What do you know about BC Pinot Noir? Do you have a favourite winery or wine region in BC for Pinot Noir? In today’s seminar, the Possibilities of Pinot, we were brought up to date on the state of Pinot Noir in BC. Our Moderator for this seminar was Barb Philip MW. Our panellists were either owners or winemakers from across BC so that we could find out how Pinot Noir manages across BC. Our panellists were:
- Chris Turyk, Unsworth Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley
- Heleen Pannekoek, Fort Berens Estate Winery, Lillooet
- Grant Stanley, Spearhead Winery, East Kelowna Slopes
- Alistair Veen, JoieFarm Winery, Naramata Bench
- Keira LeFranc, Stag’s Hollow Winery, Okanagan Falls
Possibilities of Pinot Moderator, Barb Philip, and Panelists, Chris Turyk, Heleen Pannekoek, Grant Stanley, Alistair Veen, and Keira LeFranc
Barb began the seminar by giving us some statistics about Pinot Noir in BC. We found out that Pinot Noir is now the second most planted grape variety as of 2022 after Merlot. The vineyard area planted with Pinot Noir has grown 759% between 1990 and 2002. Pinot Noir first showed up in our vineyard statistics in 1990. Pinot Noir also has the fastest planting rate compared to other grape varieties in BC at a rate of 52.1% between 2008 and 2022.
Also of interest, there was a survey in June 2023 after the first winter cold snap, where the wine growers noted that the Pinot Noir vines were less affected than other grape varieties, a 43% loss, while Merlot loss was 50% and Syrah 72%.
My Wine Tasting Notes and Winery Comments
1. Unsworth Vineyards, Cowichan Valley Pinot Noir 2022, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island – The Cowichan Valley is a dry area in the summer. It is in the rain shadow of mountains to the west and said that over the past 10 years, it gets less rainfall between flowering and harvest than in the Okanagan. Chris mentioned that the weather does not get too hot in the summer but gets lots of sunlight giving the grapes lots of flavour development without creating too much sugar in the grapes. You get lower-alcohol wines with full flavour development, similar to New Zealand. The soils for this wine come from marine sediments.
The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then aged in oak barrels with very little new oak. This wine has a light, clear garnet colour. Pronounced tart red fruit, red cherries, and cinnamon aromas. It is dry, medium-bodied with a lean mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Tart red fruit, candied cherries and cinnamon on the mid-palate to the finish. 
2. Unsworth Vineyards, Saison Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island – This wine is a blend of 3 clones: 50% 828, 25% 667, and 25% 777 clones. Their Saison Vineyard is different from the Unsworth Vineyard as it is formed from glacial till, with coarse fragments which means the plants get stressed earlier in the year triggering the grapes to ripen sooner. This wine should have riper flavours according to Chris.
This wine has a medium-plus intensity clear, garnet colour. Medium intensity, deeper aromas of red fruit, dill, and ripe cherries. Fuller body with a thicker, round mouthfeel. Ripe red cherries, some candied cherries, nutmeg and peperiness on the palate. It has a dry, lean finish.
3. Fort Berens Estate Winery, Pinot Noir 2022, Lillooet – Pinot Noir is not a focus for their red wine production as it mainly goes into rosé wine. When they started the winery, there was very little information on what to plant in Lillooet. They planted 6 different grape varieties that have different ripening times. After 15 years, Cabernet Franc and Riesling are doing well at the vineyard. The Lillooet area gets very hot in the summer but then cools off significantly at night which allows the Pinot Noir grapes to retain their acidity and to hang for a long time for full flavour development. For their classic Pinot Noir, they try to make it more fruit-forward and elegant.
The grapes for this wine came from the Naramata Bench. The grapes were hand-picked early in the season. The grapes were destemmed, crushed and cold soaked for 2 days before fermentation using a Burgundy yeast. The wine was aged for 9 months in mainly neutral French oak barrels. It has a medium-intensity clear garnet colour. Lighter aromas of red fruit. Medium-plus body with a thicker, smooth mouthfeel. Tart red fruit and light oak on the palate. Medium acidity and tannins. Medium-minus length. 
4. Fort Berens Estate Winery, Pinot Noir Reserve 2021, Lillooet – This vintage had the heatwave across BC. The grapes for this wine are from their vineyard in Lillooet. 667 and 115 clones make up this grape. Heleen mentioned that the 667 clone is their favourite. This wine has a medium-minus clear garnet colour and a slight amount of orange bricking. Light leather and red fruit aromas. Dry, medium-plus body. Leather, deep red fruit flavours and some tart red fruits as well. Medium-plus acidity and medium tannins. Medium-plus length.
5. Spearhead Winery, Saddle Block Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022, East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley – This is their original vineyard and is composed of lots of gravel which makes for free draining soil that requires irrigation. This effect also causes the grapes to be smaller in size. Grant mentioned that we have a genuinely cool climate, but keeping the grapes on the vine and extending ripeness is the goal in the Okanagan. Grant tries to balance the clones used, the crop level right, and the ripeness right. A long hang time with grapes starting to raisin a bit in October is what Grant mentions gives the optimal ripeness for their Pinot Noir grapes.
Grape clones Dijon 115, 828, 777, and 667 were used for this wine. The vines were planted in 2008. This wine has a medium-plus intensity toasty and ripe red cherry, and some may say ganja or tea leaves aromas. It is dry, medium-bodied with a lean, but thick mouthfeel. The wine gets smoother on the palate with swirling. Tart red berries and ripe cherries on the palate with some bitterness. Medium-minus oak and medium acidity. There is a touch of nutmeg spice on the finish. –
6. Spearhead Winery, Braided Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022, East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley – This vineyard is across the street from the winery but has a different terroir. There is more airflow in the vineyard and avoided the vine kill that happened in their home vineyard. These vines are still young at 4 years old, not yet at their full potential.
Dijon clones 777 and 115 were used for this wine. The grapes were handpicked and fermented separately then went into French oak barrels for 13 months of aging. This wine has a medium-intensity, clear garnet colour. Light candied cherries nose. Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth mouthfeel. Medium tannins and acidity. Floral and red fruit flavours to start with tart red fruit on the finish. Medium length. –
7. JoieFarm Winery, Pinot Noir 2022, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley – The vineyard for JoieFarm Winery has a lake-affected terroir. The warmness of the water body made the two winter cold snaps less severe so that the vines were able to survive them. The lake also keeps the vines cooler in the summer. Alistair noted that since he and his business partner purchased the winery in 2021, 85% of the vines they have planted are Pinot Noir. He prefers to make snappy, fresh Pinot Noir, with crunchy red fruit flavours.
Some of the grapes for this wine came from Okanagan Falls and Skaha Bluffs. This wine has a lighter, clear garnet colour. It has light-intensity candied cherry aromas. Medium-plus body, mouth-filling but a lean mouthfeel. Higher acidity. Tart red fruit flavours along with some pepperiness and floral notes. Medium tannins. Medium length finishing with candied fruit, floral and pepperiness.
8. JoieFarm Winery, En Famille Pinot Noir 2021, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley – The grapes came from two different vineyards from the Naramata Bench. This wine has a medium-plus, clear garnet colour. Light aromas of ripe red fruit and a hint of leather (which Alistair noted sometimes shows from smoke taint). Medium-plus body, dry with a thicker, lean mouthfeel. Tart red fruit, red cherries, raspberries, crunchy red fruit flavours, and touches of red cherries, candied red cherries and sweet spices. Medium length.
9. Stag’s Hollow Winery, Shuttleworth Creek Pinot Noir 2022, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley – Keira noted that their winery is at the narrowest point in the Okanagan Valley that gives the vineyard large diurnal changes between day and night. This allows more acidity to be retained by the Pinot Noir grapes. Keira also noted that Okanagan Falls is about as far south as you can plant and grow quality Pinot Noir. This vineyard is cooler than their home vineyard.
Six Dijon clones (777, 115, 828, 114, 667 & Pommard) were blended to create this wine. All were kept separate through fermentation and 12 months of barrel aging before the final blend. This wine has a medium-plus clear garnet colour. It has a quite toasty nose plus red fruit. Medium body with a soft, smooth, lean mouthfeel. Some sweet and tart red fruit on the palate with a light oak touch. Medium length with a tart finish. –
10. Stag’s Hollow Winery, Stag’s Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley – The vines from their home vineyard are 30 years old for this wine. Stag’s Hollow is located in a glacial till area with kettle pockets (pits in the ground where chunks of glacier ice melted). The area has lots of gravel along with the till where the gravel can heat up more rapidly making the area warmer. The kettle can have around a 10-degree Celcius difference between the top and the crest and the bottom of the kettle.
It is a blend of co-fermented Dijon clones 115 and 667. This wine has a medium-plus clear garnet colour. A very light red fruit and sweet spice nose. Medium-plus body with a lean mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidity. Tart red fruit and cherry flavours. A medium length with a tart fruit finish. –
Thank you to Barb for moderating this seminar, to all the panellists, and WineBC for arranging the seminar.
