Looking back at the Pioneers of the British Columbia wine industry there are many colourful characters, larger-than-life folk who have graced magazines, made appearances and basked in most of the limelight. There have also been other pioneers, those who have contributed in a quieter, more subtle manner, their efforts no less important but achieved in a different way.
One such pioneer is Andrew Peller and this year Peller Estates Winery is celebrating 50 years and three generations of making wine in British Columbia. Hungarian immigrant Andrew Peller first arrived in the Okanagan in 1958 and was quick to see the potential of the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys for growing grapes. The following year he purchased his first piece of property and planted a vineyard in the Similkameen on a slope above the river. Wasting no time, Peller built a winery in Port Moody in 1960 and by the end of 1961, was ready to toast with his first wine. That was 50 years ago, and a lot has happened in British Columbia’s wine industry since.
Peller Estate has been a fixture throughout the intervening years, a company that has adapted and changed many times, always ready to evolve to meet the needs of customers. While this very pragmatic approach may not have been the romantic story of some other pioneers of British Columbia's wine industry, it certainly was important. When consumers wanted semi-sweet sparkling wine or likenesses of European classics Peller made them.
With very few vineyards actually planted in British Columbia at the time, Peller relied on bringing in grapes and wine from outside of Canada to meet demand. In 1965 Andrew Peller, in discussions with the British Columbia government, made a promise to use more locally grown grapes and started searching for more suitable land on which to plant another vineyard. In 1969 he found what he was looking for on First Nations land in the south Okanagan and after many years of negotiations, Peller struck a deal where he would provide the technical knowledge and capital and the Osoyoos Indian Band would provide the land and labour. This was the birth of the highly regarded Nk’Mip vineyard which was planted in the early 1970s. Such was the success of the partnership, that Andrew’s son Joe was made an honourary Chief.
For most of the next few decades, Peller wines were widely available. These wines were designed to offer value and meet the tastes of the day. Fast forward to this century and things started to change. The growing British Columbia wine industry had switched course and quality – locally grown and locally made wine was the order of the day. Peller Estates adapted again and started focusing on their vineyards, their winemaking and began a renewed commitment to producing quality local wines.
If you have an earlier image of Peller wines in your mind, you might have missed a lot of this revolution. Many of the positive changes occurred around the time Peller purchased Cascadia Brands (owner of Calona- Vineyards) in 2005. By doing so they gained the skills of highly regarded winemaker Howard Soon. Not long after that, Okanagan born-and-raised and Canadian-trained winemaker Stephanie Leinemann, having been mentored by Soon, took over winemaking duties. Leinemann has now been making the Peller wines for six years and the rise in quality has been outstanding. More and more often the Peller name is appearing on the awards list of numerous wine competitions.
The change in wine quality has come about for a number of reasons. First, Leinemann started spending more time in the vineyards. Working closely with the vineyard managers and contracted grape growers, Leinemann says “we now start making wine in the vineyard.” Quality grapes make it easier to produce quality wine and along with some gentler processing, the quality is evolving rapidly. It is clear that Peller wines are now competing at the high quality end of the British Columbia wine industry. Yet the wines also offer excellent value. There are two tiers of Peller Estates wine – the Family Series and Private Reserve. Few brands can match the quality for price ratio of these 100 percent BC VQA wines in the $13 to $20 range.
Fifty years since that first wine was raised to Andrew Peller’s lips on Christmas Eve, 1961 it is now his grandson John Peller who heads up the company. John Peller is rightfully proud of what his family has achieved in the past 50 years and excited about what is still to come. While the company might not have been built on the current concept of terroir-driven, locally produced wines, it certainly contributed to making those wines a possibility today. It seems fitting that the direction Peller is now heading is once again back to the land, with the wines in the hands of a quality winemaker, sourcing fruit from quality vineyards and offering great wines that are great value.
Try these Peller Estates wines:
This Cabernet Sauvignon is deep in colour and full of intense aromas and classic varietal notes of cassis, roasted herbs, violet, tomato, plum, charred meat and pepper. The palate is full and structured, with good acidity and tannin that give backbone to the cassis, cocoa, orange, and smoked paprika that linger on the finish.
This classic oaked Chardonnay has aromas of peach, mango, vanilla cream, banana and butter with a hint of lemony freshness. The palate is creamy and soft, balanced with oak and fresh fruit. The rich apricot, pineapple and mango are balanced by lemon, apple and spice. Classic New World Chardonnay.
This wine opens with an intense nd ripe aroma, redolent of ipe apples, fig, honey, pear nd tropical fruit with subtle otes of vanilla, custard nd itrus. The palate is quite full and lush with ripe cantaloupe, honey, pear and pineapple with refreshing grapefruit and spice notes. Serve well-chilled.
This Riesling is racy and intense with aromas of lime, lemon, minerals, green apple and mandarin along with hints of papaya. The palate is dry and zingy with zippy acidity. It is light-bodied but with plenty of lime, spice and passion fruit flavours and a long, fresh, lingering finish. Try with a vinaigrette-dressed salad.
This blend shows good intensity of aroma with smoky, herbal, berry, meat, spice and shortbread notes. The palate is dry with grippy tannins and acidity. There are smoke coffee and caramel along with blackberry, blueberry, plum and tomato flavours. A good choice to contrast a rich spaghetti Bolognese.
