ITS ALL ABOUT THE FALL

The member wineries of the Naramata Bench Winery Association are describing the 2010 harvest in the Okanagan Valley as a stellar year for most, despite being challenging, instructive, and enlightening…thank-you October!

The Naramata Bench had a late start to spring which put the vintage behind a little at the outset of the season, but this was not really a concern as what always determines the quality of a vintage is the FALL, when the grapes are developing color, flavours and ripening tannins. With the weather pattern of cold, wet weather in early September and ripening stalled, Jeff Martin of La Frenz Winery commented, “I was more than a little concerned that we may not have a harvest at all, if we had an early frost as can happen. We needed a picture perfect October and as the ‘weather Gods’ would have it, we got it!  This enabled every variety to be picked at its optimum flavour and ripeness. The warm days and cool nights have produced absolutely superb varietal flavours this year. Every warm day continued to be a bonus and we picked our big, later ripening reds at excellent colour and tannin ripeness in early November.”

Recently, discussing the progress at Hillside Estate Winery, Winemaker Kathy Malone said, “I am excited that the 2010 vintage has given winemakers the opportunity to reach maximum flavour and tannin ripening pre-harvest which will produce aromatic white wines with balance and finesse and reds that are fruit forward, with fine grained tannin and elegant finish.”

David Enns, Laughing Stock Vineyards and President of the Naramata Winery Association, summarizes the harvest, “It was a strange yet rewarding year. The spring usually offers up 2 of 3 months being warm and rain free, this year it was 2 of 3 months being cool and wet, but the summer was predictably brilliant with hot, dry temps throughout July and August. Then the surprise, the harvest delay due to incessant rains and low temperatures in September, a challenge after a wet spring. Most farmers had reacted to the cool spring with aggressive fruit thinning through July and into August. Those that did were able to ripen all varietals, balance acids and await flavour development. In mid-September we saw a new trend with zero rain and warm nights and harvest began! Crush was completed with above average temperatures and little or no frost well into November. Cool climate viticulture for sure when you finish harvest the second week of November! For the grapes, brix levels are meeting our target parameters of great flavours and fresh acidity.”

The Naramata Bench Winery Association represents 15 of Canada’s top wineries based on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan, BC.

Visit www.naramatabench.com for more information.