Vineyard versus Varietal - The Okanagan Goes Haywire

It's not going to happen overnight, but it's coming. Remember screw caps and the naysayers? Won't use them, can't sell them, will never put them on my wine, and so forth. Well, the same thing will happen to heavy-handed wines that have no sense of place. Sooner than later these neanderthals of the wine world will disappear.

Cue Chris Coletta and Summerland-based Haywire Winery. Coletta, a local wine marketer and the woman who put VQA on the map, has been growing grapes in Summerland for four years and while that hardly makes her an expert, she could never be described as a country bumpkin. She comes to her project, Haywire Winery, with a wealth of information about wine and, most important, what it takes to sell it.

Coletta, her husband Steve Lornie, another longtime Vancouver wine guru, and former BCLDB wine-buyer David Scholefield, along with international wine consultant/grower/ oenologist Alberto Antonini, plan on putting their vineyard and by extension Summerland and the Okanagan Valley on the international wine map.

In what could be termed the "new" Okanagan, Coletta and friends are producing one wine from a single 10-acre site planted to a single Pinot Gris clone. The site, a rolling bench that sits almost directly below the old Sumac Ridge Winery site, is not visible from Highway 97. If it was, you would see a very favourable southeast exposure thanks to the bend in the lake that moderates what is a relatively cool site where the sun slips over the bluff to the west early in the evening. Pinot Gris likes to be rich and oily and fat, but the plan is to moderate the style by growing the early-ripening grape on a quintessential cool site.

I won't call it the Burgundian methodology, but it is a sensible, intelligent, modest approach.

Scholefield says, "What they are aiming for is an expression of the Okanagan. If you are trying to do something, say a wine that is not varietal, that is not predictable or obvious than maybe it is best to keep it simple. The aim is to make wine that is a pure expression of the place it comes from. We hope to make a statement about the Okanagan." As they like to say at Haywire they are only just learning about the land; it will be a journey.

I had a terrific time in the Okanagan Valley last week and came away about as optimistic as I have ever been about the future of British Columbia wine. Despite the nagging weather and the current economic downturn the long term future of British Columbia wine appears bright. Imagine a valley full of small, micro-managed vineyards cared for by their owner. Nearby ultra-modern, environmentally-conscious facilities efficiently process the grapes allowing each batch to tell its story of origin. Like I said it is an exciting time to be making wine in British Columbia.

Today, we look at a series of pinot gris trying their best to express their site.

Graffigna Centenario Pinot Grigio Reserve 2009 from San Juan, Argentina, is full and round with a creamy palate and ripe melon, mango, grapefruit, baked apple and lime flavours. The finish is crisp and juicy with good fruit. Good value.

Three years in a row constitutes consistency and that is the story with the Van Westen Vineyards Vino Grigio 2009. It has wonderful fruit expression with balance and some of that oily Alsace body and heat. Well done.

The new style of the best-selling Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2009, from Valdadige in the Veneto region is a very pleasant surprise. Look for honey, pear, floral, spicy and quince aromas and flavours mixed into a fresh, crisp, dry, elegant palate.

Chiopris Pinot Grigio 2008 is another interesting Italian version from Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The style is fresh and floral with a slightly sweet entry but delicate with baked apple, pear, melon, honey, citrus flavours. Most will enjoy the ripe fruit and it should work well with slightly spicy fare.

The latest Stoneboat Vineyards Pinot Gris 2009 out of the Oliver region in the south Okanagan Valley has a slightly heavier palate with some sweetness. Juicy pear, melon rind, earthy, grapefruit rind and chalky flavours lead to fine intensity and a gris with an austere edge. Try this with seafood or chicken.

As mentioned, Haywire Pinot Gris Switchback Vineyard Clone 52 2009 is the first release of the single-vineyard, single-clone 52 Pinot Gris made from four-year-old vines. Haywire is a study in subtlety, nuance. It is, or should I say, will be, a vineyard wine all its life eschewing its grape variety for its terroir.

Graffigna Centenario Pinot Grigio Reserve 2009, San Juan, Argentina

Price      $14

UPC       00852832105565

Score    88/100

Remarks              Ripe melon, mango, grapefruit, baked apple and lime flavours. Good value.

Van Westen Vineyards Vino Grigio 2009, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Price      $19

UPC       006269900055273

Score    88/100

Remarks              Bright floral, spicy, ginger and peach fruit spills onto the palate.

Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2009, Valdadige, Pedemonte Valpolicella, Verona, Veneto, Italy

Price      $20

UPC       00632987111112

Score    88/100

Remarks              A more delicate, austere style that is perfect with West Coast cuisine.

Chiopris Pinot Grigio 2008, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Price      $17

UPC       08024650050132

Score    87/100

Remarks              Delicate with baked apple, pear, melon, honey, citrus flavours.

Stoneboat Vineyards Pinot Gris 2009, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Price      $19

UPC       626990058991

Score    88/100

Remarks              Good intensity with an austere edge. Try it with seafood or chicken.

Haywire Pinot Gris Switchback Vineyard Clone 52 2009,

Price      $20 restaurants private wine shops

UPC       00626990110047

Score    86/100

Remarks              Subtle nose of green apple skin, green peach and floral, lemon oil and nettle.