SUBTLETIES OF LOCATION LEND NUANCE TO GRAPES
When I started in this business back in the late `70s and early `80s, I visited many wineries in the Old World and the New World. I met a lot of winemakers and tasted a lot of wine. Today, at least before COVID-19, the visits begin in the vineyard, usually with a viticulturalist long before tasting any wine. I like to think of it as the Next World way.
As it should be, the vineyard visit is now the be-all and end-all of winery stops because frankly, almost every other element in the business can be, and is, copied worldwide. I still get the question, “Doesn't one wine taste the same as another?” To which I reply, “Do you mean in the same way that all humans are the same?” Like many similar products, it all comes down to nuances, whether you care to recognize them or not. With wine, I can confidently say it is the nuances that make a difference.
To understand unique sites and their stories, you have to be curious, and it has nothing to do with being a connoisseur of wine. For the many who chose to start a garden this year, and according to Reuters, “Fruit and vegetable seed sales are jumping worldwide.” You may have noted a few things about your property. If your plants are facing south and southwest, your site was likely warmer earlier in the season versus plots facing north. That speaks to place and orientation.
Once you know where the sun falls and where temperatures vary on your site, you can plant lettuce in the shade and tomatoes in the sun. For the keenly observant, you can track where the frost is last to appear, and the snow is the first to melt, and you will have identified the warmest location on your land. All useful information when you are planting a variety of crops with different needs.
In B.C.'S Similkameen Valley, Orofino Vineyards is successfully ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, a notoriously difficult variety to ripen in a cool-climate region. You might note the trellising, the pruning, crop load and more, but in the end, the vineyard site, in this case, Passion Pit, faces southwest and gets the late-day sun. That allows Orofino to ripen its Cabernet Sauvignon in the 24 to 26 degrees Brix, a level of grape of sugar that allows for the premium production of Cabernet Sauvignon even at 49 degrees north.
If you were to visit one of Mission Hill's Perpetua Chardonnay vineyards located at the border in the south Okanagan Valley, you might think it far too warm a site for Chardonnay. But the vineyard is oriented north, away from the blistering heat of the day. The layout allows the rich fruit to ripen fully without baking, thus balancing the brighter, more electric Chardonnay grapes that come off much cooler blocks at the north end of the Naramata Bench.
Attention to detail, science, and good old-fashioned observation create quality and flavour profiles that are slowly linking our wines to specific sites. East Kelowna is different than Osoyoos, and it shows in the wines. Pinot Noir that matters has all but disappeared from Osoyoos and most southern Okanagan vineyards, but the finicky grape flourishes in East Kelowna and Lake Country.
Martin's Lane, Tantalus, Spearhead and Cedarcreek lead the charge tempering warm, lateday sun, with cooling altitude, vineyards with northern expositions, and a lake that allows them to survive all winter. Pinot Noir plantings almost demand a PH.D. in soil science, so recognizing the importance of place is a big step in the journey to excellence.
A few years back, I spoke with Robert Mondavi's director of viticulture Daniel Bosch about their famed Napa Valley, home vineyard to Kalon, first planted in 1868 by H.W. Crabb. My question was, what made the site unique? He said it was famous for its almonds and apricots long before it became famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Even if sometime in the future, should the vineyards ever disappear or any other variety was planted, chances are it would be equally important for its quality because it is a special piece of dirt.
What we have come to know over time is that place matters. It's that kind of thinking that will take the New World to the Next World, and it can't happen fast enough for this writer.