Canadian Wine Report – September 2017
Pinot’s Progress
by David Lawrason
Pinot Noir is Canada’s red grape, for better or for worse. Here’s the first coast to coast survey of where it is growing and what to expect in the glass. With top picks from the 2017 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada.
David Lawrason
When we 25 judges get together at the National Wine Awards of Canada there are wine categories that excite, and some that bore. And then there are some that seem to cause endless discussion. This year, at the Awards held in Nova Scotia in June, it was pinot noir that caused the most fuss. It was more difficult to find consensus within panels and among all the panels, and in the end, none of the over 100 pinot noirs entered scored high enough to earn a platinum medal, although ten did capture gold medals.
It is called the heartbreak grape for good reason. It attracts and entices almost everyone, but disappoints most at the same time. So sensitive, so temperamental according to the climate and soils in which it is grown. Such a chameleon that it cannot possibly meet a wide variety of expectations (thus our problem on the NWAC panels). It is almost worth the price when it’s great, and far too expensive when it’s not.
So, Canada, this is your most important red grape variety. I would argue it is our national red variety, not because it always makes magnificent wine but at least because it is being seriously attempted in at least four provinces – on the Pacific and Atlantic shores and many interesting places in between.
And by the way, pinot noir doesn’t just have to make red wine. It can and does produce excellent sparkling wines and rosés in Canada. All the more reason to crown it as our national red grape.
The reason for its geographical spread goes to the nature of the grape itself. It is thinner-skinned (so like many Canadians) and prone to breakdown. However, it ripens earlier than many other red varieties, and thus has a better chance of balanced ripeness in our cooler climate and shorter growing season. It also has some necessary winter hardiness. It really is as simple as that.
As a lighter wine renowned for acidity, elegance, fragrance and complexity pinot noir is not always appreciated by those seeking power and opulence. But it is an intellectually fascinating variety, as prone to failure as it is to success. We all hope, bottle by bottle, to be swept away; but more often we are left with questions.
La Frenz Desperation Hill Vineyard, Naramata Bench
Suffice to say that across Canada there are enough winegrowers and winemakers besotted by pinot that they continue their quest to seek its greatness. To suffer the money-draining low yields required to coax out its inner meaning; to deal with this grape’s penchant to rot at the sight of a passing dark cloud, or retreat into a tannic shell and explode with alcohol when the sun gets too hot.
If pinot noir were your child you would be questioning your parenting, as I am sure Canadian pinot noir growers and winemakers do every year.
But here we go on a cross-Canada pinot noir tour – beginning in the far west. Provincial political boundaries are viticulturally irrelevant, so I am not even mentioning provinces. I am sure you can keep up. What’s more important is to recognize the Canadian appellations where pinot noir is ascending.
I have provided latitudes and growing degree days of each region to provide some basis for comparison. GDDs are the summation of the heat units required to ripen particular types of fruit. For basis of international comparison with other pinot regions, Burgundy averages 1300 GDDs and New Zealand’s Marlborough region averages 1150.
The vast majority of the wines highlighted below were gold or silver medal winners at the 2017 National Wine Awards of Canada, some of the nation’s best.
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands
LAT 48.7, GDDs 1025
Don’t look now mainlanders, but Vancouver Island and the collection of bucolic Gulf Islands off its eastern shore (Salt Spring, Pender and Saturna) is one of the most exciting pinot noir regions in Canada. Both Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are separate VQA regions. Trouble is that production is so small that most wines never make it “off the Island”. It is centred in the rain-shadowed Cowichan Valley near Duncan, a loosely defined valley where vineyards follow gentle slopes facing generally eastward and downward to the Georgia Strait. Pinot Noir often ripens nicely here, but not so much in rain soaked years (which are becoming more rare). Wineries like Averill Creek, Unsworth, Alderlea, Blue Grouse, and Cherry Point are creating lighter, quite fine, linear pinots that may lack body weight and flesh but capture tension and precision – and fragrance. Same can be said for Gulf Island producers like Garry Oaks and Salt Spring Winery on Salt Spring Island, and Sea Star on Pender Island. The Sea Star Pinot Blanc de Noir Rose (100% pinot) was named Gold Medal Plates Wine of the Year in 2016.
Unsworth Pinot Noir Vintners Reserve 2014
Salt Spring Pinot Noir Reserve 2014
Thompson River Valley/Lilloet/Shuswap
LAT 50.5, GDD 1200
The non-VQA ‘emerging’ regions centred on Kamloops are roughly 150 kms north of Kelowna. Like the Okanagan Valley they sit in the higher altitude, dry interior in the rain shadow of the Coastal/Cariboo ranges (The region was affected by wildfires this season but I have not heard reports of vineyard damage). The chief problem this far north (beyond the textbook range for success with vinifera) is winter damage, which occurred in 2015. So the handful of producers are toying with burying vines in the winter (they are not alone in Canada). There has not yet been enough 100% pinot produced to begin to define it, and some wineries are purchasing Okanagan fruit, but pinot is the focus of Privato, Canada’s most northerly winery. Harper’s Trail and Monte Creek Ranch are also gearing up in the Thompson Valley, and Fort Berens has pinot planted farther west on a terrace above the Fraser River in Lilloet. The first pinots from young vines are quite light bodied and firm.
Privato Woodward Collection Tesoro Pinot Noir 2014
Kelowna and Lake Country
LAT 50, GDDs 1200
This is the Okanagan epicentre for pinot noir production, although wineries southward towards Okanagan Falls might argue that statement. The vineyards in “the north Okanagan” are often positioned on hard glacial and/or volcanic soils. In Lake Country just north of Kelowna, right on the 50th degree of latitude, some are planted on steep west facing slopes (that catch longer, warmer evening sun) above Lake Okanagan. These include Gray Monk, Arrowleaf, Ex Nihilo and Parallel 50, all of which will be joined soon by the ambitious new O’Rourke Family and sister winery called The Chase. Further south on the west facing benchlands of East Kelowna there are many important pinot producers like Spierhead, Tantalus, Sperling, CedarCreek, and Summerhill. This is also the home to the new pinot-centric Martin’s Lane Winery. Across the lake in Westbank, in the environs of volcanic Mt. Boucherie lie now mature east facing sites at Quails’ Gate (the oldest pinot vines in the Okanagan), Mission Hill, Mt. Boucherie, and many other smaller wineries. The pinot style tends to be mid-weight, quite elegant with berry-cherry fruit and some sense of minerality.
50th Parallel Unparalleled Pinot Noir 2014
CedarCreek Platinum Block 2 Pinot Noir 2014
Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir 2015
Summerland/Naramata/Okanagan Falls
LAT 49.5, GDDs 1300 to 1400
With the city of Penticton as the geographic focal point, this is the Okanagan’s hearty mid-section. Pinot Noir is certainly comfortable here, more at ease and consistently ripe than anywhere in B.C. It is right at Burgundy’s GDD count. The wines tend to be bigger, riper and jammier, depending somewhat on vintage. I expect more ripe cherry, softer and richer pinots – heading toward Oregon and California – but still retaining acidity and the minerality of the glacial moraine soil base. There are countless small wineries here, almost 100 within the zone, so it’s hard to pick the most definitive wines. Certainly Meyer Family is top of mind with pinots from Naramata and OK Falls. Blue Mountain is a pinot pioneer in Okanagan Falls and on top of its game. On the west facing, evening warmed bluff tops of the Naramata Bench, many wineries are growing fine pinot – Foxtrot, Laughing Stock, Lake Breeze, Moraine Winery, Howling Bluff, and La Frenz. In Summerland on the west side of the lake (where the east facing vineyards are a touch cooler) look to Haywire, Thornhaven and Sage Hills.
Meyer Old Block Pinot Noir Mclean Creek Vineyard Ok Falls 2015
La Frenz Pinot Noir Reserve 2015
Oliver/Osoyoos
LAT 49, GDDs 1450 to 1500
The Sonoran desert that pokes its nose over the US border at Osoyoos is generally too hot during the summer, creating overripe, high alcohol pinots, so some earlier pinot vines have been grafted to other varieties. However there are some cooler pockets on upper benches, particularly on east facing Golden Mile south of Oliver, and on Seacrest Hill just north of the town near the McIntyre Bluff. Another improbable but excellent site sits high on the west facing slope of Anarchist Mountain above Osoyoos. Expect quite ripe, powerful pinots.
Anarchist Mountain Wildfire Pinot Noir 2015
Inniskillin Okanagan Pinot Noir Dark Horse Vineyard 2015
Similkameen Valley
LAT 49.3, GDDs 1350
The narrow, cooler Similkameen Valley (1300 GDDs) one hop west of the southern Okanagan is not well known for pinot noir, but I have had good examples and think it should be more on the radar of local growers (unless I am missing some finer details that prohibit its planting here). I have had good examples from Eau Vivre and Corcelettes. The style tends to be light bodied with some minerality.
Creston/Kootenay
LAT 49.2, GDDs 1100
This is perhaps the smallest, off-the-radar region in Canada, and it is not yet VQA designated, but I am excited by the pinot noir prospects. The town of Creston is on the US border in the southeast interior of BC. The vineyards and orchards sit on benches above the south end of Kootenay Lake and the Kootenay River. It is a small but mighty fruit belt, growing some of the best cherries I have ever tasted. I have experienced that same kind of juicy intensity in the pinot noir from Baillie-Grohman, the most widely known winery (of a small handful) in the region. A region to watch.
Baillie Grohman Pinot Noir 2013 (This vintage won a Silver medal at the 2016 Nationals and may not be available now. The current vintage (2014) of this wine has not yet been reviewed by WineAlign.)
Niagara Escarpment
LAT 43.5, GDDs 1525
Moving eastward about 3000 kms into Ontario, there is a little pinot grown in the warm climate and fertile sandy/clay soils of Lake Erie North Shore, but Niagara far out-produces LENS. The Niagara Peninsula likes to think of itself as a cool climate region, but the numbers tell a different story. It is the warmest pinot region in Canada. It is latitude-wise on par with Burgundy, and shares a limestone soil base. It can of course get very cold in the winter, and it can have cool vintages in which pinot excels, but the growing season is plenty warm enough in most vintages to ripen pinot, and often over-ripen and compromise it. It is warmer than Burgundy by 200 GDDs. Then too there is Niagara’s considerable humidity sitting astride a Great Lake, which promotes rot and mildew among the tightly clustered pinot bunches.
In my view the best pinots are being made on the Escarpment in the Beamsville Bench, Twenty Mile Bench and Vinemount Ridge appellations that promote air circulation and slightly cooler ambiance. There is a small band at the foot of St. Davids Bench as well. There are several fine pinot producers on the “bench” including Hidden Bench, Tawse, Flat Rock Cellars, Thirty Bench, Bachelder, Domaine Queylus, and potentially Westcott. But as time marches on, and pinot vintages roll along, Niagara may not be the pinot epicentre that some have liked to believe.
The Good Earth Pinot Noir 2015
Tawse Unfiltered Pinot Noir Quarry Road Vineyard 2016
Prince Edward County
LAT 44, GDDs 1250
Prince Edward County is the only Canadian wine region essentially founded on the promise of pinot noir, based on experimental plantings in the late 90s by pioneers like Geoff Heinricks and Deborah Paskus who spied the incredible limestone bedrock, and had visions of Burgundy dancing in their heads. From the first winery opening in 2001 there are now about 40, virtually all making pinot, and all now habitually bury their vines to protect against winter kill. The PEC pinots are pale, light bodied, tart edged, capable of great elegance, low tannin, fragrance and minerality. Pinot specialist Norman Hardie who worked with pinot in Burgundy and in several New World locales has vaulted the region to national and even international fame but even earlier adopters like Long Dog, Rosehall Run, Grange of Prince Edward, and Closson Chase have fared well, joined more recently by tiny specialists like Exultet, Stanners, Keint-He, Hubbs Creek, The Old Third, and Lighthall. It is to my mind the most exciting, volatile and vexing pinot region in the country.
Stanners Barrel Select Pinot Noir 2014
Keint He Greer Road Pinot Noir Greer Road Vineyard 2014
Montegerie, Eastern Townships, Lanoraie
LAT 45, GDDs 1200 to 1250
Down the St. Lawrence Valley into Quebec the climate cools a little, the season shortens and the soils become a more fertile mixture of clay, loam and sand. The winters – unmoderated by large lakes – are particularly cold making cultivation of most vinifera daunting. Vines are buried in winter or, increasingly, being blanketed by new geo-textiles developed in Quebec. Within the past ten years many of the small family owned wineries are at least experimenting with chardonnay, riesling, gamay and yes pinot noir –Domaine du Nival, Domaine du Rivuve in Varennes and Le Vignoble Carone in Lanoraie, all in the St. Lawrence Valley east of Montreal are among the pinot pioneers, but made in small lots and rarely seen outside the province. Domaine St. Jacques in Montegerie south of Montreal planted pinot in 2009. Quite Burgundian in style it is the only Quebec pinot I have reviewed to date. A visit is high on my to-do list.
Domaine St Jacques Pinot Noir 2015
Annapolis, Gaspereau and Bear River Valleys
LAT 47, GDDs 1000
As in Quebec, pinot noir in Nova Scotia is very much in its infancy, but of growing interest, as a base for sparkling wine, for rose and for red table wine. The latitude is more northerly and the season short and often humid. But the valleys that lie in the rain shadow of North Mountain do enjoy sunnier, drier conditions, and the Bay of Fundy’s massive tides do create air drainage that mitigates against frost and winter freezes. Much of the recent pinot interest is due to the success with the variety at Lightfoot & Wolfville, which opened this summer overlooking the Minas Basin near Wolfville. The grapes were from a ten year old vineyard on the west side of the Basin near Blomidon, but there are new organic pinot plantings closer to the winery as well. It’s fair to say that much pinot noir in Nova Scotia will however find its way into sparkling wine which is already the case at Benjamin Bridge in the Gaspereau Valley. And there is pinot also being grown in the Bear River Valley at the bottom of the Annapolis Valley near Digby.
Lightfoot & Wolfville Ancienne Pinot Noir 2014
And that’s a wrap for this first trans-Canada pinot-logue. Rest assured I will be following pinot’s progress intently every year, and updating as new regions and wineries come to fruition.
Cheers,
David Lawrason
VP of Wine
The Canadian Wine Report brings you News and commentary on Canadian wine from a national perspective. Which means that the subject matter, events and tastings have elements or implications beyond provincial and appellation boundaries.
Past issues:
Speaking Up for The Rest of Canada
Prowein 2017: The Maple Leaf Takes Root Overseas
February was a HUGE Month for the Canadian Wine Conversation
New Wineries That Turned My Head in 2016
Trends and Winners from Gold Medal Plates 2016
Speaking up for Canadian Wines
Canadian Wine: One Grape at a Time
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