A drink with...

BruceNicholson, winemaker

Bruce Nicholson has spent more than 34 years in Canada’s British Columbia and Niagara regions as head winemaker of two of the country’s leading icewine producers – Jackson Triggs and Inniskillin. He retired from Inniskillin in late 2021, and is succeeded by Nick Gizuk. ‘I was at a wine festival 35 years ago and tried a Chardonnay from the Okanagan that was the real deal. It inspired me and is certainly one of my favourite varieties to work with to this day. People like Donald Ziraldo, Karl Kaiser and Allan Jackson, Don Triggs are the reason we’re here. These were the pioneers.

‘With icewine, [picking] can happen in November, December or January, and sometimes as late as February or even March. The later it is, the more nervous the winemaker and the grower become because the elements can take a hold of the vineyard… wildlife, birds, the dehydration process or the wind that will knock the grapes off the vine.

‘One of the proudest moments of my career was winning the inaugural Karl Kaiser Canadian Winemaker Award in 2018, in memoriam of somebody who I admired, and it was where I was able to finally thank my wife for all her patience and support over the years.

‘It’s a challenge finding the night that’s going to stay cold enough to get the grapes into the winery and pressed at the sugar levels you want… I don’t like to pick Vidal on a first pick, unlike the vinifera, which I like to pick at the very first opportunity. First the Riesling, then the thicker-skinned Cabernet Franc.

‘To be a winemaker, you have to be all in. You can’t be 85%, you have to be 100% in, in all aspects of the process.

‘Any occasion is the right occasion for icewine. Particularly nowadays when we haven’t been with family and friends, the whole world, for almost two years. I missed spending Christmas Day with my family. I enjoy having the people that mean the most to me; good food and great wine. So go down to your cellar and have that bottle of wine.’