Mission Hill Family Estate - a lakeside view
Canada 🇨🇦 is the world's second largest country. Known for its spectacular natural scenery and wildlife from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, it's a country that offers intrepid, adventurous or laid-back 'get away from it all' tourists much to discover. Yet for many, its wines remain a hidden joy, an unknown quantity that rarely raises its head above the world's other vinous offerings available in UK retail outlets and restaurants. Could that be about to change? Well, representatives of one of the world's most northerly wine regions, lying above 49° latitude, are actively looking to grow the international reputation of a unique part of the country, described by Steven Spurrier as "the old world of the new world" - British Columbia.
British Columbia has been described as unlike any other place on earth. While you might expect a very cool climate this far north and so close to the Pacific Ocean, most of the grapes here are grown in the Okanagan Valley and the Similkameen Valley. These areas experience a short, hot growing season, followed by a long, temperate autumn with dry, desert-like conditions, large diurnal temperature swings and diverse soil types caused by specific geological events.
Last month, Graham Nordin, General Manager of Okanagan Valley-based Mission Hill Family Estate and CheckMate Artisanal Winery, came to London for the annual Canadian Wine Tasting and also hosted a dinner at Michelin 1* restaurant Galvin La Chapelle.
World-class food at Galvin La Chapelle
World-class wines deserve a world-class setting with terrific food and Nordin was on a mission to increase awareness and understanding of what makes wines from British Columbia special. He began by explaining the history and unique geographical and climatic features of the region that lies about 3½ hours east of Vancouver on the west coast of Canada.
The Okanagan Valley was formed by a mix of volcanic activity millions of years ago and, in particular, by glacial flows that occurred relatively recently. "Until 8000 years ago", describes Nordin, "the entire region was under water. It was a glacial lake. Today, the region is about 200km long, from North to South and 140km of that is lake. We're at the northern cusp of where you can grow wine grapes around the world. It certainly gets cold here, but we have this incredible mountain range on either side that protects us from the precipitation of Vancouver. What's unique is that the northern tip of the valley is very much what you'd expect from the Pacific North West in Washington, Oregon and California. It's lush, green and pristine. Often we describe it as 'Napa Valley with Lake Tahoe' - picturesque and beautiful, but also very green."
The first commercial winery in British Columbia was founded in 1931 and even by the 1980s, there were still less than twenty. The big change came in 1988 with the establishment of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, between Canada and the US, which opened the borders between the two countries. This led to the federal and provincial governments of Canada subsidising growers and vintners to pull out their low quality, winter-hardy hybrids and plant vitis vinifera grapes. "That's how the modern industry in the Okanagan Valley was born and most of the vineyards we see today were really established in the 1990s", says Nordin. Another big step was the establishment of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) in 1990 to guarantee consumers they were drinking wine made from 100% British Columbia-grown grapes.
Mission Hill Family Estate
"We went from having one defined geographical area, the Okanagan Valley", continues Nordin, "to having nine across the Province of British Columbia and twelve sub-regions. Certainly, we're in a new world region with much inspiration from the old world, but as the climate continues to shift, we have an opportunity to produce wines of a quality that we probably couldn't have made 15 or 20 years ago. We feel like we're at the cusp of being truly not new world or old world, but something that's 'next world'. We're so proud to be hopefully part of what I think is the next great story in the world of wine, here in the Okanagan Valley! "
Warmer and more arid than the Napa Valley, the Okanagan Valley sees nearly two hours more sunlight per day during July and August than the Californian region! Nordin also notes how, within a short distance, the terroir changes dramatically, which affects the grape varieties that can be grown. "The southern tip of the valley is actually the northern tip of a series of deserts that start down in Mexico. It's Canada's only classified desert climate. Within a 200km stretch, it's like having Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne climatically and geology-wise, but without the chalk, all within one section! We can grow grapes like Pinot Noir and Riesling in the north, while in the south, we can ripen Bordeaux varieties. It's very rare today, in the world of wine, to have so much diversity of soil, site and climate in such a short space. That's what makes this area unique. It's history, it's geology, it's geography."
However, since producers can sell everything they make domestically, is there a global market for these wines? Nordin certainly thinks so and is in doubt that the UK plays a pivotal role. "The only export market we currently focus on is the UK. Particularly here in London, this is where the word of wine comes together from trade to media to MWs and Master Sommeliers, as well as some of the world's best restaurants. So, if you want to tell a story internationally about what a region can do, you want to come to a market like the UK. We can't build an international reputation without international distribution. We know we can sell everything domestically, but that doesn't allow us the opportunity to share our story of this region with the rest of the world.
"The goal is not to have the wines available in every major market around the world, but in the right places with the right on-trade accounts and the right boutique fine wine retailers … so that they're served with and sat amongst a list of some of the best wines from around the world."
Both at the trade tasting and at the dinner, the quality of the wines from British Columbia really shone through. The selection from Mission Hill was truly excellent, particularly their flagship wine Oculus. They've been making this since 1997 and at the time, it was the only red blend selling for over CAN$30, when the average price point of wine was under CAN$10. "Everyone said we were crazy to try to make a quality red wine in a place that nobody's every heard of", describes Nordin!
The hope was that this was a vision (hence the name) of what could be possible from the Okanagan Valley. It's based on Merlot with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, all from top vineyard sites, hand-picked and selected, then fermented and aged separately in French oak barrels, before being blended together and left to age in bottle. "I'm very cognizant of saying that this isn't a Bordeaux blend", adds Nordin. "These are Bordeaux grapes certainly, but we're not trying to create a Bordeaux wine. We're trying to make something that could only be made in the Okanagan. If there's one wine that we're most proud of, it's this."
The 2018 vintage was a perfect accompaniment to Galvin La Chapelle's Duck Magret with honey glaze, carrot ketchup and bottarga. It's aromatic, complex, elegant and long with black fruit juiciness, spice, a touch of cigar box and a savoury edge plus a hint of coffee syrup. Tannins are beautifully balanced and will soften further with time.
"There's fruit here, there's tension, there's vibrancy and freshness", adds Nordin, "but I think there's also longevity. We typically drink it 10 years from the vintage when it starts to hit its stride. I think it's a wine you can keep for over 20 years in the cellar."
Another of the top wines tried on the day was Checkmate Artisanal Winery's 'Attack' Chardonnay, made from two of the oldest plots of Chardonnay in Canada. The winery, owned by Mission Hill, makes seven different Chardonnays, five of which are single vineyard expressions. This is a blend of all those single sites. It's fermented naturally with wild yeasts and aged for 16 months in two foudres (one brand new, one second use), before being bottled, unfiltered and unfined.
The 2015, paired brilliantly at the restaurant with courgette flower, broad beans, planton and gorse vinaigrette, was a revelation. Soft and delicate yet with vibrant acidity, it delivers a sophisticated interplay between ripe tropical fruit, woody spices, crunchy pear and a mineral edge.
Among the other Okanagan wineries featured at the trade tasting, Poplar Grove impressed. Their Bordeaux-inspired, elegant red blend 'The Legacy' 2017, though still quite young, delivers fresh, dark fruit notes with spice, a touch of sweet vanilla and supple tannins. The refined Cabernet Franc 2018 has notes of forest berries, dark chocolate, meat juices, balanced oak and dried green herbs. The Pinot Gris 2022 delivers a bright, orchard fruit and citrus-driven delight, with extra body and aromatics from a little Chardonnay, Viognier and Muscat in the blend.
Quails' Gate Winery is Mission Hill's closest neighbouring winery. Their 'Stewart Family' Reserve Chardonnay 2020 is rich, full and creamy, yet with mouth-watering freshness and shows a delicious mélange of stone fruit, citrus, butterscotch, vanilla custard and spice. The same winery's 'Richard's Block' Pinot Noir 2020 is also very elegant and complex, with notes of black cherry and bramble fruit mingling on a silky palate with savoury, salty and spicy overtones.
Indeed, Nordin sees a big future for Pinot Noir in the region. He illustrated this with the restaurant's master pairing of a light, creamy Gariguette strawberry soufflé, elderflower and basil sorbet with Mission Hill's Reserve Pinot Noir 2020, full of ripe berry fruit, savoury and slightly herbaceous notes. "If we were to try to put the Okanagan Valley into one glass, this is a great summary", he comments.
All these wines are clearly suited to boutique retailers or high-end wine shops, especially given the excellent ageing potential of so many of them. Yet, it's the food pairing compatibility for restaurants that particularly attracts Nordin. "I think there's a place [for these wines] in both on and off-trade", he says, "particularly because of where we are in the Okanagan Valley. The hallmarks of the region are purity of fruit, vibrancy and incredible freshness in the wines. So, from that perspective, I think that there's a huge opportunity in the on-trade, because the wines are made for food - wines that are meant to be enjoyed in incredible restaurant settings.
"That's the importance of being here [in London], because it's about education and sharing the story. We appreciate that these are not going to be wines or a region that consumers necessarily gravitate to on a wine list or in a shop. If you get a sommelier making a recommendation or you're in a fine wine shop and somebody says 'We've just got in an incredible wine from British Columbia in the Okanagan Valley, Canada, that I'd love you to try', that's how discovery happens."
Without a crystal ball, it's an impossible task to predict the future of these wines in the UK. However, as both consumers and members of the wine trade look for something new and interesting, then British Columbia has much to offer. Importantly, it's not just the novelty factor, which by its very nature is transient. There's high quality here, which should attract both existing fine wine lovers and those yet to begin their Canadian wine adventures.
We've breathed in the old world and embraced the new world. Perhaps the next chapter in our wine journey is a smooth step into the next world … and the west coast of The Land of Maple Leaf 🍁 awaits. Bon voyage!
You can find more information about the history, vineyards and wines of British Columbia on the Wine Growers British Columbia (WGBC) website.
