Cowichan Valley - Part 3

Words and Photos by Liam Carrier
Edited by Sheila MacCallum

Godfrey-Brownell Vineyards
We concluded our wine-tasting excursion with a visit to Godfrey-Brownell Vineyards. Access to the winery is via a long dirt road that weaves first through a wooded area and then through the rustic estate vineyards. “Rustic” is my attempt at a non-judgmental description of Godfrey-Brownell’s philosophy of vineyard management which includes “multiculturalism for plants and fauna.” Broom and Alder trees are allowed to grow randomly in both the estate vineyards and their offsite vineyard named Basking Turtle (below the Averill Creek vineyards on Mt Prevost). The winery is experimenting with herb cover crops to fight powdery mildew at both vineyards. They are somewhere between a fully biodynamic winery and an organic farm, growing crops which have a self-imposed limit of 4800 cases per year.

Pouring for us was one of the many exchange student/traveler/workers who run the tasting porch – an outdoor area adjacent to the main winery building. The setting is pastoral and earthy. I enjoy open-air tastings very much, but I wonder what they do on rainy days? Live jazz accompanied our tasting which was a treat for the senses.

At Godfrey-Brownell we tasted:

2006 Bacchus - $18A light, crisp wine with apple and citrus flavours. Medium acidity. 82pts.

2005 Chardonnay - $18A maloactic fermented, oak-aged Chard with full-bodied flavours of melon and butter. Lacking residual acidity and layers. 83pts.

2004 William Maltman’s Double Red - $22A blend of Marechal Foch and Gamay Noir, this wine has a dark garnet colour and dark fruit nose. Full-bodied on the palate. 87pts.


2003 Reserve Pinot Noir - $30A light-garnet coloured Pinot aged in older French oak. Soft intensity on the nose with a palate of soft tannins and a medium finish. 84pts.

2003 Reserve Merlot - $40Made from south Okanagan grapes. Intense on the nose. Nicely matured dark yet transparent ruby wine that has smooth tannins and an inviting full-bodied palate. 89pts.

2002 Reserve Foch - $40This is very smooth wine that shows its age. Roasted marshmallow on the nose, dark-ruby colour, full-bodied with a long finish. A unique and quality wine coming into its peak, but over-priced. 90pts.

Cowichan Valley - In Conclusion
There are many more wineries to visit and many more wines to try in the Valley and in other Vancouver Island appellations; this was but a small taste of what is on offer. I hope this article helps illustrate the diversity of the product and producers available on Vancouver Island to the BC wine enthusiast. I look forward to furthering my own exposure to this unique region and broadening my knowledge of these wines.

If you have any recommendations for Vancouver Island and Gulf Island wineries to visit and wines to try, please send them my way: iconwines@shaw.ca

http://www.averillcreek.ca/
http://www.zanatta.ca/
http://www.gbvineyards.com/

Cowichan Valley - Part 2

Words and Photos by Liam Carrier
Edited by Sheila MacCallum

Twenty-Two Oaks Winery
The second stop of the day was Twenty-two Oaks Winery, the valley’s newest firm. Pinot Noir, Marechal Foch, Cabernet Franc and Tempranillo vines were planted in 2007 but have yet to produce a first vintage. The winery recently opened their tasting room, pouring wines that were produced for them by Summerland’s Adora Estate Winery: a Pinot Gris and two red blends: a Syrah-Merlot-Gamay and a Syrah-Foch.

I didn’t take the time to properly review or score these wines as they are not representative of what the winery will produce in the years to come. Of the current wines for sale, the Syrah-Foch blend is worth a try but at $22 is a bit over-priced. I look forward to tasting their first vintage, which may not be available until Spring 2011 – especially Vancouver Island’s first Tempranillo.

Zanatta Winery and Vineyards

The next stop was to the island’s oldest winery and vinfera plantings; Zanatta Winery and Vineyards who offer a flight of both sparkling and table wines. Named for the now-deceased family patriarch, the winemaking is currently headed by daughter, Loretta Zanatta, who specializes in Champagne-style sparkling wines. Sadly, the tasting was limited to the current still wines on offer which was disappointing. I would have happily paid for a taste of their flagship sparklers. Unfortunately, I was left with tasting a flight of table wines that overall seemed as though they were produced as an afterthought.

At Zanatta we tasted:

2008 Ortega - $15.95Produced yearly from 1989 and commercially available since the winery opened in 1992. A decent dry white with some layers of fruit flavours. 82pts.

2008 Pinot Grigio - $17.95A stainless-steel fermented bland Pinot lacking acidity and complexity. 80pts.

N/V Damasco - $15.95This is a non-vintage blend of four varieties that has an intense floral-perfume nose but falls flat on the palate with muted acidity and tropical fruit flavours. 80pts

2007 Pinot Nero - $21.95This was the best of the bunch and would make a nice accompaniment to roasted duck in a fruit-based sauce. Decent acidity and berry flavours, medium tannins and finish. 84pts

I was left feeling disappointed and annoyed that the winery wouldn’t show off what some of the locals had raved about: their sparkling wines – even for a fee. On a positive note, the restaurant/wine bar attached to the winery looks interesting and inviting. Should I have more time upon my next visit I will give it a try. All wine can be improved by a judicious pairing with food.

In part 3: Godfrey-Brownell Vineyards...

Cowichan Valley - Part 1

Words and Photos by Liam Carrier
Edited by Sheila MacCallum

Cowichan Valley

Vancouver Island, off the west coast of British Columbia, is home to a number of wine sub-appellations. Cowichan Valley is the most widely planted and was the focus of a recent trip to the Island in September, 2009 to visit family. Access to the Island is limited to flying (expensive) or via the provincial-run ferry system from the mainland where you can either take your car or purchase a walk-on fare. Transit options to the wine regions are limited if you don’t have your own car or a tall uncle waiting for you on the other side as I did.

Knowing that we would have only a few hours free for wine tasting (this was primarily a family trip and not a business trip) I took full advantage of the two-hour crossing time on the ferry to research the wineries I wanted to visit. The list contained the largest, the newest, the oldest and the most “granola” of the Vancouver Island wineries.


Averill Creek Vineyard

The first stop of our short tour was Averill Creek Vineyard, home to the Island’s largest estate planting of vinifera. Positioned on south-facing slopes at the base of Mt Prevost, the winery boasts 30+ acres of vines: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Merlot, Gewürztraminer, Marechal Foch, and an early ripening Foch-Cabernet hybrid.

Proprietor Andy Johnston, a former private-practice MD from Edmonton, was on hand to conduct the pour in their modern tasting room with stunning views to Saanich Inlet. Based on his sincerity, professionalism and friendly demeanor, he was likely an MD with a long waiting list. Meeting him I was reminded of the Richard Attenborough character from Jurassic Park with his white hair and beard, who “spared no expense” to bring his dream to fruition. Of course, Andy is neither delusional, nor fictional but his dream of operating a world-class winery has benefited from a similar do-it-right attitude.

At Averill Creek we tasted:

2008 Somenos Rose - $17
A blend of Marechal Foch, Pinot Noir and Merlot, cold fermented. This wine has a nice balance of acidity to fruit flavours that would make for a lovely summer patio sipper. I wish I had discovered this Rosé earlier in the year. 87pts

2008 Pinot Grigio - $18
Fermented in stainless steel, this wine, along with its Pinot Gris cousin, shows the skills of the Averill Creek team in handling the white varieties. This is a gold-medal winner that showcases the fruit and mineral flavours a quality Pinot Gris can offer. 90pts.

2007 Pinot Gris - $23
This is a barrel-fermented cousin of the Grigio (from the same grapes) that has gone through a full maloactic fermentation which infuses butter and cream fruit flavours. Despite this calming of the acid application, the wine possesses enough residual acidity to balance the oak and fruit flavours, resulting in a special wine. A future gold-medal winner. 91pts.

2007 Pinot Noir - $28
Johnston next poured his 2007 Pinot Noir, taking out proper Burgundy glasses for the tasting. I could tell this varietal was a labour of love for him and the Averill Creek product does show great promise. The winery uses the Stelvin enclosures on all its wines which ensures freshness and limits post-production flaws. It also slows the aging of a wine to a crawl and you can taste that with this Pinot Noir - it is very young. Given time this Pinot will open up and deliver. 87pts.

2007 Prevost - $22
This is Averill Creek’s sly take on a Bordeaux-style blend using Marechal Foch, Merlot and a Foch-Cabernet Sauvignon hybrid. The Prevost has many of the characteristics of a new-world Meritage blend: dark-ruby colour, big berry and oak flavours. 85pts

2008 Cowichan Black - $18
The tasting was capped with a quality fruit desert wine made of 100% Vancouver Island-grown blackberries. Semi-sweet with a slight acidic finish and only 16% alcohol makes this a great pairing for vanilla ice-cream or enjoy on its own. 86pts

Averill Creek Vineyard is a winery to watch. They have all the right ingredients to produce quality wines: a modern gravity-flow winery, up to date techniques and a superior terroir. They also have something less tangible – a desire to be a world-class outfit. That’s nice to see. Look for Averill Creek in the coming vintages, you won’t be disappointed. -LC

In part 2: 22 Oaks and Zanatta wineries...