Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
The emerging Canadian region making the biggest impression on global palates is the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, the southern portion of which lies just across the border from Washington State. And the valley will be only more influential in the coming years.
It’s a long, skinny area oriented on a north-south axis. In the north, it’s cooler, and Pinot Noir and Riesling grapes thrive; in the south, much hotter and home to Bordeaux red grapes such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The prime mover in the region is Anthony von Mandl, who owns Martin’s Lane, Mission Hill winery and three other properties that he calls the Iconic Wineries of British Columbia. “They are all managed independently,” says von Mandl, “in the same way LVMH has 75 fashion brands.”
Von Mandl touts the unique characteristics of the area: very little rain is one (though perhaps counterintuitive, drier conditions make viticulture a lot easier). “The fruit is pristine,” he says. “It’s very easy to make pest-free wine in that environment.” An ancient history of volcanic activity and a couple of glaciations produced a large variation of rich wine soils. And climate change has an upside here. “There’s been a shift for us,” says von Mandl. “The summer warmth is different now, and Syrah and Cab are ripening in a way we haven’t seen before.”
Another wine in von Mandl’s portfolio, CheckMate 2015 Little Pawn Chardonnay, scored 100 points from well-regarded Canadian critic John Schreiner; it also happened to nab the vote of former US vice president Al Gore, who ordered two cases before that review was out. The irony of Gore’s connoisseurship does not escape von Mandl, who said: “Little did he know it was enabled by climate change.”
The irony of Gore’s connoisseurship does not escape von Mandl, who said: “Little did he know it was enabled by climate change.”