Travellers along Highway 97 may have noticed the new winery CC Jentsch last summer between Oliver and Osoyoos. The large parking lot right off of the highway makes stopping in to taste the wines, from veteran wine grower Chris Jentsch , extremely easy.
Chris and Betty Jentsch (their name rhymes with ‘bench’) farm over 80 acres of grapes, including 63 on the Golden Mile Bench. Chris’s family has been farming throughout the Okanagan since 1929. Starting with apples and then cherries, the Jentsch’s switched to grapes in the late 1990’s but Chris didn’t start to make his own wine until 2012. Winemaker Amber Pratt has been steering the portfolio for the past two vintages. “The French style really informs my winemaking,” says Amber who likes “purity and bright flavours” in all of her wines.
Samples of two Chardonnays from 2014 illustrate this perfectly. One was fermented in oak and the other in tank. The tank fermented wine displays aromas of melon, perfume, flowers, and orange rind while the barrel fermented wine has vanilla, cream, and butterscotch. Both wines display a vibrant acidity but each has its own unique combination of clear and precise flavours and textures.
The Chase $20.00
Jentsch’s flagship red, is a complex, Bordeaux-style blend and is one of the few in the Okanagan that uses all five Bordeaux red grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. With amazing wines priced so reasonably, CC Jentsch is quickly to become a household name. Can’t come to visit? Order their wine online at ccjentschcellars.com.
~ Luke Whittall