Sippin' in the Similkameen

wine industry led by some individual producers with lofty personal goals and even higher aspirations. The push to raise the quality bar appears to be back on, and this time it is coming directly from the wineries.

Key among the movement is a desire to better define the outdated, VQA Designated Viticultural Areas into more useable sub-regions or appellations that reflect all the new plantings and labels coming to the market. It's nothing official. In fact, most of it is happening in the underground wine network of buyers and sellers who want, and need, to know the provenance of every wine they buy.

The B.C. Wine Authority has been deafeningly silent on any sensible upgrade to its tired standards, leaving consumers and writers alike to somehow figure out where all the $30 wine is made in B.C. Maybe the BCWA is too busy trying to figure out a sensible explanation for labelling blended imported and local wine "Cellared in Canada" and worse, letting it be placed in the British Columbia wine section of government stores. But I digress.

New faces, different ideas and plenty of money is changing the face of the Okanagan; yet, just over the hills to the west in the parallel Similkameen Valley, there is an even bigger revolution under way. Often referred to as the "Organic Farming Capital of Canada," the Similkameen is quietly becoming one of the province's go-to grape growing areas.

The Similkameen has a long history of supplying grapes to Okanagan wineries, although it's likely few if any felt compelled to credit the lesser-known region on any of its upscale labels. In fact, many award-winning "Okanagan" wines undoubtedly contained undisclosed Similkameen juice. Whatever the discrepancy in the quality and price of Similkameen wines, versus the Okanagan, it is rapidly dissipating.

In 2008 6.4 per cent of B.C.'s total grape crop was in the Similkameen. There are 36 vineyards in the region with a total of 580 acres of grapes, nearly double what was in the ground as little as three years ago. And there are now a dozen wineries with Similkameen address, including three that produce fruit wines.

This week, eight producers travelled to Vancouver to hold an historic first tasting for the trade. You could sense it was a bit nerve-racking for the presenting wineries, but there was no need for second-guessing.

Most of the wines I tasted offered plenty of promise. Fresh and ripe are two words we heard a lot. The presenters claim they can ripen most anything from merlot and chardonnay to riesling and cabernet sauvignon, and everything in between, on the gently sloping benches and river bottom that tilt south and run all the way to the American border.

Finding today's wines will not be easy. Most are sold direct from the winery, but you can check out their websites for details or go to www.similkameenwine.com. Your best bet is to jump in the car and take the southern route (Highway 3) to the Interior and visit the wineries and dozens of fruit stands in Cawston and Keremeos.

Winemaker Megan Mutch is just getting started but she has made a bright fresh, clean, Cerelia Pinot Gris 2008 with bits of citrus and mineral and fine flavour concentrations. It is a bit sweet in the finish, but that will hardly hurt its appeal with most consumers. A perfect sushi wine. Good value, too.

The latest Crowsnest Vineyard & Barcello Canyon Stahltank Chardonnay 2008 is the cleanest version yet of this unoaked white with fresh mineral, melon, green apple, citrus aromas. The entry is sweet and smooth with intense sweet pear and apple flavours with pretty good acidity underneath. Well made, but a little less sugar would really let the fruit and appellation shine through.

Orofino Beleza 2007 is the new name of Orofino's signature blend. The latest mix is a 68/13/15/2/ blend of merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot aged in a mix of new French and American oak. Look for savoury, peppery, tobacco and cool red fruit aromas with soft, smoky, chocolate black-fruit flavours. The wine is bottled, unfined and unfiltered, to preserve as much of its natural character as possible.

Expect a "pretty" red-cherry nose and pinot character from Eau Vivre Pinot Noir 2007 and its grapes grown on a cool single vineyard site down by the river in Similkameen and other grapes from the Okanagan. Bits of spicy, strawberry fruit with some fine intensity and not too much oak make this an interesting start. Well done.

The Robin Ridge Gamay 2007 from Keremeos is similar to the previous year with its smoky, cherry, mineral, rooty notes, soft tannins and cedary, spicy, mocha, chocolate black-cherry jam flavours. The finish is soft, and a touch warm, with sweet, vanilla, oaky notes. Try this with local cheeses.

Finally, six months after a first tasting the Seven Stones Standing Rock Meritage 2006 offers up a mature, savoury, northwest nose with spicy black olive and roasted pepper aromas. The palate is supple with smooth tannins and a peppery, coffee, tomato, leafy cassis, smoky vanilla flavour. Ready to drink.

Price: $18

UPC: 0062990094968

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Bright, fresh, clean, pinot gris with bits of citrus and mineral. Good value too.

CROWSNEST VINEYARD & BARCELLO CANYON STAHLTANK CHARDONNAY 2008, SIMILKAMEEN VALLEY

Price: $18

UPC: 626990007791

Score: 88/100

Remarks: The entry is sweet and smooth with intense sweet pear and apple flavours.

EAU VIVRE PINOT NOIR 2007, SIMILKAMEEN VALLEY

Price: $19

UPC: N/A

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Bits of spicy strawberry fruit with some fine intensity and not too much oak.

ROBIN RIDGE GAMAY 2007, KEREMEOS, SIMILKAMEEN VALLEY

Price: $19

UPC: 0626990068204

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Soft tannins and cedary, spicy, mocha, chocolate black cherry jam flavours.

SEVEN STONES STANDING ROCK MERITAGE 2006, SIMILKAMEEN VALLEY

Price: $32

UPC: N/A

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Supple with peppery, coffee, cassis and smoky vanilla flavour.

OROFINO BELEZA 2007, CAWSTON, SIMILKAMEEN VALLEY

Price: $34

UPC: 00629990093206

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Savoury, peppery, tobacco and cool red fruit aromas.