Anthony Gismondi: Meyer Vineyards to honour Dr. Bonnie Henry

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Okanagan Falls-based Meyer Vineyards has been honouring the outstanding achievement of Canadians in their field since 2006 with its Tribute Series Chardonnay.

Owners Jak and Janice Meyer enscribe the honouree name on their Tribute Series Chardonnay label and donate $5,000 toward a not-for-profit foundation, endowment, or scholarship as a way of encouraging or honouring the legacies of these Canadians.

As suggested by an annual poll of wine club members, this year’s runaway winner is Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer. Dr. Henry has a long distinguished career in public health, preventive medicine and global pandemics. For the last 17 months, she has worked tirelessly leading the B.C. response to the COVID-19 pandemic and drug overdose emergency.

Dr. Henry has asked the Meyer family to direct the donation to the Food Banks of British Columbia to further its vision of a hunger-free future and its mission “to inspire, empower, and support our members to achieve hunger-free communities.” The complete details of all the Tribute honourees are listed at MFVwines.com.

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Now to the wine. 2019 was another challenging year. It began with a late-April, early May bud burst followed by hot and dry conditions that eventually led to a host of wildfires across the province, including several in the Okanagan. If there was a silver lining, the layer of smoke hung in the sky, filtering out some of the sunlight and reducing daytime temperatures in effect, creating ideal temperatures for vine development.

There was next to no rainfall all summer, and smoke persisted into the fall. The vintage ran longer, although the Chardonnay cam in just past its normal pick date.

Smoke was no issue here as the skins are quickly discarded at the crush pad after pressing. In the end, Dr. Bonnie Chardonnay was hand-harvested on Sept. 21 and 27, 2020, with perfectly ripe fruit and brilliant acidity.

It comes off the family-owned “Old Main Road Vineyard” that sits on a terrace along the Naramata Bench. It was first planted in 1996 with a gentle northerly aspect over alluvial deposits of silt and clay loams. The northerly aspect is key because it allows the fruit to ripen slowly out of the heat of the day, retaining a good level of acidity and allowing the minerality to punch through. The farming methods are a combination of uncertified organic/sustainable principles.

Winemaker Chris Carson does little to this wine other than guide it to the bottle. A long gentle pressing yields the purest, free-run juice. A lengthy, cool fermentation begins in stainless steel but completes in 100 per cent French oak, of which 22 per cent is new.  It goes through a natural malolactic fermentation late spring to soften the acidity. Still, it’s mostly hands-off style before it is bottled, unfined and unfiltered at a perfect 13.5 per cent alcohol.

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The wine reminds me of Dr. Henry. It’s both sunny and compassionate, but the palate is super bright and very complex when you get into it. We are not supposed to use the “B” word, but the enticing lees with a reductive tinge of garlic and a wash of citrus notes take me to Burgundy every time.

I know what you are thinking: Why haven’t we heard about this wine earlier? Why is it only available to people 18 years and older? Will it be effective against the competition? Will the website crash if you all order it today? Will collectors be considered front-line buyers and get their bottles first? How long will it take for my order to be processed and to be contacted to pick up my wine? Will this wine return next year? How many people can share a bottle indoors versus outdoors?

Since I’ve broken the cardinal rule of mixing politics and wine, let me pre-empt your emails of outrage, especially those of you who quit the Meyer Vineyard wine club over this wine and quote someone far smarter: “Be kind, be calm, and be safe.”

Weekend wine picks

Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2020, Valle de Leyda, Valle de San Antonio, Region de Aconcagua, Chile

$10.99 I 87/100

UPC: 7804350596366

By its taste, this Sauvignon appears to be from New Zealand. By its price, it has to be from Chile. Lucky for you, both statements are mostly true. Look for a fresh nose of grapefruit, canned jalapeno, passion fruit, bitter green melon, and mineral notes that spill across the palate. You cannot ask for more at this price, and you can serve it with a variety of foods from seafood and sushi to chicken and vegetarian dishes. It is a ridiculous value.

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Mayhem Gewurztraminer 2019, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

$15.65 I 89/100

UPC: 626990352563

Mayhem is a young joint project from siblings Terry Meyer Stone (of Anarchist Mountain Vineyards) and JAK Meyer (Meyer Family Vineyards). The fruit is Naramata-based, from Cellarsbend Vineyard. The ferment is a mix of stainless steel and 20+ per cent neutral oak for 21 days before almost all of it went into old oak for eight months. The attraction here is the dryness and freshness that lets the apricot and peach shine. I tried this with Dungeness crab, and it was a good match.

Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay 2018, France

$18.99 I 89/100

UPC: 3566921000101

Maison Louis Latour has been growing Chardonnay and making wine in Ardebche since 1979. Over the decades, the warmer climate and clay-limestone soils have come together to yield an impressive inexpensive French Chardonnay. Chardonnay d’Ardèche is aged on lees in stainless vats for ten months. Their 2018 is delicious, from its fresh green apple nose to its riper red apple fruit flavours sprinkled with hazelnuts, honey, and a dusting of lees. It is the perfect introduction to white Burgundy and a style that would be widely welcomed in the New World. If you love simple seafood dishes, this is the wine for you, back up the truck.

Bottega Il Vino dei Poeti Prosecco Rosé Brut N/V, Treviso, Verona, Veneto, Italy

$19.99 I 88/100

UPC: 8005829986230

Sandro Bottega is an irrepressible ambassador for Bottega and Prosecco and now the Italian bubble’s latest category DOC Prosecco Rosé. The Il Vino dei Poeti Rosé is a brut sparkler mix of 85/15 Glera and Pinot Noir grown at Treviso and Friuli. The Glera juice is passed over the Fruili Pinot Noir skins mixing a bit of the traditional with the avant-garde before a slow, 60-day fermentation to produce another winner. Fresh and bright, this pale pink rosé bubble is a party in the glass. Look for persistent fizzy, primary floral/fruit aromas of pink grapefruit, raspberries, citrus and wild strawberries. Perfect for prosciutto di Parma sushi, salty Parmesan cheese, charcuterie plates, vegetarian dishes or your favourite pizza.

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Meyer Family Vineyards Chardonnay Tribute Series — Dr. Bonnie Henry, Old Main Road Vineyard 2019, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

$30.52 I 93/100

UPC: 808755006236

Meyer Family Vineyards are known for their single-vineyard Chardonnays made in a spare hands-off style. From the Old Main Road in Naramata, the 2019 Dr. Bonnie Henry Chardonnay comes off the family-owned “Old Main Road Vineyard”  that sits on a terrace along the Naramata Bench. The farming methods are a combination of uncertified organic/sustainable principles. Expect a taut, finely strung white made in the reductive-styled Chardonnay. At once, stony and mineral, the acidity freshens its form front to back. Impressive. Super value. Order winery direct.

Recipe match: Rigatoni alla bolognese

A trio of meats mix-and-mingle in this popular pasta dish from the Vancouver restaurant Ask For Luigi. A hearty helping would make a great weeknight or weekend main to gather around.

Rigatoni alla bolognese

3/4 cup (180 mL) bone marrow, removed from bone

1 large onion, diced small

1 carrot, grated

4 stalks celery, grated

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1/2 cup (125 mL) red wine

2 tbsp (30 mL) tomato paste

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ground mortadella

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ground beef

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ground pork

2 cans tomato puree

1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped fine

5 sprigs fresh oregano chopped fine

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in the bone marrow fat on medium heat to make a sofrito, slightly caramelized all the way through.

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Add the tomato paste and caramelize it until it’s a couple shades darker and has lost the harsh acidity.

Add the meats and brown, stirring to break up the chunks. Then add the rosemary. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce until almost dry. Add the tomatoes and cook for about two hours on low heat. Add salt and pepper and the oregano.

Serves two. 

Recipe match

Rigatoni alla bolognese is a classic so let’s keep it simple but with a switch and serve it with a gentle  Italian red. 

Famiglia Pasqua Passion e Sentimento Rosso 2017, Veneto, Italy $13.99

Fresh cherry-berry fruit pleasantly spiced come with soft tannins making it the perfect match and a super value.

Nari Rosso Nero d’Avola — Shiraz 2019, Sicily, Italy $14.99

Nari is a classic spaghetti red made from a blend of nero d’avola and Petit Verdot — light tannin and Italian dryness permeate dark, brooding fruit and spice.