By Rick VanSickle
As challenging a vintage as 2024 was in British Columbia, trying to navigate the current landscape of where your wine is coming from can be nearly as daunting.
Consumers are tasked with deciphering what white wines from the 2024 vintage are sourced from south of the border, while the 2022 red wines, being released at the same time, are all from B.C. Each winery has a unique way of communicating on the labels where the wine comes from. Some are more obvious than others, some not so much.
It’s all a bit confusing but totally necessary for B.C. wineries who have been forced to look beyond their borders to even have any wines to sell after the devastating 2024 vintage was basically wiped out due to harsh winter conditions.
As Jeff Del Nin (above), the winemaker at Quails’ Gate in the Okanagan Valley said: “The back-to-back winters of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 challenged us to our core.” The plummeting cold temperatures in December 2022 “took a toll on our vineyards, reducing yields by 75%,” he said. Another cold event in January 2024 reduced yields another 93%.
In March of 2024, Del Nin reached out to some of his oldest and closest friends in Washington, Oregon and California. “When the going gets tough, wine people do what they can to support one another,” he said. “Then I got in my truck and drove thousands of kilometres to visit vineyard after vineyard.”
Del Nin walked the vineyards, row after row to get to know each parcel. “We had to be certain that the wines we’d make were to be premium expressions of their Pacific Northwest terroir.” He spent 51 days in Washington and Oregon as “I needed to see the wines through finish line. It was exciting and nerve-wracking.”
The resulting wines are released under the Plume brand, which was started in 2009 to explore new regions, “true to our innovative spirit.”
I suggest we support these wineries in the Okanagan Valley as they deal with the economic impact of replanting and keeping the wine flowing even if it isn’t sourced from their own backyard. The white wines I’ve tasted from U.S. grapes are only moderately out of step from the Okanagan Valley wines, with a bit more concentration and roundness on the palate but showing high quality and no signs that trucking the grapes from the south have had any impact on the end product.
I’m filing this B.C. Wine Report from Squamish, or more accurately, Paradise Valley, a lovely property that was home to a high school reunion at a former student’s beautiful acreage. About 90 former students and teachers from our school in the Yukon gathered for three days of reminiscing, hiking, playing guitars, breaking bread, talking and singing well into the night.
As I do every reunion, I organized a wine tasting where people can bring their favourite bottles to share as we discuss why they liked it. The theme this year was, appropriately, B.C. wines, and the tasting table was chock full of great local wines from the island to the Okanagan Valley (and a few non-B.C. wines from the folks who didn’t read the email carefully).
It was a fun tasting in an idyllic setting with old friends and there were many highlights. But the big winner was a bottle of Quails’ Gate Optima from 2002. It was a totally botrytis affected (TBA) late harvest wine brought by former Carcross Community Education Centre student Dick Eastmure (above) that was just beautiful with layers of compoted fruits, beeswax, honey and caramel notes with a finish that lasted for minutes. It was fun to see how the tastes of the 18 people from various parts of the country are so varied. People who drink wine at any level know what they like and there’s no need to steer them away from that.
In this B.C. Wine Report, we look at three wineries — Hester Creek, Quails’ Gate and a new one for me, Soren, which is now available at Vintages stores. It’s a mishmash of Okanagan grown grapes and grapes from Washington, Oregon and the Similkameen Valley.
Quails’ Gate Winery
The Plume Collection of wines from Quails’ Gate “symbolizes the spirit of discovery and the freedom to soar beyond familiar horizons. Rooted in the Stewart family’s rich wine making legacy, Plume is an exploration of distinctive valleys, each with its own unique character and story to tell.”
From the rolling vineyards of Napa and Sonoma Valleys to the untamed beauty of the Similkameen, and now venturing into the wine regions of Oregon, Washington, Plume endeavours to celebrate the richness of what they call the world’s most renowned growing regions.
Here’s what we liked:
Quails’ Gate Plume Pinot Gris 2024 ($32, 90 points) — This Pinot Gris was sourced from the Westmount Vineyard near Monmouth, Oregon. This part of the Willamette Valley is dramatically cooled by the Van Duzer gap, an opening in the coastal mountains that pulls cold air from the Pacific Ocean into the valley. The nose shows ripe and juicy pear, melon, golden apples and citrus zest. There’s a touch of flint on the palate with flavours of quince, summer peaches, nectarine and pear with a touch of sweetness buffered by the racy acidity on the lifted finish.
Quails’ Gate Plume Chenin Blanc 2024 ($35, 91 points) — This Chenin Blanc was sourced from the sun-drenched vineyards of south-central Washington, where warm days and cool nights create ideal conditions for vibrant wines. Harvested from 40-year-old vines planted in 1980 and 1981 in the Horse Heaven Hills, situated in the heart of the Columbia Valley. It was aged in concrete egg fermenters (40%) and neutral French oak (30%) with a portion of the wine was kept in stainless steel (30%). This has an inviting nose of honeysuckle, apricots, white peaches and nectarine. It has lovely texture and flavours of apricot tart, poached pear, melon, peach and citrus with zippy acidity keeping it fresh and lively on the finish.
Quails’ Gate Plume Rosé of Pinot Noir 2023 ($30, 92 points) — This Rosé of Pinot Noir is crafted from Oregon’s hillside vineyards and sourced from the slopes of Ribbon Ridge nestled in northeast Willamette. It has an attractive nose of fresh red berries, wild herbs, floral notes and citrus zest. It has a rounded texture on the palate with ripe strawberries, cherries, red currants, peach and fresh squeezed lemon on a bright finish.
Quails’ Gate Plume Pinot Noir 2023 ($48, 92 points) — This Pinot Noir is sourced from high-elevation vineyards in Dayton, Oregon. The nose reveals black wild raspberries, dark cherries, anise, violets, earthy/savoury notes and baking spices. It’s mouth-filling and robust on the palate with ripe red berries, licorice-tinged aniseed, savoury spice on silky frame and nicely balanced by the elevated acidity on the
Quails’ Gate Plume Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($52, 93 points) — This Cabernet Sauvignon was grown in the heart of the Similkameen Valley, a pristine stretch of vineyards set among the dramatic backdrop of rugged and awe-inspiring mountains. Due to the tall surrounding mountains and the reflectivity of the rock, heat remains in the valley long after the sun sets, making this vineyard site the perfect home for the late-ripening Cabernet vines. This makes a statement on the nose with notes of ripe cassis, black currants, kirsch, anise, fresh turned earth and integrated spices. It’s giving and persistent on the palate with ripe black berries, maraschino cherries, polished tannins, anise and fine oak spices on a long, finessed finish. Can cellar through 2033.
Soren Wines
Soren is a B.C. project from Master of Wine Geoffrey Moss and winemaker Ryan McKibbon. Their philosophy is simple: “What if we could showcase wines from our favourite winemakers? Not just from the Okanagan, but from around the world. Barrel by barrel, we select the lots that raise the hair on our arms. They have a verve. An electricity. And, most importantly, they have something to say.”
McKibbon is a winemaker with a long resume in B.C. and Ontario. Among his stops, he previously made wine for Phantom Creek, alongside biodynamic trailblazer MW Olivier Humbrecht, and Hidden Bench, one of Niagara’s leading organic producers. In total, he’s worked 14 harvests, including at iconic Pinot Noir producer Crystallum in South Africa and Felton Road, a biodynamic pioneer in New Zealand.
Geoffrey Moss became a Master of Wine in 2020, earning the Villa Maria Award for his knowledge of viticulture and the Robert Mondavi Winery Award for the best performance across the theory exam. His resumé includes working with Donald Triggs and family at Culmina and then as part of the founding team at Phantom Creek, launching the brand across Canada. In 2019, he founded Lithica Wine Marketing, a boutique agency that helps wineries develop effective, customer-centric business and marketing strategies.
The Boundary Spring Red Blend is now available at LCBO Vintages stores. Here is my review.
Soren Boundary Spring Red Blend 2022 ($35, Vintages, 92 points) — The blend for this single vineyard Similkameen Valley red wine is 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 12% Malbec, and 5% Syrah. It’s the result of a 17-barrel blend that’s aged in mostly neutral French barriques with one-third of the barrels new. This is a lovely, elegant expression of a proprietary red blend with a nose of blackberries, black currants, anise, herbaceous notes, some floral lift, just a pinch of pepper and black licorice with light and savoury spice notes. It’s full-bodied on the palate with ripe and generous fruits of ripe dark berries, plums, meaty/earthy notes, underbrush and spice. The texture is plush with ripe tannins that all leads to a long, luxurious and lifted finish. Can cellar through 2031. A beautiful wine.
Hester Creek Estate Winery
We recently highlighted four Hester Creek wines coming to Ontario’s Vintages stores this year (you can read our report here.
We have now received another collection of wines from Hester that includes two whites from the Columbia Valley, made necessary due to the brutal winters in the Okanagan Valley in 2023-2024 that wiped over 90% of Okanagan grape vines. We also review a few reds from the fantastic 2022 vintage in the Okanagan Valley, including the iconic Judge and Garland.
Hester Creek sits on 115 acres of land with 88 acres under vine. The wines are made by Mark Hopley, who takes his inspiration from the terroir that surrounds the winery.
Hester Creek calls the 2022 harvest for the reds were just seeing now “one of the most challenging, yet productive years on record. With the addition of new vineyards, the 2022 harvest yielded a larger crop than average. Due to cooler than-expected spring temperatures and more rain than is typical of the South Okanagan, the season was off to a late start. By summer, temperatures rose and lasted into the autumn, extending the season with the warmest September and October on record. The 2022 vintage will be remembered as a milestone year for producing exceptional, fruit-forward and age-worthy wines.”
Here’s what we liked:
Hester Creek Riesling 2024 ($25, 89 points) — The 2024 vintage from Hester Creek was sourced from just south of the border in the Columbia Valley AVA. This AVA and its sub-AVAs were chosen for the proximity and similarities to the South Okanagan with respect to terroir, varietals and viticultural history. The grapes for the 2024 Riesling were farmed in the Ancient Lakes AVA of the Columbia Valley. They were hand harvested on Oct. 1, loaded into temperature-controlled trucks and delivered to the Hester Creek crush pad that same day. It’s loaded with white peach notes on the nose, with golden apple, nectarine, lemon-lime and saline minerality. It’s more rounded on the palate with ripe orchard fruits, zesty lemon and mouth-watering acidity on the finish.
Hester Creek Rosé Noir 2024 ($28, 92 points) — The 100% Pinot Noir grapes were farmed in the Ancient Lakes AVA in the Columbia Valley with each cluster hand harvested and brought to Hester Creek’s crush pad in temperature-controlled trucks. The winemakers used a combination of whole berry and whole cluster pressing. This a lovely, elegant style of rosé with a nose of pretty red berries, a touch of citrus, wild herbs and stony minerality. It’s bone-dry and textured on the palate with a melange of strawberries, cherries, pomegranate, citrus zest and a lifted, tangy finish.
Hester Creek Syrah 2022 ($30, 93 points) — The Syrah (a tiny bit of co-fermented Viognier) was aged in 60% American oak and 40% French oak for 14 months. It has a smoky, peppery nose with black currants, forest berries, kirsch, cocoa, floral notes and toasty spices. It’s a thing of rugged beauty on the palate, with notes of anise/licorice, ripe dark cherries, blackberries and cassis, savoury/earthy notes, charcuterie, black peppercorns, bright spice noes and a lifted, long finish. Can cellar through 2034. A beauty.
Hester Creek The Judge 2022 ($50, 94 points) —The 2022 vintage at Hester Creek was a warmer, juicier vintage than 2021 for big reds such as this and wine below. The “Right Bank” blend for 2022 Judge is 47% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% each of Petit Verdot and Malbec. The blend was aged in a combination of new and used French oak barriques for 24 months. I decanted this before tasting and it opened up to bold and concentrated cassis, black cherries/kirsch, tobacco leaf, anise, cocoa, toasted vanilla bean, subtle earthy notes and rich spice accents. It’s mouth-filling on the palate with polished tannins, dense, ripe cassis, Morello cherries, black currant jam, savoury notes charred cedar plank that comes at you in layers, followed by toasted spices and a long, long, finessed finish. A gorgeous wine that will reward even further with cellaring to 2038.
Hester Creek Garland 2022 ($65, 95 points) — The Garland is the “Left Bank” version of the big reds from Hester, made up of a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. The blend was aged exclusively in French oak barriques for 24 months. This is a blockbuster of wine that comes out of the gate expressing itself with profound and assertive ripe cassis, blackberries, anise, plums, dried Cuban tobacco leaf, cloves and toasty vanilla spices. It’s highly structured on the palate with ripe tannins melting into the heavily saturated dark berries of cassis and black currants with purple plums, a touch of kirsch, star anise, savoury/earthy notes and mouth-watering acidity bringing finesse and length to this beautiful red blend. This has the potential to age through 2040.
Hester Creek Chardonnay coming
to Vintages this Saturday
Hester Creek Chardonnay 2023 ($25, Vintages Aug. 2, previously reviewed, 91 points) — The grapes for this Chardonnay were hand harvested from two South Okanagan vineyards. It was whole cluster pressed with the juice cold settled for five days prior to fermentation and the resulting wine was aged for 10 months in French oak, in a combination of new and neutral barrels. It has an assertive nose of ripe pear, yellow apple, bright and zesty lemon, toasty vanilla bean and spices. It’s fresh and layered on the palate with ripe orchard fruits, crisp citrus, toasty spices and mouth-watering acidity keeping it bright and finessed through a long finish.
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