Report from the Okanagan
I recently returned to the Okanagan Valley in BC for the first time in a decade. Reminded again of the immense size of this wine region in terms of distance from north to south, and the vast diversity in geography and climate.
Incredible change in the last decade. First the urban sprawl in Kelowna that has put most of the local vineyards either in the midst of suburbia, or on the near edge of encroaching suburbia. Makes one wonder about the long term sustainability of the Kelowna area wineries. Or at what point do the land values reach a level where vineyard owners see more return in the sale of their real estate to developers than they do in growing grapes?
Second big change is the number of producers. The number floated to me was 300+ across the valley now. I expect the grower total is much higher. I believe this is more than triple my last visit to the valley, and would indicate that the valley is now home to more than 1/3 of the Canadian wine industry. For someone visiting for a few days, this makes choosing where you visit a challenge due to the combination of travel time and tasting time. Nearly impossible to do more than a small handful in a day, and it requires you to segment your visits into multiple clusters (Kelowna, West Kelowna, West Shore, Naramata/Penticton, Skaha Lake, Oliver, Osoyoos, Similkameen) and make decisions on what you skip and leave until next round.
Third big change I observed is the vineyard density on the Naramata bench. Actually almost startling how dense it has become. The hillside is now lined from Penticton past Naramata village with vineyards, and at my best count there must be at least 30-40+ producers on that 15km stretch of winding highway.
Fourth change is consolidation. The big guys are visibly consolidating and acquiring successful producers. It makes for some interesting stories from producers that are bucking that trend.
Fifth change is the breadth of grape varieties at the tasting bar and willingness to put unexpected (for Canada) varietals into tasting flights, and the experimentation (not all good) happening with both red and white blends. I was surprised to run into Pinotage, Zinfandel, Malbec, Roussane and Gruner Veltliner as part of standard tasting flights. Certainly would not have seen this 10 years ago.
Last observation before getting to the wines. From my observations, climate change impact is more visible here than in any other wine region in the country. The South Okanagan has become so hot at times in the summer that ground level temperatures are hitting 50C+. Combine that with the lack of predictability through the year and winter hits of -20C air temperatures in parts of the valley? And the ongoing threat of wildfires as things get hotter and drier, and danger of smoke tainting a vintage. A wildfire broke out west of Peachland while we were there filling the valley with smoke (and it’s only early June). Regardless of some of the great wines being produced here, is grape growing a long term sustainable enterprise across the entire valley? South Okanagan producers shared with me that they lost entire Syrah harvests in the last 2 years due to the winter cold and ensuing vine damage. In theory this should be Canada’s best subregion for this variety, but it remains a high risk grape to grow given our wild climate shifts from winter to summer.
Now to the wineries that we visited and their wines.
SpearHead in southeast Kelowna is a winery not to be missed by any Pinot lover. I enjoyed the Chardonnays, but the Pinot Noir lineup is highly impressive. Running through the Pinot flight shows off the terroir of the single vineyards. But for me the cuvee and the Clone 828 were the real winners, and the ones I expect to shine in my cellar in the coming years. Congrats to Grant Stanley on what he is accomplishing with Pinot, and his experience in New Zealand and Oregon certainly shines through with what hits your glass at SpearHead. The staff is highly knowledgable and make this winery one not to be missed by wine geeks.
Tantalus Vineyards (not far from SpearHead) has built a modern tasting room and outdoor deck with views across their vineyards and out to the lake. Mt. Boucherie in West Kelowna has also built an impressive facility with a restaurant and spectular views. However I felt both suffer from some of the same fate. A lack of uniqueness and expression in their wines, and a run of the mill scripted tasting experience. I have really come to dislike a tasting where I am told beforehand what the wine is going to taste like. Maybe some want this kind of guidance, but perhaps get to know the client before running off at the mouth with your spiel. The Tantalus “neutral oaked” chardonnay is decent, but missing the fruit character and complexity to make it comparable to a good Chablis at the same price point.
Mt. Boucherie was the most disappointing stop of our visit. The whites carried a high end price tag, but lacked comparability with similar wines at that level of wallet spend. The PTG (their ode to a Bourgogne Passetoutgrains) that our server said was a “great entry to red wines for white wine drinkers” left something to be desired. The cab was flat and overly tannic, and probably far too young to be on a tasting menu. And the Summit Bordeaux blend is clearly attempting to emulate Oculus of their nearby neighbour, but doesn’t line up.
Moving to the South Okanagan, we made stops at neighbours Culmina and Checkmate to check out what the bigger guys are doing. Culmina was acquired by Arterra Wines in 2019. Checkmate is the small batch artisanal flagship of the Mark Anthony Group (Mission Hill et al) making single varietal and predominantly single vineyard Chardonnay and Merlot.
The Culmina white and red flights were an interesting mix of the unexpected and the traditional, and from vintages pre and post Arterra acquisition. Not often you’ll find Gruner Veltliner in a tasting flight in Canada - not in the Austrian style but interesting and tasty all the same. I didn’t find the Malbec as inviting. And the 2017 Hypothesis blend was not up to previous vintages that I’ve tasted. The riesling, chardonnay and cab were all decent and of quality worthy of their price tags.
Checkmate makes some exquisite wines (and all with hefty price tags). The winery and tasting rooms are luxurious, and the members area where we were seated has an amazing 180 degree balcony view of the vineyards and valley to enjoy while you are tasting. The 2014 Fools Mate chardonnay was outstanding and still has a lot of mileage left - probably the best aging profile I have seen with a Canadian chard. We also enjoyed some 2019 and 2020 chards and merlots - all outstanding wines, all highly cellar worthy.
The last set of wineries that we visited on this trip were on the Naramata bench. The majority of the producers here are smaller and generally family owned and operated. As mentioned earlier, so many to choose from.
Roche Wines is just outside of Penticton and one of the first that you arrive at on the bench. Pénélope Roche hails from Bordeaux where her family owned Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion for many generations before it was sold in 2010. Her husband Dylan is from Vancouver and they relocated to the Okanagan in 2011 to build out Roche Wines. They are both accomplished winemakers and it shows in their offerings. Excellent Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, and another unexpected entry in a Canadian winery flight (Schönburger) was very good and interesting. But the ringers for me were the Pinot Noir and the Bordeaux blend (Merlot dominated). Both are highly cellar worthy and far from prime. And like Spearhead in Kelowna, exceptionally knowledgable staff at Roche that make this a great stop for wine geeks.
We made a quick stop into Three Sisters Winery just outside of Penticton for a tasting. Reasonably priced wines and in my opinion the whites outshine the reds. Refreshing Pinot Gris and an interesting blend of Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Viognier. The Malbec/Cab Franc blend and Syrah were not particularly to my liking, but both are <= $30 so have price appeal.
Lake Breeze Winery was a stone throw from where we were staying and is in a beautiful setting with a highly rated restaurant (lunch only) on site. Yet another tasting flight surprise with a very quaffable Rousanne in the white line up, and a Pinotage in the red flight recognizing winemaker Garron Elmes’ South African heritage. But I most enjoyed the remaining reds with both an entry level and cellar series Pinot Noir and the Tempest Bordeaux blend - all excellent and cellar worthy. My only complaint about Lake Breeze was an overly aggressive new server that left us little time to sip and enjoy our wines (even though the place was virtually emty), and came off like a bit of a used car salesman.
And lastly 1 Mill Road. Originally the follow on project of David and Cynthia Enns after selling Laughing Stock Vineyards to Arterra Wines in 2017, they focused exclusively on Pinot Noir from their vineyards at 1 Mill Road in Naramata (cultivated in 2012). Acquired in 2022 by Ben Bryant and Katie Truscott with a vision to produce small batch, top quality, low intervention Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Ben and Katie operate the winery modestly out of a unit in the Naramata Wine Vault. They continue to source Pinot Noir from the 1 Mill Road vineyard, and are sourcing Chardonnay from a vineyard on the East Kelowna Slopes. Ben has an exceptional winemaking pedigree from his native Australia, and from his time as VP Winemaking with Mark Anthony Group. They have recently released Ben’s first 1 Mill Road wine - a delicious 2022 Pinot Noir Rose that is very much in a Provence style. Their wines will all be sold direct to consumer. I am very much looking forward to what is to come from Ben and Katie after tasting their 2022 Pinot and Chard barrel samples.
That wraps things up and I expect I’ll see the Okanagan change significantly again when I next visit. This wine region is coming into its own, and certainly producing some of Canada’s finest wines that would shine in any international tasting line up.
