On a warm July day, I dropped by SpierHead winery on the very weekend the SpierHead Wine Club would attempt to create its’ third annual Gold medal winning Pinot Noir.
“They’re going for the hat trick,” says proprietor Marina Knutson. She is referring to the annual event that sees individual wine club members selecting four barrel samples to create their very own blend of Pinot. The wine is blended, bottled and entered into a number of prestigious wine competitions. The 2013 and 2014 vintages of Club Consensus have both won Gold in the LA International Wine Competition.
“It’s a fun weekend and a little competitive,” she laughs. “There are ten barrels to choose from and the members keep track of their selections to see if they pick all four correctly. From there our winemaker takes over and when the finished product is ready, it is only available to wine club members.”
There is a lot of activity outside of the quaint winery itself. The area is surrounded by slopes bearing carefully selected grapes and lush green hillsides. There is a demonstration vineyard next to the outdoor picnic area, where visitors are invited to pick and taste grapes from the rows of Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and three different clones of Pinot Noir. The neighbouring event area has already been the scene of some intimate weddings and gatherings, and on site chef Rita Myers can cook up tempting tapas and charcuterie for events and picnickers.
“We’ve had an incredible year with our Pinots. At the prestigious National Wine Awards of Canada, we took home Platinum awards for the 2014 Pinot Noir Cuvee and the Pinot Noir Saddle Block. Our Pinot Gris won Gold, and Bronzes were awarded to our Riesling GFV Saddle Block and Chardonnay Saddle Block wines,” Marina said.
With fall will come the return of the grape harvest, a special time to visit SpierHead. Drop by the winery in southeast Kelowna for a real taste treat. www.spierheadwinery.com
~ Deanna Rainey