Welcome to the inaugural wine column for the Burnaby NOW. It’s an exciting opportunity to bring the wine world to the readership here and explore the influences that affect what goes into your glass - which is what this really is all about.
What better place to start than in our own backyard, with B.C. wines taking the forefront and leading the way.
Considered one of the youngest wine growing regions of the world, B.C. is on the continued pioneering edge. There is a forming legacy as local winery owners and wine makers develop the next generation. This dichotomy of old and new benefits from the history of what is now multiple vintages worth of experience. It is the perfect mix for continued exploration into the next wave of vintages.
As growing techniques and understanding of our climate and land increase, the knowledge that comes from it ultimately benefits the products that hit the shelf.
B.C. has recently taken a bold and mature step, and subsequently refined its character, as the official wine-growing regions have grown from five to nine “Geographical Indications” (Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Thompson Valley, Shuswap, Lillooet and the Kootenays). The increased specific differentiations in geography will be exciting to see as the grapes grown in each of these regions take on their own character and style.
While white wines from B.C. have an established pronounced acidity compared to the rest of the world stage, especially amongst the aromatic grapes such as Gewürztraminer, Viognier and Riesling, we’re seeing plantings of obscure varietals, especially from both Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, such as Ortega and Siegerrebe, known for their early ripening and sweet, aromatic and peach driven notes.
While these white varietals won’t yet challenge and dethrone current kings of the cork Pinot Gris and Chardonnay anytime soon, we are rewarded by the wild-west viticulturists who are willing to push the envelope of what is possible and that is cool indeed.
Meanwhile, B.C. reds are leaning in favour of blends. While single varietal releases are still welcomed and stand on their own, the nuances that can be gained from blending are leading to showcase wines from many areas across the province.
Wines from our part of the world are begging to be blended, and wine makers are taking advantage of the character that our terroir is providing and conjuring magical properties that are greater than the sum of their parts.
There are exceptions that stand pristinely on their own, such as B.C. merlot, which is bold, fleshy and fruit driven, (benefiting from our hot, albeit shorter growing season) and pinot noir, which displays driving elegance and structure (it thrives in our low precipitation, and the sharp drop off in temperature that occurs to maintain acidity near the end of the season), other varietals often don’t fare as well on their own.
Cabernet sauvignon, for example, struggles with the quick cold and short days that attack our early autumn nights (we’re all loathe to turn our furnaces on at the end of a hot summer), often creating wines that can be tightly wound and short of its potential due to the shorter growing season.
Yet, when blended, the results can be otherworldly.
Meritage and Bordeaux blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc (another grape that excels in B.C.) can produce astounding results. Less traditional blends that include Syrah or Malbec also highlight the fruit driven intensity of those varietals and allows the wine makers to express what’s happening in their vineyards and also because they can!
Here are a few wines that you can try, available through the winery directly, independent liquor stores or your local restaurant, that represents some benchmarks of both pioneer and legacy. However, feel free to explore and branch out from your comfort zone. After all, that’s what B.C. wine is all about.
Kutatas Ortega
Blue Mountain Pinot Gris
McWatters Meritage
Blasted Church Cross to Bear
Edwyn Kumar is the Wine Director and Operations Manager at Hart House Restaurant. He has held management positions at some of Vancouver’s top restaurants, including Lumiere, Cin Cin and Chambar.
