needing some bubbly for our 20th anniversary - and WBC13 attendees would be well advised to accept a glass of Blue Mountain if one should be offered during the Conference.