“This series features both the BC Wine new vintages and some favourites”
Another Cowichan Valley, Vancoufer Island winery that takes advantage of the unique climate. The dry, temperate climate lends itself to all the hallmarks of cool climate viticulture. The unique combination of soil and aspect make it an ideal place for growing cool weather varietals.
Sharing the three “Joue” labels available for purchasing online and shipped directly to your door. #wineonline
2019 Joue White
Structured, textured, and lightly saline, with precise layers of fruit. A clean, aromatic nose exudes white flower and fresh rain. The palate transitions from vibrancy to a softer, round mid-palate before culminating in a talcy, textural acidity.
Vineyard
40% Pinot Gris, 40% Gewurtztraminer and 20% Chardonnay from our estate. A warm, dry summer, followed by a cool, cloudy autumn. Permaculture and dry-farming practiced in the vineyard, on glacial stone and loam soils.
Winery
The varietals were harvested by hand, sorted and foot stomped. They were left on skins for 8 hours and then whole-bunch pressed without sulphur. Fermentation by indigenous yeast was completed in old French oak barriques. The wine was left to age on primary lees, without battonage until just before bottling. Nothing has been added to this wine, no yeast, enzymes, nutrients, or S02. Unfined and unfiltered.
2019 Joue Rosé
Not for the faint of heart: a powerful, intense blend, full of bright fruit flavour, balanced with a dried-flower savouriness. This not-so-little number will entice you towards another bite of food, another sip of wine, repeat.
Farming
A warm, dry summer, followed by a cool, cloudy autumn. Estate-grown, using permaculture and dry-farming, on glacially deposited stone and gravel soils.
Winemaking
Pinot Noir and Foch were pressed-off, and de-stemmed wholeberry Gewurz and Pinot Gris were added on top of the red juice. A red ferment in essence, but with a cap of white berries. It was punched down about once daily, then pressed-off, blended and left in tank on primary lees until bottling. No yeast, nutrients, enzymes, or sulphites added; unfiltered and unfined.
$29.53 available online
2019 Joue Red
Juicy, bright and exuding perfume and expressive fruit. Contrasting structural and textural elements render this a refined, highly consumable red.
Farming/Winemaking
The fruit came into the winery almost exploding with freshness. To harness that we fermented it all whole bunch and in stainless steel vats with no yeast, enzymes, nutrients or S02 added. After two and a half weeks we pressed the wine off and aged in stainless steel tanks. The resulting wine had intense perfume and incredible fruit intensity but lacked a bit of structure. To compensate for this used an technique from Veneto in Italy to naturally build some structure back into the wine. The 2019 Someone Pinot had plenty of structure, so much so that when pressing we cut the press cycle short at 1 bar. When we dumped the press the marc (skins and stems from ferment) still had plenty of material and goodness left in it. Not wanting to waste this we added the wine from the Joue back into and onto of these skins, left it over night and pressed it the next day. So essentially a Vancouver Island version of ripasso. Not only did this build structure and texture to the wine, but it gave another level of complexity and depth to the perfume and fruit profile.
Tasting Notes
Juicy, fragrant, and remarkably pleasurable, the Joue Red Field Blend by Averill Creek delivers cool-climate vibrancy and drinkability, but it is by no means pedestrian – it has plenty of structure and texture to counterweight the freshness and generous fruit.
*Prices above includes taxes and fees. Orders must be in multiples of six. Mixed orders accepted.
The Winery
Founded in 2001. Designed with gravity in mind.
Averill Creek’s 150-ton capacity winery is built into the side of Mt. Prevost. With the help of designer Vasco Pavlov, we embraced the opportunity to create a new kind of winery. Guided by ingenuity and gravity, our state-of-the-art facility incorporates three buildings structured together, allowing wine to flow down from one stage to the next without the need for pumps. This gravity flow method allows for gentle handling of delicate varietals – helping to retain their subtle characteristics.
In 2018, Winemaker Brent Rowland joined us, originally from the area but having worked 18 international harvests at esteemed producers in California, New Zealand, Australia, and Niagara. Brent was acquiring the problem-solving skills needed to push the boundaries of New World regions, and ultimately came full circle to his home on Vancouver Island.
Now with Andy’s nearly 20 years of insight into our vineyard, and a winemaker with a wealth of knowledge, our aim is to showcase what we do best here on Vancouver Island: vibrancy, texture, freshness and elegance. We do so with little intervention in the vineyard and the winery in order to create honest wines, and a clear segue from the vineyard to the glass.
Our collection of hand-crafted fine wines have helped raise the profile of Vancouver Island terroir and winemaking in Canada and internationally.
Information and images courtesy of the winery.
