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Last week I spent an illuminating afternoon in the Garnet Valley, a small Western side valley that T-bones the northern edge of Summerland, very near where Okanagan Lake makes its big turn north to Kelowna.
Last week I spent an illuminating afternoon in the Garnet Valley, a small Western side valley that T-bones the northern edge of Summerland, very near where Okanagan Lake makes its big turn north to Kelowna. My guides were Chilean Pedro Parra, renowned precision viticulturalist, and Okanagan Crush Pad co-owner Steve Lornie. Lornie and partners are betting on Parra and international wine consultant Alberto Antonini to help them reach new heights in the Okanagan and after walking the property I can only wonder how high that might be.
Antonini is nothing if not thoughtful when it comes to the subject of vineyards and wine, and when he speaks his passion is unrestrained and well worth listening to. The soft-spoken Italian began his journey in 1986 after earning a degree in agricultural science from the University of Florence. His thesis revolved around vines on the verge of extinction in Tuscany.
He first worked as an assistant oenologist at Marchesi Frescobaldi; later he became the technical director at Antinori's Col D'Orcia winery in Montalcino before becoming the head of oenology at Antinori in 1996. Along the way, Antonini studied in Bordeaux and California, refining his skills in the highly competitive international arena with short stops at Robert Mondavi, Au Bon Climat and Qupe in California. By 1996, he had opened his own global oenological consultancy company, and he hasn't stop travelling since.
Today, Antonini runs his family business in Tuscany and consults widely in Italy as well as Argentina, Chile, California, South Africa, Portugal, Uruguay, Armenia, Australia and, most recently, in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley at Haywire Vineyard. Along the way, he met Pedro Parra in South America and the duo have worked closely ever since. About Parra, he says, "He is one of the best terroir specialists. He's Chilean by birth but he 'grew up' in the profession in France. What we are doing is just trying to understand more in depth what terroir is."
Both feel it is vital to understand any site if you are going to make wine with a sense of place.
The Garnet Valley site is remarkable. According to Parra, it has all the minerals to make great wine. As we jump from calicata (open pits dug by a backhoe) to calicata, mindful of the cactus, Parra is like a kid in a candy store. He shouts out "seven or eight"(out of 10) from the pits rating the suitability of the area for planting and pointing up the hill he says, "the land is even better higher up."
Looking back south, the gently sloping, grassy southwest hillside covered in sagebrush is tilted to the late-day sun. You can feel the warmth on your face and the persistent wind drainage off the lake that washes down the slope, drying everything in its path. At the bottom of another pit, Parra is thinking Pinot Noir clones and rootstocks that will eventually explore the alluvial and mother rock some three metres below the surface.
To be clear, neither Parra nor Antonini see themselves as saviours, or anything like definitive experts on the Okanagan, but they hold strong beliefs about what is required to make high quality wine. Interestingly, Antonini used to say you need to do this, or you need to do that to Lornie and his team, now it's the royal we. Lornie thinks it is a subtle but important change signifying the Italian is buying in to the future of B.C. wine. Pedro is even more polite -- prefacing his comments with, "if it were mine," ... in a manner you wish your doctor would talk to you.
Garnet Valley joins a string of vineyard events most people know little about in B.C.: Mission Hill's work at Paradise Ranch, what Don and Elaine Triggs (Hi-Rise Ventures) are imagining high above Highway 97 along the Golden Mile, or Sandhill's remarkable Vanessa Ranch in the Similkameen. Each site explores a new story in B.C., and hopefully will continue to refine and reshape the future.
When you think about it -- no matter the outcome of what will surely be the prototype, bio-dynamic vineyard -- Garnet Valley and Okanagan Crush Pad are beginning a new era of British Columbia wine.
It's an epoch the next generation should have little trouble embracing, because unlike the first go-round, what does not get planted will be as important as what ends up in the ground.
Tinhorn Creek Pinot Gris 2011, Okanagan Valley
Price $18
Score: 89/100
UPC: 624802981024
Loving the lower alcohol in 2011 (13.5) and the wine's fresh palate and creamy textures. The attack is slightly off-dry, or is it that ripe fruit, but with freshness and mouth feel that makes it so easy to sip? Less honey and earth and a little more citrus and green apple with a pinch of dried herbs. The fruit is a mix of Black Sage Bench and Golden Mile Bench. Well done. Fish tacos anyone?
Poplar Grove Pinot Gris 2011, Okanagan Valley
Price $20, VQA and private wine stores, winery direct
Score: 89/100
UPC: 626990118961
The latest Gris is a hint drier and fresher. The attack is fresh and watery with mineral, wet stone, citrus, green apple flavours and just a hint of bitterness in the finish. Love the fresh zippy character of this wine that will allow you to have fun with an infinite mix of foods. The simple match is a classic tomato pizza but you can also serve it with a savoury roast chicken.
Hester Creek Pinot Gris 2011, Okanagan Valley
Price $17
Score: 88/100
UPC: 00626990057550
Expect light honey, pear, green apple, floral aromas to preview a fresh, round, juicy, slightly sweet palate with baked green apple, honey, earthy, citrus, grassy, butter flavours. The finish is juicy and taut. Perfect for simple seafood dishes.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2011, Valdadige, Veneto, Italy
Price $20
Score: 88/100
UPC: 00632987111112
It's easy to write this off as a huge brand but it's not the case in the glass. The nose is fresher than ever with bits of honey, spice and white fruits mixed with citrus aromas. The attack is soft but fresh with earthy, pear skin, quince and green apple notes. Definitely more elegant and austere; it's made for West Coast cuisine. Amazingly, still no screw cap.
Gehringer Brothers Optimum Pinot Gris 2011, Okanagan Valley
Price: $19, winery direct, restaurants
Score: 89/100
UPC: 623871020085
The Gehringer Brothers hit all the right notes here. Fresh round, juicy, slightly soft palate with baked pear, grapefruit, apple, chalky, honey flavours. The finish is juicy and fruity with some good length. Very good value when compared to the category.
di Lenardo Vineyards Pinot Grigio dal Vigneto Vigne dai Vieris 2010, Venezia Giulia, Italy
Price $20
Score: 89/100
UPC: 08007711000055
The colour is slightly yellow with honey, floral, quince, baked pear, almond aromas. The attack is Euro-dry and crisp, but juicy, with ripe pear, apple, honey, quince and nutty/buttery flavours. Good ripe style with texture and acid structure balance. Drink now with seafood pasta or sushi.
