SIMILKAMEEN SPONSORSHIP: CHARDONNAY PROJECT FROM OUR VINEYARD
When we bought our vineyard in the Similkameen Valley last summer, my husband and I inherited a crop of grapes and weren't sure what to do with them!
The vineyard was (and still is) a wild place, full of weeds, wildflowers, bugs and birds, and the grapes were growing with abandon, having not been pruned the past two years. We decided to sponsor two young winemakers who wanted to make their own wine for the first time, Keenan and Madison, with a small lot of grapes.
They visited our vineyard in late August 2016 to harvest, and spent the winter creating their wines. This weekend, we picked up a few bottles from their efforts: a pet nat and a still version of the Chardonnay.
Happy Chardonnay bunches destined for Keenan & Madison's project
This project was fun to be a part of, and we plan to do this again. If you know someone in the Similkameen or Okanagan who is an aspiring winemaker, we will be awarding one lot of grapes for them to work with under our Similkameen Sponsorship this harvest season! I'll link to the details soon.
Intrepid young winemakers braving what was a very cold 2016 winter
Here are some pictures from the journey:
After picking, straight to the crush pad. They whole cluster pressed until midnight! Lots of yeast from the organic site made for a vigorous ferment. Natural wine begins...
A DIY pupitre
Time to disgorge - a messy business
“It’s certainly been a learning experience. We’ve learned it’s important to settle the juice as best as possible before it starts to ferment...tomorrow’s disgorging may be a nightmare but we think that might have given us a clearer wine. We’ve also learned how important it is to be in a community of friends to help when needed.
Most of all we’ve learned to appreciate new flavours and aromas in wine. After our own project, all we want to drink is other folk’s experimental and funky wines. ”
Enjoying the final product: Similkameen pet nat
Congratulations, Madison & Keenan! I wish you all the best in your wine careers and am anticipating big things from you both.
Cheers,
Rachel