A Tasting of Okanagan Valley Wines

[Andy Lynes]

On Tuesday 22 February, the Canadian Tourist Commission (CTC) in Trafalgar Square, London hosted a tasting of British Columbian wines from the Okanagan Valley. The event was organised following my visit to the Okanagan last summer when I toured a number of the vineyards, mainly in the Naramata Bench and Okanagan Falls areas, speaking to wine makers and tasting their wares.

Sampling a variety of vintages in tasting rooms, restaurants and bars (I did a lot of drinking that trip) I was impressed the quality and character of the wines. I mentioned to a number of winemakers that I would love to take a few bottles back to the UK and have them tasted by people who, unlike me, actually knew a magnum from a Nebuchadnezzar, which is how I came to acquire three quarters of a case of some the finest bottles the area has to offer.

Back in England, getting others to taste the wine proved more difficult than I had imagined. Call anyone for assistance in the consumption of nine bottles of seriously good wine and they'll be knocking on your door before you've had a chance to hang up the phone. Mention the fact that the wine is from Canada and long delayed dentist appointments suddenly become urgent, funerals need to be attended and hair washing just can't be delayed for another minute.

I could of have course simply invited a few friends around for a boozy dinner, but that would have betrayed the trust of the winemakers who had donated some of their best bottles on the basis that I would seek out some educated palates in the UK to try them out on.

Part of the problem was that I wasn't really sure what it was that I wanted to arrange. As a freelance writer I had no vested interest in promoting the wines and therefore no budget to fund an event. I wanted someone to host a tasting but couldn't really offer them anything in return. Attempts to arrange events in a few restaurants came to nothing and I had almost given up hope when the CTC offered the use of their premises and organisational resources.

Soon we had Josh Clarke, the Vancouver born sommelier at Fifteen restaurant, on board to lead the tasting and Dan Correy of Lanson International offering to supplement my bottles with some from Mission Hill winery. Finally Ingo Grady, Director of Wine at Mission Hill happened in to be visiting London on the scheduled date and offered to attend the tasting. Nine months on from collecting the wines, I at last had an event to attend.

Invitations were sent and accepted and a select group of food and wine writers were expected to attend. After finalising the date, an opportunity arose for me to go to San Francisco on assignment, but I arranged my itinerary so that I would arrive back at Heathrow the afternoon of the 22nd and travel straight to Trafalgar Square before continuing home to Brighton after the tasting.

Everything was planned, except the weather. On the day, snow kept several of the attendees who lived outside the capital away; turnout was diminished but enough of us braved the elements to do justice to some pretty fabulous bottles.

The Wines:

Blue Mountain Brut Sparkling Wine

Blue Mountain Pinot Noir 1996 (striped label)

Blue Mountain Winery

Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Meritage 2001

Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Chardonnay 2001

Cedar Creek

La Frenz 2002 Shiraz

La Frenz 2003 Alexandria

La Frenz Winery

Mission Hill Pinot Gris 2003

Mission Hill Estate Wines

Syrah 2001

Oculus 2001

Chardonnay 2001

Icewine Riesling 2001

Mission Hill Winery

Poplar Grove 2001 Benchmark Cabernet Franc

Poplar Grove 2002 New Block Merlot

Poplar Grove

Quail's Gate Estate Pinot Noir Family Reserve 2002

Quali's Gate

Jet lagged, tired and by the end of the tasting a little light headed, I'm sory to say that I'm not in a position to offer complete and accurate tasting notes. What I can say is that the wines tasted as impressive and delicious in the rather impersonal surroundings of a boardroom on a snowy day in London as they had on the patio of the Cedar Creek winery, gazing out over the sun-drenched vines.

Particular highlights were the Blue Mountain Brut Sparkling Wine, generally agreed to be the best methode champagnoise from the area; both Pinot Noirs (although the rare stripped label from Blue Mountain and by far the oldest wine we tasted was deeply impressive); the Burgundian style Occulus and the beautifully balanced ice wine both from Mission Hill.

The Okanagan makes for some fascinating drinking, not least because the 85 wineries strung along the Valley's massive lakes benefit from a series of micro climates ranging from cool in the North to near dessert in the South that allow for a huge range of varietals to be cultivated with success. With a combined total of 5000 acres, the wineries are mostly small with limited production and these essentially very personal enterprises often make for richly distinctive, quality wines.

As sommelier Josh Clarke puts it, the Okanagan produces "wines for every price point" which translates as "there is some real plonk to be had if you really want it", but for the most part we are talking hand crafted wines. Production is generally so small that what's made in BC stays in BC so you will have to travel to British Columbia to sample the wines, although limited quantities of Mission Hill are distributed in the UK.

Although I can't speak for the other attendees, my impression was that the wines met with a favourable reception and that the tasting was deemed a success; both interesting and educational. My thanks go to Josh Clarke for giving his time for free to lead the tasting, to Dan Correy for donating the Mission Hill wines, to Ingo Grady for attending on a weeks notice and to Nim Singh at the CTC for the room, food and human resources.

Most importantly, my thanks to Ian Mavety at Blue Mountain ; Gordon Fitzpatrick at Cedar Creek; Jeff Martin at La Frenz; Ian Sutherland at Poplar Grove; Anthony von Mandl and Ingo Grady at Mission Hill and Ben Stewart at Quails Gate for the fabulous wines. Special mention to Michael Dinn at Joie Farm Cookery School for the bottle of Poplar Grove Cabernet Franc.

[merlin]

That certainly is an impressive lineup of Okanagan wines. I am glad that they showed well in London.

Chucked over the observation that when you identified the wines to be tasted as being Cdn, dentist appointments and the like were recalled [smile].

Truth be told there are many Cdns who likely would have reacted similarly. Their loss [grin] The production is pretty limited so I for one am glad that many have not yet "discovered" Cdn wines....leaves more for the rest of us.

Had that bottle of 2001 Poplar Grove Benchmark Cabernet Franc at Cafe Brio in Victoria, B.C. last Saturday while visiting Vancouver Island.

[Andy Lynes]

Had that bottle of 2001 Poplar Grove Benchmark Cabernet Franc at Cafe Brio in Victoria, B.C. last Saturday while visiting Vancouver Island.

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What did you think? It bought a wistful smile to sommelier Josh Clark's face who said that it was the sort of bottle he would open when watching the hockey. That and his reaction to the Blue Mountain Pinot made the whole endevour worthwhile for me.

[John Whiting]

What struck me most favorably about the whole occasion was its lack of commerciality and hard sell – “laid back” is the operative phrase. Ingo Grady of Mission Hill, for instance, spoke as generously of the wines of his fellow-vintners as of his own.

My own lasting impression of British Columbia, gleaned from several visits over a couple of decades, is of a somewhat bolshie region with its own distinctive attitudes. (It’s been suggested that Oregon, Washington and B.C. together would make a rather good country.) There’s a diversity-within-unity that is well exemplified in the amazing ecological spectrum of climates and soils along the length of the Okanagan Valley. The varying skills of the vintners are equally diverse, having received their training in Germany, New Zealand, France and elsewhere. When I innocently asked if they had any technicians from Davis (the Great Unifier), I was hotly told, “Not Davis – they invented phyloxera!” I loved it.

The result of all this jealously guarded independence was a range of wines that I would love to see a master of wine identify collectively as to region in a blind tasting. The thing they had most in common was that they were all distinguished wines, of an excellence in which comparative merit became a question of primus inter pares. One might argue about which circle of heaven they should occupy, but there was no question as to whether they should be admitted through the pearly gates.

Finally, I must agree with Andy that the Blue Mountain Pinot Noir was a revelation, whose rich complexity came through even after our generous imbibing and minimal use of the spittoons. A French somalier asked to identify it might be covered in confusion. My only difference from the consensus was over the other distinguished Blue Mountain, the method champagnoise. I found it a bit thin and anemic. (I mention this only to demonstrate that my general praise is not born of mere diplomacy. )

Finally, my thanks to Andy for his imagination and persistence in putting this together.

[Andy Lynes]

What struck me most favorably about the whole occasion was its lack of commerciality and hard sell – “laid back” is the operative phrase. Ingo Grady of Mission Hill, for instance, spoke as generously of the wines of his fellow-vintners as of his own.

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I got the impression that Ingo felt he was in attendance as an ambassador for the Okanagan as much as a representative of his own particular winery. No doubt it's in his own interests to promote the Valley and the wine making industry as a whole, but he read the audience well and did so with exceptional grace.

[John Whiting]

Had that bottle of 2001 Poplar Grove Benchmark Cabernet Franc at Cafe Brio in Victoria, B.C. last Saturday while visiting Vancouver Island.

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What did you think? It bought a wistful smile to sommelier Josh Clark's face who said that it was the sort of bottle he would open when watching the hockey.

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I had the good fortune to be given the last third of the bottle to take home with me. Lacking both the opportunity and the enthusiasm for hockey, I pared it with an excellent extra mature cheddar. It was a happy marriage.

[merlin]

John:

Given the current labour situation and consequential cancelation of the NHL season I too lack enthusiasm for and the opportunity to watch hockey...at least the NHL version.

Yes the "Republic of Cascadia" has been discussed...not very seriously I should add..from time to time amongst the citizens of the Pacific Northwest disgruntled with their respective State, Provincial and Federal Governments.

There appears to be some significant cross-border exchanges of talent and expertise when it comes to winemaking in the regions. One of my favourite B.C. reds is Nota Bene [bordeaux styled blend] from Black Hills in the southern Okanagan and I believe they were initially assisted by a winemaker from WA State.

My complements to Mr. Grady for being a spokesman for the flegdling...relatively speaking...B.C. wine industry rather than merely a salesman for his own wines.

I would echo your comments about the Blue Mountain pinot noir. Delicious. I do not think I have any left from '96, perhaps a '98 and more from more recent vintages. Difficult to get. Especially the "striped label". If you do not get through to the winery within a very short time of its release, you will be out of luck except for paying restaurant wine list prices.

Andy:

I enjoyed the Poplar Grove cab franc. My recollection is a lot of dense, black berry fruit but with some "dusty" tannins in the finish and some chocolate, coffee, etc. notes that I quite enjoyed. It certainly compares favourably with my other cab franc picks from B.C., Burrowing Owl and the more affordable Sandhill.

[John Whiting]

Yes the "Republic of Cascadia" has been discussed...

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Yes, that's it; couldn't remember the name. In the tours I did of BC, Wash and Ore, I was hardly aware of crossing the borders.

Edited February 25, 2005 by John Whiting (log)

[jamiemaw]

Congratulations Andy on your dogged determination to make good on your promises to the various Okanagan winemakers whom you met last summer. And what a delightful line-up of wines--you chose well. Terrific card of assistants that you had in your enterprise as well; Ingo Grady is both curator and ambassador for the entire Okanagan Valley.

A century ago, Okanagan Valley tree fruits won blue ribbons at the Covent Garden competition. A decade ago, a Mission Hill (where Mr. Grady is Director of Sales--the actual winery is amongst the most beautiful in North America) chardonnay won the Avery Trophy in London for best chardonnay in the world. As I recall, the French judges demanded a re-tasting as they couldn't pronounce the name of the region. It won again.

Perhaps ironically, at the exact time of your tasting I was standing in the garden of our cottage in Kelowna (in the centre of the British Columbia wine country), enjoying the warm sunshine of a perfect early spring day. It looks like a year for a good early set for the fruit. In London you mentioned that it was snowing--but perhaps there's a future for Kentish ice wine.

If this is global warming, bring it on.

Jamie

Edited February 26, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[MGLloyd]

I can also speak highly of some of the excellent ice wines coming from the Okanogan, on both sides of the border, but primarily from Canada.

[jamiemaw]

I can also speak highly of some of the excellent ice wines coming from the Okanogan, on both sides of the border, but primarily from Canada.

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Here in the Republic of Cascadia, there is absolutely no chauvinism when it comes to wine--just currency and import duty issues. For decades we have felt a much stronger commonality--especially in matters of food and wine--on a north-south axis rather than with our eastern Canadian cousins. This fact has only become more eveident during the Hockey Strike. We share with our culinary neighbours in Washington and Oregon similar growing seasons and products--from wine to the 82 species of seafood that hug our collective coast.

Cheers,

Jamie

PS: See the subtle spelling variation on the word Okanagan (Cdn) versus Okanogon (U.S.).

[Keith Talent]

If the Canadian government spent as much time, effort and expense promoting things that we actually manufacture on a commercially viable basis, as opposed products crafted by hobbyists for a infinitessimally tiny following of cultists, we'd have an economy that'd be the envy of the world.

[Andy Lynes]

If it's any reassurance to you "Keith", I shouldered a lot of the burden of organising the tasting, so the Canadian Tourist Commission weren't too tied up with the logistics of the event.

BTW, if you have some statistics to back up your assertion, I'd be fascinated to read them.

[jhiroshi]

Nicely chosen selection Andy. Being from BC I am quite jealous, there are a few wines there which I have as yet been unable to try, most importantly the Blue Mountain stripe label pinot noir, from any vintage. But I always keep a bottle of the Brut , which is a little easier to obtain for a student on a budget, on hand for emergencies. I also wanted to congratulate all those involved in the tasting for overcoming their, I think quite justified, trepidation towards Canadian wine.

It's nice to hear unbiased opinions from outside BC. Unfortunately the production in BC, as I think Mr. Talent may have been referring to?, will probably never be large enough that international wine publications such as Wine Spectator, will seriously cover BC wine products.

However from reading your posts, I think you may have been a British Columbian in a past life Andy

Cheers

James

[jamiemaw]

It's nice to hear unbiased opinions from outside BC.  Unfortunately the production in BC, as I think Mr. Talent may have been referring to?, will probably never be large enough that international wine publications such as Wine Spectator, will seriously cover BC wine products.

However from reading your posts, I think you may have been a British Columbian in a past life Andy

Cheers

James

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Actually, Wine Spectator did cover the Okanagan Valley recently, although, as per usual, and much to the amusement of the locals, they sent in a writer from far away who managed to get several facts hilariously wrong. Their fact-checking, just as for an article on Vancouver several years ago, was lamentable. But you're right James, I doubt they'll carve much space to consistently review Okanagan products, other than ice wines perhaps.

Keith Talent Posted Yesterday, 10:30 AM

If the Canadian government spent as much time, effort and expense promoting things that we actually manufacture on a commercially viable basis, as opposed products crafted by hobbyists for a infinitessimally tiny following of cultists, we'd have an economy that'd be the envy of the world.

And again, Andy, plaudits to you, Ingo Grady of Mission Hill and others for doing the heavy lifting to get the word out of your own accord. The Canadian Tourism Commission, as I understand it, only provided the premises and glassware. Not unlike the recent demonstration that David Hawksworth gave at Divertimenti--done on a shoestring, but in front of a solid crowd and worthy as a result.

Mr. Talent does make a good point of course, that Canada should continue to invest in the export promotion of reinforcing steel, industrial detergents, beaver-skin hats, dimension-cut lumber and stunning au pairs.

[Keith Talent]

All jokes aside, I'd love to see a Canadian manufacture of cariboo jerky, or snowblowers phone up the Canadian mission in in London, and request the use of a board room in Canada House for a presentation. There is a curious double standard at work with regards to "glamour" exports vs. the things that us mere mortals are forced to flog to keep bannock on the table. I'd prefer if my government extended the same courtesies to all exporters, regardless of the sexiness of the export, and particularly concentrated on items that were unique to Canada and that we could be competitive with as opposed to ones that are not manufactured in volumes sufficient for export.

Damn, I sound like a Steven Harper supporter. Time to watch Trudeau on the CBC again.

[jamiemaw]

All jokes aside, I'd love to see a Canadian manufacture of cariboo jerky, or snowblowers phone up the Canadian mission in in London, and request the use of a board room in Canada House for a presentation. There is a curious double standard at work with regards to "glamour" exports vs. the things that us mere mortals are forced to flog to keep bannock on the table. I'd prefer if my government extended the same courtesies to all exporters, regardless of the sexiness of the export, and particularly concentrated on items that were unique to Canada and that we could be competitive with as opposed to ones that are not manufactured in volumes sufficient for export.

Damn, I sound like a Steven Harper supporter. Time to watch Trudeau on the CBC again.

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Keith,

Points well taken, although I'm a little alarmed to hear about you and Stephen--have you advised the lesser Talents? But as this agency was the Canadian Tourism Commission, I believe that you will have better success promoting your new caribou meat leather products (especially the XXX-tra Spicy and prune and anis ones) than your snowblowers--simply not an image the CTC really likes to run with. After all, they've put a lot of stock in global warming, even promoting Saskatoon as sub-tropical in their new promotion, "You'll come for the surfing, but you'll stay for the Sasakatoonberry pie!" Catchy.

On the other hand, they are expert at promoting many artisanal, indigenous things such as portion-packed prime rib, dry-aged McCain's pizza, traditional elk balls, hockey-stick shaped pemmican and even more avant garde products such as your own. Just make sure that your collateral marketing materials are up to snuff and that your fabulous Jerky Girls are attired in traditional down mini-skirts, muffs and mukluks for the product hand-outs in Picadilly Circus/Trafalgar Square/Covent Garden.

Congratulations in advance,

Jamie

Edited March 3, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[Keith Talent]

It's a sad state of affairs when you feel strongly about something, put your thoughts down in writing, read back and realize you've managed to construct a Conservative party platform only leaving out the parts about dinosaurs roaming the earth with Noah and suspicion of any person darker than your average Kelowna sun tan. As penance I'm going to down a full bottle of BC red, or if that bottle has already been sold, whatever my local VQA store is flogging as red this week. I'm then going to re-read my collection of old Rick Salutin columns to recentre my political compass.

Perhaps a journalist should do an investigation into the fact that the Okanagan produces primarily white wines, and it's electing of Stockwell Day. Perhaps the electing of a blood red Liberal would improve the juice?

[jamiemaw]

It's a sad state of affairs when you feel strongly about something, put your thoughts down in writing, read back and realize you've managed to construct a Conservative party platform only leaving out the parts about dinosaurs roaming the earth with Noah and suspicion of any person darker than your average Kelowna sun tan. As penance I'm going to down a full bottle of BC red, or if that bottle has already been sold, whatever my local VQA store is flogging as red this week. I'm then going to re-read my collection of old Rick Salutin columns to recentre my political compass.

Perhaps a journalist should do an investigation into the fact that the Okanagan produces primarily white wines, and it's electing of Stockwell Day. Perhaps the electing of a blood red Liberal would improve the juice?

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Keith,

We really must bring you up to the Valley for some red infuriator. Please bring your Nyquil tastevin. The reds are improving with each vintage: J-T, Black Sage, La Frenz and many others are rolling out some very good bottles--especially the meritages.

We'll plan on a well-stocked day,

J.

[Freckles]

Ugh, Keith. I enjoyed your description of the tasting but too bad you ruined it for me with your political musings.