This is the second of a five-part series on Canada's wine regions. Find the other parts here: South Okanagan, Vancouver Island, Prince Edward County and Niagara.
The Okanagan Valley’s newest showcase winery is an inspired tribute to the surrounding landscape. Tucked into the side of Munson Mountain at the southern tip of the Naramata Bench wine route, Poplar Grove is a contemporary gem. Floor-to-ceiling glass panes in the airy tasting room treat visitors to a panorama of Penticton and Okanagan and Skaha Lakes. Weather permitting, the panes slide open to blur the divide between outside and in.
“We could have put a tent here and it would have been stunning,” executive winemaker Ian Sutherland said before the christening party last Saturday. “But this takes full advantage of the beauty of the area.”
Reclaimed Douglas fir from an Osoyoos fruit-packing plant pays subtle tribute to the valley’s history as an orchard haven. But there’s a new and more lucrative fruit in town, of course. That’s the other good reason to make the pilgrimage to Poplar Grove, a highlight of any north Okanagan wine tour. Its flagship red, The Legacy, is a model of Bordeaux-style finesse and cellar-worthiness, though with broader shoulders and purer fruit than most of its French counterparts, thanks to the grape-ripening intensity of the Okanagan sun.
Until recently housed in a nondescript warehouse building, the estate was founded by Mr. Sutherland, a 59-year-old Montreal native and lanky surfer who fell in love with the Okanagan in his 20s. Working as a high-pressure welder fixing pulp-mill boilers and gas plants, he honed his oenological skills in the evenings, and launched Poplar Grove as a 2,000-case-a-year boutique wineryin 1993. Tony Holler, an Okanagan-born doctor and biotechnology entrepreneur, wrote a cheque along with friend Barrie Sali for a 75-per-cent share in 2007.
With deep pockets for the latest equipment, the pair are now helping Mr. Sutherland write a new chapter for both Poplar Grove and British Columbia wine. The winery’s 2008 syrah took home a gold medal earlier this year at the Decanter World Wine Awards, sponsored by England’s influential wine magazine.
For his part, the pioneering Mr. Sutherland, while taking joy in literally looking down on the Okanagan, looks up to his peers, many of whom have confidently ceased genuflecting toward France for their stylistic cues, preferring instead to craft wines that telegraph a distinct sense of place. “We’re getting over that Canadianism where we have to be like somebody else,” Mr. Sutherland said. “We have lost the apologetic phase. We’re just trying to be the Okanagan. And, you know what? I couldn’t be happier.”
Poplar Grove Winery
Just north of Penticton, the city at the geographic centre of the Okanagan Valley, this winery stands as a sort of gateway to the Naramata Bench. There were four other wineries on this long cliff that straddles the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake when Ian Sutherland set up shop in 1993. Now there are about 30, all within a short drive. The Legacy, a blend of merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon priced at a not-outrageous $49.90, is sublime, But don’t miss the 100-per-cent cabernet franc, a lush, smooth gem and one of the finest anywhere. 250-493-9463., www.poplargrove.ca.
Nichol Vineyard
California-born Ross Hackworth was grateful when his parents headed north to take up orchard farming in the Okanagan. He was 10, and it was a blissful, fruit-stained boyhood amid the trees. When his tastes graduated to fermented berries, he re-settled in the Penticton area. At the base of granite cliffs that radiate grape-ripening heat onto the vineyards, this small Naramata estate, purchased from founders Alex and Kathleen Nichol, made the first syrah in the valley. It’s still one of the best. At between $15 and $30 for most wines, the prices are relatively modest, too. Like Mr. Hackworth, I bristle at the hubris of some new wineries charging $30-plus for their first vintages, good though they might be. “Crazy,” Mr. Hackworth says. 250-496-5962, www.nicholvineyard.com.
