This is part two of my attendance at the “Viticultural Bridges” panel discussion, with BC and Alsatian winemakers. In part two, we covered premium white wines and shaping their future. Again, we had winemakers in person from Alsace and BC, and a few Alsatian winemakers via recorded video. There was Olivier Humbrecht to provide the Alsatian perspective in person. On the BC side, we had Shane Munn from Martin’s Lane, Chris Turyk from Unsworth Vineyards, Mark Simpson from Mythology Vineyard, and Jean-Marc Enixon from Phantom Creek.
Challenging the Narrative: White Wine’s Undervalued Potential
A central theme is the need to reframe the perception of white wine, moving beyond the idea that it is less than red wine. The discussion highlighted that premium white wines, especially those with structure or minerality, can be gracefully aged over the decade and offer stories of the soil, climate, and tradition. The core question explored is, “How do we change the narrative?”. A few suggestions:
- Rethinking Quality Metrics: The traditional view often undervalues white wines that are structure or mineral driven from regions like Alsace or those with BC precision.
- Building Excitement: The goal is to build excitement around these prestige long-term potential white wine that these beautiful producer is creating.
- Sustainability as a Pillar of Quality: Sustainability was presented as a crucial element, not just an environmental practice, but as a pillar of quality that can add value in the eyes of the consumer.
Terroir, Farming, and Winemaking Choices
The winemakers discussed the impact of vineyard and winemaking choices on the final wine, particularly for premium white wines. Some points:
- The Vineyard as the Starting Point: When we talk about premium white wines, the conversation often begins in the vineyard. Choices in the growing season, such as leaf removal, and use of ground cover crops to manage water capacity can change the final wines at the end and the like the texture, the aromatic profile, and the ability for aging.
- Reflecting Culture and Place: They also mentioned that a wine should also reflect the culture of the people. Producers aim to make the best wine possible in a specific place, but the wine should also tell a story to also invite the people to go to the region. There is also a style of wine that people may expect from a region, so trying to keep to that style may also be important.
- Sustainability through Organic Practices: There was mention that any wine to be sustainably good in the mid to long term needs to embrace organic farming or be very close to organic farming (no mention of sustainability) to allow the living soil to support the vines. This includes practices like maintaining a good cover crop.
- Regional Specificity: The winemakers discussed crafting wines that are honest to yourself and the region you live in. For example, on Vancouver Island, with its cool maritime climate and remarkable seafood, would be best to produce light, crisp, mineral driven white wines to pair with local seafood. They noted that you should take what you have and try to communicate it to the consumer, rather than trying to replicate styles from other regions, e.g. Not making a heavily oaked California style Chardonnay from Vancouver Island.
Climate Change Adaptation and Vineyard Management Evolution
Climate change was acknowledged as a long-term challenge requiring ongoing adaptation at our discussion. Olivier Humbrecht mentioned that in Alsace, climate change started in 1973 in some areas, with temperatures by 6 degrees every 10 years.
Other vineyard management techniques included planting vines on hillsides or at altitude, rather than keeping the vines on valley floors. And selecting new rootstock that are much more drought resistant. Olivier had also earlier mentioned planting narrower rows to allow the vines to shade each other better.
Challenges and Innovations in British Columbia
Specific challenges and opportunities related to British Columbia’s wine industry were discussed.
A significant obstacle in BC is to get good viticultural material (rootstock) and not to depend on imported rootstock as you cannot control its quality. British Columbia should be able to produce our own quality rootstocks to control the quality of the material and limiting the spread of disease, especially viruses.
As BC is a newer wine region it means that we will make mistakes but that it will help the next generation. of winemakers. As Chris Turyk from Unsworth Vineyard stated, “we’re making the mistakes… some of these decisions we’re making might not pan out. So, it is trial and error.”
Lastly is selecting new vineyard sites that are cooler, with reasonable exposure to the sun (e.g. not 100% south facing), good drainage capacity, and soil type that works best for the vines.
Marketing and Consumer Engagement
Marketing strategies were discussed, with a focus on connecting with consumers through authentic storytelling and education.
They discussed that marketing should stem from being honest to yourself and what the region you’re in should produce. Not trying to chase trends. Know what your region does best and do your best. Then, be engaged with the trade, pouring for people, and getting the wine in people’s glasses. As a Media person, I totally agree. Once you can taste a wine, you can talk about it, imagine wine and food pairings.
There was also a discussion about explaining wine in Europe vs. New World. According to Olivier, in Europe, winemakers “make the wine that we love and we just explain our work to the customer.” In the New World, where history is shorter, he suggested the approach might be “to explain more technical terms in wine making.” But, Jean-Marc Enixon from Phantom Creek aims to explain the wine in a very simple way… very friendly, without too many technical terms like “pump over”. To make consumers have a good experience at their tasting room, rather than spend time on technical issues.
To Conclude
The roundtable discussion highlighted a dynamic and evolving white wine industry, particularly in the premium sector. It underscored the importance of authenticity, sustainable practices, regional expression, and effective communication to elevate white wines in the eyes of consumers and ensure their long-term prestige. Thank you to all the winemaker’s, both in person, and via video, that covered these wine ranging topics.
Coming up next is my article on the Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Pinot Gris wines we tasted during this panel discussion.
