Concrete Ferments and Natural Bubbles
For an ancient craft, winemaking is now seeing a new crop of innovators entering the space and changing the way things have been done for centuries.
These wineries, whether they are producing natural, organic wines, fermenting in concrete or becoming the first Indigenous-owned winery in North America, are showing there are many approaches, often a combination of Old- and New-World techniques, to creating the perfect glass of vino.
Nothing but bubbles
For former chef, now sommelier and Bella Wines owner, Jay Drysdale, it’s all about the fruit — and the fruit is all about the soil. Drysdale believes is in taking wine-making back to basics and that includes simplifying the process and having a sustainable approach to business.
“Globally, we are depleting our environment, we're not regenerating. [Bella Wines] has grown from that desire to have our own little complete ecosystem, we try not to bring in as many inputs and get back to the way farming used to be,” he says.
At one time, Drysdale ran his own bakery and café, but with an interest in ethnobotany (the study of the traditional knowledge and customs of Indigenous cultures concerning plants) that dated back to his college days, a future in wine was a natural fit. “Wine solidified the whole food and wine world for me and allowed me to apply science, which I've always enjoyed. Wine has been the one thing that's allowed me to come full circle and now I try to be more of a farmer than a wine-maker.”
Natural wine, in particular, appealed to Drysdale and sparked his interest in learning how to farm without chemicals. “The whole reason I went down this path was I started looking at every ingredient added to wine, the way I was taught to make wine, and I found that most ingredients were meant to make the job easier, not to make the wine better.”
Drysdale explains that at Bella Wines, they have specialized in two approaches to making their Chardonnay and Gamay Noir: ancestral and traditional methods. Ancestral is commonly referred to as pét-nat” in the United States, which is short for pétillant naturel. It simply means that nothing has been added to the grapes. They are simply pressed, barrelled and bottled.
Ancestral wines don't have yeast or sugars added to them and complete their ferment in the bottle. Whereas traditional method wines are fermented twice and include the addition of a commercial or champagne yeast. Drysdale has dabbled in making a completely natural wine using the traditional method, but it takes more than two years, which he admitted can be tough on small business.
The dream was always to keep the winery small, which meant simpler and more environmentally friendly processes could be adopted, including making wine with absolutely nothing added or taken away. These known as 00 wines.
Keeping it simple has allowed Drysdale to focus on what really matters, good-quality fruit, from good-quality soil. “The full circle comes back to if you've got healthy fruit, you get healthy ferments and you don't get those off-flavours and byproducts that you don't want. The only way to get healthy fruit is to have healthy soil.”
Making wine this way isn’t always easy and the challenge that Drysdale faces most often is due to the unpredictable climate in the Okanagan region that can affect the consistency of wine. It certainly keeps things novel and interesting, “I can't remember ever having two vintages that were identical, not like other hot regions around the world with hot days and warm nights,” he says.
Part of Drysdale’s tasks as a natural wine-maker includes educating the public on exactly what constitutes a natural wine and helping them to appreciate features of the wine — such as a cloudy appearance or sediments or ‘lees’ in the bottle.
“This year, I am releasing two wines with the sediment in it, so that once you open it, the CO2 lifts the lees into the wine and you enjoy it cloudy. I think it actually makes a bettertasting product because it balances the high acidity quite well. Once you start making wine with minimal intervention you realize that certain aspects, such as having high acidity or having good clean lees in the bottle, can be some of your best friends because they'll always act like a filter and keep the wines healthy.”
For Drysdale, wine has a deeper significance in our lives than simply being an enjoyable drink, “Wine should resonate with you, it should evoke emotion, it's a window. When it is made, honestly, it's a pretty amazing experience to sort of time travel back to when that wine was made and the vintage and the wet weather or the hot weather that it went through should show up in that wine,” he says.
At Bella Wines, they educate visitors on food pairings starting with a discussion on texture. Drysdale explained that the effervescence of some sparkling wines can be aggressive and act more as a palate cleanser than a taste pairing. Whereas other wines on offer with less pressure are versatile and pair remarkably well with a range of dishes.
Whatever varietal is enjoyed, Drysdale reminds us all that what matters is the start of the grape’s story. “Natural wine has to start in the vineyard, it's not about what is or isn't in the bottle. It’s what's in the land.”
Bella Wines
4320 Gulch Rd. Naramata, B.C.
bellawines.ca | 778.996.1829
Qwam Qwmt: Achieving excellence at Nk'Mip
Nk’Mip Cellars located on Osoyoos Indian band territory is the first Indigenous-owned winery in North America. Beyond that accolade, the wines made here are consistently award-winning.
Justin Hall is the winemaker for all white wines at the winery and works closely with senior winemaker, Randy Picton. He is also a proud member of the Osoyoos Indian Band.
Although the vineyards have existed since the 1960s, it was only in the year 2000 that Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band and renowned winemaker Don Triggs began to discuss the possibility and practicalities of launching an Indigenous-owned winery.
Although Nk’Mip Cellars (pronounced in-ka-keep) includes handy phonetic pronunciation tips for some of the names of the wines named in the Okanagan language, Hall speculates that its best-selling wines, "Dreamcatcher" and "Talon" may be popular due to their easy pronunciation for English speakers, while still honouring the culture from which they come.
The names of each wine are carefully researched, debated and chosen in collaboration with the local Indigenous community. “The entire team works together with the elders to determine the names.
The Mer’r’iym wine — meaning marriage — is a nod to this collaboration,” Hall says. The Mer’r’iym wine comes in white, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and red, a mix of 45 per cent Merlot, 35 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 per cent Cab Franc and 10 per cent Malbec.
Nk’Mip Cellars is a place to learn about wine, enjoy fine dining with friends and loved ones and admire the views stretching out across Osoyoos Lake from the patio. You can expect to find traditional foods such as bison and bannock represented. “The Indigenous were the originators of the paleo diet, where one had to forage off the land. At Nk’Mip, the food pairings pay homage to this notion in both traditional and non-traditional ways,” he says.
Regular events, educational talks and lunches are also held at Nk’Mip Cellars, including library tasting tours with Hall. But Hall's Indigenous culture and history play a larger role in the vineyard than in the winery. “It’s about sustainability and the practices I like to see out in the vineyard. My dream is to ensure that the land will still be useable for future generations,” he says.
The winery also produces the special Qwam Qwmt estate wine, (pronounced kw-em kw-empt). “The phrase Qwam Qwmt means achieving excellence. The Qwam Qwmt wines are Nk’Mip Cellars top-tier wines and the grapes come from specific vineyard blocks that the winemakers believe particularly shine,” he says.
Nk’Mip Cellars
1400 Rancher Creek Rd, Osoyoos, B.C.
nkmipcellars.com | 250.495.2985 | @nkmipcellars
Concrete-fermented wines
Jason Alton from Ricco Bambino, located in the Eagle Bluff area of Okanagan, fell in love with natural wine while living and working in Australia. He sold up, took a chance on what he calls “the biggest project of my life” and opened a winery, where they do things a bit differently.
For starters, the wine is aged in concrete. Yes, concrete. The sleek, earth-toned pods look a bit like a giant egg with the top cut off and at once seem futuristic and rustic. Alton has found customers enthusiastic about his approach to wine-making and has enjoyed educating them on this unique approach.
“Concrete is a porous and, more importantly a neutral vessel. Micro-oxygenation allows the wine to breathe and evolve.
Wines crafted in concrete have a round mouthfeel, greater purity and intensity of fruit,” Alton says.
Opening a winery was a big life decision for Alton and one that many people advised him against, but their warnings only served to inspire him further.
“The overwhelming urge was fuelled by my desire to create a winery making honest wine using minimal to zero additions with 100-per-cent transparency in its vinification,” he says.
That includes a wish to be more than just a place to purchase wine. “Ricco Bambino is more than a winery, it’s a platform to launch this passion and craft living wine that is known around the world,” he says.
In the past, Ricco Bambino has made upwards of 10 different wines, but now it's focusing only on five: Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache. This includes natural sparkling wine, skin contact whites and those concrete-aged reds. The wines can be purchased at the Crooked Crown Vineyard or at the downtown Kelowna winery, as well as through select merchants and restaurants.
As for the name of the winery, Alton says it came to him after a long and fruitless search for a name that hadn’t already been trademarked.
“One afternoon after a few glasses of wine, I was fidgeting with my necklace, spitting out names, when I looked down and realized it was right under my nose the entire time. My nameplate on my '80s-inspired Run DMC gold necklace reads "RICH KID!" Loosely translated in Italian, it means Ricco Bambino. It was perfect and was meant to be. The Crooked Crown logo was adopted that afternoon and the brand was born.”
Ricco Bambino Urban Winery and Garden Bar
1630 Pandosy St, 101, Kelowna, B.C.
236.420.2203 | riccobambino.com | @riccobambino
