September 14th was a beautiful day in the Okanagan, especially at Meyer Family Winery in Okanagan Falls. September 14th was also the day of the first ever Garagiste North Wine Fest. This wine festival was the chance for BC’s small guys to share their stories and feature their wines. Meyer Family Wines have to be congratulated for providing the venue for this event. Upended wine barrels, located under tents, served as pouring stations and grapes were ripening on the vines directly behind us. I was very pleased to see that the event was not oversold as this provided an excellent opportunity for those in attendance to meet and chat with winery principals/winemakers. Chef Greg Fuch of Gregor’s Gourmet was there to provide yummy bites to pair with the wines being served. Aidan and Mandy, a local duo, provided entertainment for the afternoon. BC Wine Guru, John Schreiner was in attendance busily scribing notes and taking photos for his well-known blog, “Goodgrog”.
‘Garagiste’ is a term first coined in France to refer to some of the small vintners who were breaking with tradition, making small lot wines, often literally, in their garages. They made small lots and often broke with convention as far as the AOC guidelines were concerned. This concept has caught on in North America as well, as evidenced by the gamut of small cult wineries in California, Oregon and Washington. BC’s versions are relatively new on the wine scene. Most of them haven’t quit their day jobs, few have tasting rooms and some don’t even have their own winemaking facilities. These are referred to as ‘virtual wineries’.
This wine fest, the brainchild of Terry Meyer Stone and Jennifer Schell, was designed to showcase the excellent wines being made by passionate artisan winemakers. Terry is the Crush Club Coordinator at Tinhorn Creek Vineyard and Winery and wife of Andrew Stone, vineyard manager at Liquidity and owner of Anarchist Mountain Vineyards. Jennifer is Editor/Director of Sales for Wine Trails Magazine and is author of the Okanagan cookbook, The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine & Cheese Maker.
After many conversations with the small producers, the two could see some common frustrations, mainly making the public aware of their wines, since they are only available in some private stores and in restaurants. As they only make small lots (under two thousand cases) there isn’t going to be wide availability or brand recognition. A few have VQA designation and are in select stores. They may be hard to find, but these interesting producers are worth searching out.
Participating wineries included: Anarchist Mountain Vineyard, BC Wine Studio, Bella Wines, Black Cloud, Carson Point Co, Cana Wines, Corcelletes Winery, Daydreamer Wines, Lariana Cellars, Money Pit Wines, Montakarn Estate Winery, Nagging Doubt Wines, River Stone Estate Winery, Roche Winery, Sage Hills, Seven Directions, Stable Doors Cellars, Squeezed, Tightrope Winery, Vindication Cellars and vin Perdu. If you spot wines from any of these wineries, be sure to give them a try. You won’t be disappointed.
I was impressed with everything I tried, but here is a small selection of the many that stood out:
Anarchist Vineyards
Chardonnay – grown on the side on a mountain, small berries, little water, well balanced, well integrated oak and fruit, medium-long finish.
Black Cloud
Pinot Noir Rosé – cherry red, good varietal flavour, medium-long finish.
BC Wine Studio
2012 Viognier – 20% oaked, good varietal character
Cana
Wedding Feast – a blend of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, social style wine, packed with juicy flavour.
Daydreamer
Syrah – violets, white pepper. One of the best wines of the day.
River Stone
Pinot Gris – classic varietal character, excellent balance.
Sage Hills
Gewurztraminer – overtones of wild sage, delicate and varietal, good character.
Pinot Gris – some oak contact, dry, well made.
Tightrope
Rosé – dry, great varietal character
Pinot Noir – wild yeast, multiple clones, 66% oaked, depth, lots of fruit, long finish.
