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Westbank, British Columbia: It was quite a homecoming for Mission Hill Family Estate winemaker John Simes.
Just off the plane from a family vacation in Maui, he returned to the winery to oversee this year's Icewine harvest with vineyard operations manager Mike Molloy and cellar coordinator Kathy Malone. In the space of roughly 12 hours, he experienced a 40 degree temperature swing. When he left Hawaii, it was almost 30º Celsius and when he got to the winery, it was hovering near -10º Celsius.
The trio had started talking and preparing on New Year's eve as it became clear that an unexpected cold snap was about to descend on the valley. Plans were made and picking began on Mission Hill Road by 6:00AM on Sunday, January 2nd. The entire harvest was complete by 3:00AM on Tuesday, January 4th. In addition to Mission Hill Road, crews picked at the winery's Naramata Ranch and its Oliver Vineyard Estate.
After a short break during the day on Sunday, picking resumed at Mission Hill Road and was complete by about midnight. By 3:00AM on Monday morning, it was cold enough to begin harvesting in Oliver. They were also able to pick all of the Riesling from the Naramata Ranch. By 6:00PM Monday night, crews returned to the Ranch for the Vidal. The temperatures held steady at between -9º Celsius and -12º Celsius throughout the picking.
At the winery, the fruit is now being assessed and processed. Simes is very pleased with the quality of the fruit from the Ranch and from Mission Hill Road. Unfortunately, much of the fruit in Oliver was lost due to mild December weather. He hasn't seen Brix levels below 41 thus far (to qualify as Icewine, the sugar level must be at least 35 Brix).
"It was a completely unexpected cold spell," says winemaker Simes. "Mother Nature gave us a New Year's surprise and I couldn't be happier to get this fruit into the winery. What I've seen from the Ranch is brilliant and the fruit on Mission Hill Road is simply some of the best we've ever harvested from that site."
Mission Hill Family Estate produces both Riesling and Vidal Icewine. The Riesling is available at the Reserve and Select Lot Collection (S.L.C) tiers while the Vidal is only available at the Reserve level. The wines will be bottled later this spring, but no release date is set as yet.
