The 5th Pinot Noir Celebration in Kelowna
THE SHOW
The 2019 BC Pinot Noir Celebration brings together BC’s top 35 Pinot Noir producers for an unforgettable festival-style tasting experience. The event kicked off with a reception and keynote address by Madeline Puckette, certified sommelier and author of New York Times Bestseller, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine.
To put this gathering in proper perspective, here’s an overview from writer/judge Kurtis Kolt:
My big take-away is how local Pinot Noir reflects its terroir of origin, rather than its producers trying to emulate other iconic Pinot regions around the world, from Burgundy in France to the Russian River Valley in California.
No matter which B.C. region it hailed from, each one had a freshness and purity of fruit, along with juicy acidity—a common trait in B.C. wine. I was quite impressed that compared to other reds—from Bordeaux-inspired blends to Syrah—the B.C. Pinot Noirs were all tasty and approachable, whether we were looking at current, more fruit-forward releases, or bottlings as far back as a 2006 from Averill Creek on Vancouver Island. It had started to exhibit those more savoury, tertiary notes like sarsaparilla and sun-dried tomato, but still had great structure and was buoyant on the palate.
Kurtis, who guests on this special, makes the comment that Pinot Noir is the one wine that can be grown from coast-to-coast in Canada.
All 35 wineries pouring at the event were accepted through a high profile sommelier tasting panel. They were determined to be the best of the best.
Our owner/winemaker guests are:
Jak Meyer – Meyer Family Vineyards/Organizer
Grant Biggs – Kitsch/ Organizer
David Paterson – Tantalus/ Organizer
Jason Parkes – The Hatch
Madeline Puckette – Keynote speech and Wine Folly Author
Grant Stanley – Spearhead
Ben Bryant – Mission Hill
Jenn and Kent Molgat – The View
Chris Carson – Meyer Family and Carson
Dan Wright – Unsworth
Paul Pender – Tawse and Hidden Bench
Rhys Pender – Master of Wine and Panelist
Kurtis Kolt – Wine Educator and Panelist
Paul M Bruner – owner of Blue Grouse
Andy Johnson – Owner of Averill Creek
Tyler Knight – Co-owner of Lightning Rock
STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:
The 2019 Garagiste at Sperling Vineyards
The 2020 Victoria Whisky Festival
Food, Wine & A Mescal Master in Oaxaca
Field Blends – Are we in or out