Chaberton Estate Winery
Chaberton General Manager, Brian Ensor, greeted us as we stepped off the bus and then took us on a our of the vineyard and winery.
Claude and Inge Violet started this winery, the first in the region, in the 1980’s. At the time, no one believed it was possible to grow wine grapes in the Fraser Valley. Claude, who came from a long tradition of French winemakers, believed otherwise. He did his homework and found just the right pocket of land, which gets less than half the rain of Vancouver, more sunshine than land just to the north and less threat of frost than land just a few kilometres east.
Domaine de Chaberton, as it was known at the time, began in 1981 and they opened the doors ten years later. The winery now has 55 acres. We walked by 32-year-old Bacchus vines, their thick trunks showing their age. Chaberton now makes about 45,000 cases, making it one of the larger wineries in the province. They grow nine varietals. Many have heard what an unusual great year this has been for BC wines and this was certainly true in the Fraser Valley as well, where things were four weeks ahead of schedule.
Chaberton has vineyards in the Fraser Valley as well as in the Okanagan along the Black Sage Road where they source their merlot and syrah, as well as in Cawston in the Similkameen Valley. The winery currently houses 225 barrels, 60 of which are renewed each year. New in the works, is a small batch (only six barrels) of Pinot Noir, which will be released next year and I’ll be looking forward to that.
Then it was off to a private tasting led by Frauke, a lovely woman with German roots.
Here’s what we tasted.
- Pinot Gris – from the Blind Creek vineyard in the Similkameen. Classic coppery colour and good varietal (stone fruit) character
- Bacchus – mouthwatering fruit on the nose, great body, peach juice, finishes dry. A perfect patio wine.
- Siegerrebe – pink grapefruit and tangerine. Grown on site.
- Valley Cab – 85% cabernet franc and 15% cabernet sauvignon. A bargain, great nose – tobacco and red berries, good fruit flavours.
- Reserve Meritage – 50% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 15% cabernet franc. Classic Bordeaux character. Nice smoky flavour. Delicious.
I am a big fan of Chaberton’s AC series. What differentiates the AC 35, AC 50 and AC 100? The number denotes the percentage of merlot in the blend.
These moderately priced wines over-deliver and who doesn’t appreciate a bargain? Pick some up at your favourite local wine shop, or better yet, head out for a drive, try some in the tasting room and maybe head over to the restaurant for some lunch. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
Sam, The Wine Teacher, has been an educator, a home winemaker, a wine judge for too many years to count and is the former Guild Master of the BC Guild of Wine Judges. He has offered wine education and appreciation courses for Pacific Breeze Winery, Capilano College, Eden West fine foods, the Richmond School District Continuing Education department, the VAWA, the BCAWA as well as for various private functions. He also trains staff and offers cellar evaluations.
