Discovering Wines in the Great (Red) North - Part 1 of 3 The Naramata Bench

In advance of our pending wedding which is just over a month away, Lindsay and I decided to take a trip out to Canada's budding wine region in the Southern Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.  We figured we needed a weekend away from the stress of planning a wedding to rediscover why we made this decision in the first place.  OK, I'll admit, this has been a pretty stress free process for me; my lovely fiancée is one of the most organized people you'll ever meet and has tasked me only with the jobs she knows I can handle (or at least is confident that I won't screw up).  These tasks I think I can count on one hand.  Our weekend away in Western Canada’s wine country, as with most of our vacations, was yet another opportunity for me to tag along on another of her intricately planned adventures and to enjoy the fruits of her labor (grapes in this instance).

If you've read any of my previous blogs, you're well aware of our newfound love for wine and possibly of our trip to one of the world's great wine regions in Napa Valley, CA.  Our weekend in Napa was spectacular. Napa has world class wines, wineries, restaurants, and accommodations. USA Today's much publicized list of 10 Best Wine Regions to Visit placed Napa at number 6, it's only real knock being the high price tag (a critique that ranks as my top criticism of the region).  I won't say it wasn't worth the trip but it's definitely one you'll have to save for.  The average wine tasting in Napa is $30 per tasting, one tasting fee waived with the purchase of 3 bottles (the prices of which commonly reach triple digits). 

In contrast, the wine tastings in the Okanagan are commonly less than $5 per person.  At most every winery in the Okanagan, we were tasting 5-6 wines for that price and in most cases, both our tasting fees were waived with the purchase of any bottle (prices of which ranged from $20-45 CDN per bottle).  When the tasting room attendants discovered our preferences, they were more than willing to throw in a couple extras at no extra cost (to be fair, the Napa wineries were great for this as well, though we typically got 4 wines per tasting).

Another advantage the Okanagan has over Napa is the stunning natural beauty of the region.  A system of four massive lakes forms the core of the Okanagan Valley, the largest and northern most of the four being its namesake Okanagan Lake.  The lake is nestled amongst what my Arizona upbringing would refer to as mountains, and bordered by rocky cliffs and pebbled beaches.  Okanagan Lake is home to two concentrations of wineries, the west Kelowna sub-region on the southwest bank of the lake and the Naramata bench on the southeastern end of the lake.  We spent the majority of the first day of our trip on the Naramata bench.  A summary of the Naramata wineries we visited will form the core of this 1^st in a 3 part series of blog posts about this trip.

Traveling further south through the valley will take you past Skaha Lake, home of what might be our new favourite winery in Painted Rock, and then past some of the most dramatic scenery in the region in Vaseaux Lake.  Finally, the southernmost lake in the region is Osoyoos Lake, settled in Canada's only desert and home to the wineries of the Black Sage and Golden Mile benches.  This sub-region of the Okanagan is producing some stunning red wines primarily driven by the heat seeking Syrah grape.  The natural beauty of these lakes and wineries, in addition to the great wines you’ll see described here and the values at which these wines are offered make no mystery of the reasoning behind the Okanagan Valley being ranked number 2 in that previously mentioned USA Today poll. 

We focused a majority of our trip on the wineries in and around Osoyoos Lake, even staying at the guest houses at Burrowing Owl Winery, one of the flagship wineries of the region.  The latter two posts of this series will focus on Painted Rock Winery and the Osoyoos area wineries we visited, but I will begin the summary of our trip on the eastern shores of Okanagan Lake and the wineries we visited in the Naramata bench.

La Frenz Winery

Our day of wine tasting started off promptly at opening hour for La Frenz.  I think they’d noticed us wandering the paths of their winery since 9:30 AM (because it’s never too early to start drinking on vacation) so they allowed us to enter and look around a few minutes prior to opening. We sat out on a covered patio overlooking beautiful Okanagan Lake and the Merlot/Sauvingnon Blanc vineyards below.  We were drawn to La Frenz on the merits of a Viognier of theirs we'd found at a local wine store back home.  While we are not white wine drinkers per se, we have recently taken a liking to this varietal as it is typically full bodied and full of ripe, complex flavors.  On this day, said Viognier was not on the tasting list, but to our surprise, we did end up purchasing one of their white wines.

Our host, Chris (highly recommended if you have a choice), explained to us in great detail the history of the winery (apparently the site from which a picture on an old Canadian $100 bill was taken) and the current winery operations.  They have 3 vineyards on the Naramata bench where they grow a majority of their white wines, Merlot, and Pinot Noir and a vineyard down south near Osoyoos where they grow a majority of their reds.  While we bought a varietal Semillion (a nice, bright wine with notes of green apple and citrus) and their Montage red blend, the wine that stood out most to us is not one we would have expected going in.

La Frenz produces a series of fortified dessert wines, no doubt stemming from their owner’s history with brandy distilling.  On release during our visit was a vintage port style wine made with 100% estate grown Syrah.  The complexity of this youthful wine is astounding.  Notes of plum and blueberry abound and finish relatively dry for a dessert wine.  This is not the cloyingly sweet dessert wine that gives these wines a bad reputation.  It is presentable as a standalone after dinner drink, as it carries a great depth and complexity of aroma, but we can't wait to pair it with rich chocolate and dark fruit based dessert at our next dinner party.

Laughing Stock Vineyards

As far as the winery experience goes, Laughing Stock was a true standout and, along with Black Hills Winery, the closest thing to some of the experiences we had in Napa that we found in the Okanagan.  The product of a husband and wife team of former stock brokers, their talents in business and marketing are apparent in both the execution of their brand and the character of their branding.  Tastings are by appointment only, making the experience feel exclusive and personal.  As a small winery, whose product is in high demand, they are uniquely able to create and provide this type of experience.

Laughing stock is admittedly red wine focused even producing "white wines for the red wine drinker" as they put it.   Co-owner and head winemaker David Enns has a home-brewer's passion and creativity when it comes to his wines and styles (and they're happy to advertise this is what sparked their passion and ultimate entry into the wine business).  A small portion of their annual production is fermented in one of four massive concrete eggs (all with creative names like “over easy”).  They make what could be classified as an "orange wine" in their annual Amphora release by naturally fermenting white wine grapes in massive Italian clay vessels and leaving white grapes on skin for 75 days.  The wines are unique, rich and high quality.  They are the result of capping production at levels 7,000 cases annually, a level that vineyard manager and co-owner Cynthia Enns, and winemaker David can micromanage and not let business growth put their quality control at risk.

While seated on their patio overlooking their Naramata bench vineyards, our hostess poured us samples or their Pinot Gris (from 3 different fermentation styles - concrete egg, stainless steel, and neutral oak), and Viognier (a full bodied example of this style) before moving into their signature red wines.  Their previous life in the financial industry that is the core of their branding is everywhere, from the name of their Series A and Series B preferred share wine clubs, to the ticker tape labels on their bottles, and even to the names of their blended wines in "Blind Trust" (they go as far as to hide the blend composition beneath the foil cap on the bottle) and their flagship "Portfolio" Bordeaux style blend. The branding borders on gimmicky but gives a lighthearted approach to otherwise serious wines.  Top to bottom, you can taste the quality and passion in every bottle, even in wine styles that we otherwise wouldn't seek out.  By the end of this tasting, the decision to become preferred share wine club members was easy and we can't wait to feature their Viognier and Blind Trust Red at our wedding rehearsal dinner.

Poplar Grove Winery

We enjoyed a light lunch at Poplar Grove's Vanilla Pod restaurant prior to sampling their wines.  Sitting out on a patio, surrounded by a beautiful lawn and perennial flower garden with Penticton and Okanagan Lake in the background is fantastic way to spend an hour with your fiancée.  We thoroughly enjoyed the potato pancakes (crispy and light with a summery, avocado pico de gallo) and house smoked maple cured salmon on the charcuterie board.

The winery building itself is clean and modern with huge picture windows that look out over the lake.  Their branding is clean end elegant, a gold poplar leaf set on white, gray and black labels on tall, slender bottles.  The wines themselves are fantastic.  If you're not a fan of French Oak, this is likely not the winery for you.  They have an aggressive oaking program on most all of their reds for 18-24 months and at least 50% new oak.  The oak provides structure and richness to their wines and, in my opinion, is the perfect complement to the fully extracted style of Cabernet Franc that is a signature of this winery.

Prior to visiting this winery, Lindsay and I had enjoyed their Cabernet Franc and flagship "Legacy" Bordeaux style blend.  A unique aspect of Legacy is that the dominant varietal in the blend is Cab Franc.  Quality Cab Franc in the Okanagan presented itself as a theme throughout our trip.  Speaking with winery representatives at several wineries, most all of them made some mention of the quality of the fruit coming out of their Cab Franc vineyards over the last few vintages, inspiring winemakers to create 100% varietal Cab Franc wines when they otherwise had no intention of doing so.  While a varietal I've always been fond of, Cab Franc truly seems to be taking on a new life in the Okanagan Valley, so much so that our first Magnum bottle purchase ever was the 2012 Poplar Grove Cabernet Franc, purchased the day of our visit to this winery.

The wineries of the Naramata Bench were some of our favourite of the trip.  They are easy to get to with 2 airports within an hour and a half drive of the area. The scenery and atmosphere are unmatched in our wine country travels and it was a great way to start our adventure and wet our palates for what awaited us as we traveled south through the Okanagan Valley.  Stay tuned for a recap of those wineries and some spectacular meals we had along the way.