There’s gold in the Similkameen Valley of BC
Photo Credit: Wines of BC
Magnificent mountainsides, swift rapids, and tall pines - idyllic Canadian backdrops to a story of dreams, toil, and resilience. The scenery is stunning and the whole valley still feels undiscovered.
Residents of BC know this area mostly as a stopoff between the Okanagan and Fraser Valleys. A quick stop to fill the tanks - automotive and biological - and it’s back on the road. Many don’t even realize that world class wines are made right here. Although the scene is picking up with winery accommodations and restaurants worth a visit, the relative lack of attractions and amenities just adds to the region's unspoilt and charming sense of place.
Photo credit: Wines of BC
Tim Cottrill and his wife Caroline own and operate Robin Ridge Winery here. Tim agrees that the Similkameen is something special. “We’re less known, we haven’t got the infrastructure for tourism yet… We’re farmers here, growing these wines from scratch.” Orofino Vineyards is run with the same ethos. Virginia and John Weber lead the small, devoted team behind the label’s award winning Rieslings and more. They left their native Saskatchewan to follow a dream of opening a winery in BC and settled on their current property in the Similkameen, which already had an established vineyard. For them, Virginia says it’s all about, “making wine that honestly represents the careful farming of grapes in our varied terroirs of the Similkameen valley.” What sets them apart, and to what does she attribute Orofino’s success? “We have been creating wines using “ambient fermentation” for many years now, before it was cool. Besides our sustainable growing practices, our eco-friendly straw bale and solar powered winery building… our thoughtful and consistently high quality and great value wines.”
BC’s second most productive wine region has just under 800 acres of planted vines, and they are making a mark beyond our borders. The valley has earned a reputation for characterful, high quality wines. Wineries can proudly state their Similkameen appellation on the bottle, having received VQA approval as a Geographical Indication in 2019. There are 22 licensed wineries that call this place home, west of Osoyoos in the towns of Keremeos and Cawston. Most vineyards are situated beneath a saw-toothed skyline of steep arid mountains on the north side of the Similkameen River with south- or southwest-facing aspect. A few cooler sites exist, such as those closer to the river or under the afternoon shadow of the peaks on the south side of the valley.
Photo credit: Wines of BC
The area is a hot, dry, windy gold mine - both literally, and agriculturally. The community of Hedley further upstream is built on a gold mine that operated until 1996. Keremeos is well known for its summer fruit and produce - it’s the fruit stand capital of Canada. Cawston next door is the nation’s organic farming capital. Primarily responsible for the predominance of organic farming here is the valley’s wind, which keeps vineyard pests and moisture-loving diseases at bay. The region has long supplied grapes to Okanagan producers, but recent years have seen many estate wineries establish their roots. Back at Robin Ridge, Tim farms table grapes for market as well as wine grapes for their own estate wines. When asked what accounts for his success, Tim replies, “We are all organic. The kids played in the vineyard and we wanted to have it a healthy place to be.” Since opening in 2006, his focus has always been on growing the highest quality grapes with flavour, depth, and body. Everything else follows from that.
A geologist’s playground, the diverse soil types and microclimate of dry winds, hot days, and cold nights provide excellent conditions for organic farming and quality wine production. Over the year the valley receives an average of 1561 growing degree days (recent years have seen closer to 1700), with only Osoyoos and Lillooet being higher. The reflectivity of the rocky slopes and their talus skirts maintains warmer temperatures for a few hours after sundown. Then, things get chilly without any large body of water to regulate thermal energy. This shift in daily temperature extremes - diurnal range - is highly cherished among winemakers and wine enthusiasts alike, and promotes higher acidity in the grapes, and therefore exciting, crisp freshness in the wines. You’d have to try really hard to make a dull wine here.
Photo credit: Wines of BC
Unfortunately, it’s not all perfect here. Among the trees, desert scrub and sagebrush on the steep slopes are the scars of wildfire. Down on the vineyards below is more evidence of nature’s indifference. The valley was not spared from January 2023 and 2024 cold snaps, and the damage has been extensive. More than just a lack of bud break - the extreme temperatures killed many canes and cordons, and some vines will have to be replanted entirely. As I drive through the valley today the only green to be seen is in the orchards. Not much wine was made at Robin Ridge in 2023. This year’s damage was more extensive. In Tim’s vineyards, only the heartier table grapes seem to be doing ok. His beloved Gamay was hit hard too. Rather than devastated, he sounds determined: “We’ll get it back on the wire.”
It’s too early to say definitively just which wines express their zenith in this terroir, but the varieties showing greatest potential in the Similkameen include Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux reds, and Syrah. During a recent tasting of BC Malbec wines (read about it here!), two of my top three were progeny of the Similkameen. Local wineries have accumulated precious metals of their own from prestigious provincial, national, and international competitions. The award-winning wines featured below have been graciously provided by the producers and highlight the quality and diversity of our stellar Similkameen valley.
Vanessa Vineyard has provided one of their esteemed red wines, a Bordeaux blend of 74% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2019 Right Bank was officially released in 2024 and has already won silver medals from both WineAlign and Decanter. Just the other day this wine also won Gold at the 2024 All Canadian Wine Championships. Only 100% estate grown fruit was used, with destemming and gentle crushing, small-batch fermentation, and manual punch downs. Almost entirely free-run juice was used for this wine, with each varietal separately barrel aged for 8 months prior to blending, followed by an additional 12 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels. The final show of respect is an extraordinary 34 months of bottle aging prior to release.
Rich and complex, aromas of black plum, boysenberry, cocoa, clove, dried herbs, prune, and wet stone. Flavours of dark fruit preserve, clove, gravel, and prune. The wine is dry with high alcohol and tannin although these are now velour on the tongue. There is medium acidity which provides structure and facilitates a long finish. This is an approachable but still impressive and complex wine best shared over evening conversation, augmented by dim lighting from patio bulbs and/or celestial bodies.
From Clos du Soleil we have their flagship Bordeaux red called Signature, from their latest 2020 vintage. Also a 2023 WineAlign medal winner (gold), as well as double gold from the Sip Magazing Best of the Northwest Awards, and Silver at the 2024 All Canadian Wine Championships. The blend is 34% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec, and 3% Petit Verdot, all coming from 3 estate vineyards in Keremeos and Cawston. All work is by hand, and varieties are fermented separately with native yeasts in concrete vessels. Wines are then aged 16 months in French oak barrels, with only select barrels comprising the final blend.
Wa-wa-wee-wa. Black fruit by the bushel - blackberry, plum, cassis. A most ripe and fruity red complimented by notes of clove, cocoa, and a bit of earthy spice. The palate is a fortress of acidity and grippy tannins, yet refined and precise with those berry and oak highlights. With a long, mouth watering finish, this is a wine that takes you - stop and let it.
Now in their 20th year, Orofino’s wines have been turning heads for just as long, and they are well known for their Rieslings. Here I’m delighted to feature their 2022 Old Vines Riesling, whose vines are older than the winery itself - now in their 35th year. This is a parcel of only ⅔ of an acre on their Home vineyard, which sits on sandy loam above a bed of gravel and river rock. This vintage was just released in spring of this year, as after undergoing wild fermentation in old oak barrels (and concrete tank for the first time), this Riesling is bottle aged for 12 months before release. It won a 2023 Gold from WineAlign.
A dry, characterful Similkameen Riesling with pronounced aromas of ripe peach, yellow apple, citrus, orange blossom, and that TDN I love (see my previous post on Riesling - it’s the gasoline-like aroma). The high acidity typical of this varietal has been softened somewhat by the neutral oak, and as a consequence the mouth-watering effect swells to a crescendo on the mid palate. Rich ripe fruit character, medium alcohol, and the acidity create a medium body, and you’ll be thankful for the lengthy finish to continue enjoying this wine after you’ve put down your glass. But with a wine this good, why would you ever do that?
Corcelettes Estate Winery was named the #2 small winery in Canada by WineAlign in 2023. They make excellent, award-winning whites and reds and today I am featuring their newest rosé release under their Phoenix label, the 2022 Afterglow. Phoenix is a project exploring new wine styles with greater accessibility, from non-estate fruit. Afterglow is an exotic rosé blend crafted from 68% Merlot, 18% Syrah, 10% Malbec, and 4% Cab Franc grown in the King vineyard in Naramata.
The colour is a beautiful pale salmon. The nose is complex and intense with mostly fruit character - melon, strawberry, orange blossom, citrus - and a pebbly minerality. This makes for a very approachable and easy drinking style. A little more acidity would push this rosé into the next tier, but at this price point it’s good value and as it is, this wine will have plenty of fans.
Seven Stones 2016 Bromley Rock Boulder is a left bank style red, and again the Royal family of Bordeaux varietals have turned out for this Similkameen blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec.
Deep garnet colour, this wine wasn’t born yesterday. This may be left bank on paper but in the glass, this screams Chilean Carménère. I swoon for the dusty, bell pepper essence this wine exudes. There is plenty of ripe cassis, blackberry, dried blueberry, prunes, and dried fig, as well as cocoa and dried herbs. This wine is boasting its age with some dried fruit and sweet cedar qualities. The tannins are now silken ribbons, the acidity soft but not dull, and it all slips along for an extended finish. For this quality at $39.05 you are looking at excellent value, my friend. Stock up.
Robin Ridge 2021 Chardonnay - Platinum Great Northwest 2023 Wine Awards, Gold 2023 All Canadian Wine Championships. Grapes come from their home lot and are whole-cluster pressed, with fermentation in French oak barrels and stainless steel.
For a love-it-or-hate-it wine like Chardonnay, this lands right in the middle, in the ‘everyone’s happy’ zone. Lemon, pear, peach, and pineapple dominate the nose with a touch of toast and nutty nuance. On the palate it’s dry and fruity, has great texture, and the acidity is good, if the alcohol is a bit high (14.5%). Still excellent value for a quality BC Chardonnay ($22.25 at the winery).
So where are we headed - what does the future look like for Similkameen wineries? In the short term, Robin Ridge will be cutting back dead wood and retraining vines. In the long term, “we’re gonna stay more boutique and manageable - focus attention on winemaking and grape growing” shares Tim. The key will be, “staying in focus and keeping good relationships with your customers. It’s certainly a challenging market these days - you have to have those relationships.”
Virginia talks about Orofino moving beyond the vine damage. “We are excited about moving forward and evolving. Maybe try some new varietals. It excites us to share the specialness and bounty here. We have beautiful accommodations and welcome guests from far and wide.” She wants to encourage people to buy BC wine, come for a visit, and tell your friends. Everyone still has plenty of wine waiting to be opened.
The spectacular drive up from the Lower Mainland via Highway 3 is rewarding in and of itself. Go for a taste and see for yourself what makes this small wine region so impactful for BC. When you visit, be sure to pick up some Similkameen gold of your own, including the world’s best orchard peaches, cherries, and above all, some pretty impressive wines.
This blog post was written by our contributor: Matt Tinney.