Victoria Estate Winery begins to refocus itself
By John Schreiner
December 6, 2004
The party lasted four days when Victoria Estate Winery opened in May, 2003. The guests included many of the 200 investors who financed the grand winery by buying units – at a minimum of $25,000 each – in tax shelter called a venture capital corporation.
Not being a member of that syndicate, I have no inside information on how well those investors fared earlier this year when many sold their units to Kim Pullen, a businessman in Sydney, B.C. My guess is that they could be reporting a capital loss and memories of a good opening party for their efforts.
Whether I am right or wrong, I am confident that VEW is pointed in the right direction under Pullen, the winery’s chief executive and major shareholder, and winemaker Ken Winchester. In a recent tasting, the wines were better than they have been at any previous encounter I had with VEW wine. Indeed, two of the wines scored 90 points.
“We have to make our best wines be among the best in British Columbia,” Winchester says. “Our winery is going to be pulled from the top.”
The original promoters of the winery were able to raise a reasonable amount of capital because, under the venture capital corporation rules, investors would qualify for a 30% provincial tax credit. A substantial 21,000 square foot winery went up just north of Victoria, strategically located beside one tourist spot (Butterfly World) and down the road from the world-famous Butchart Gardens.
The object of the promoters was to create a third tourist attraction in the neighbourhood. They figured, correctly, that many of those buses and cars driving by to Butchart Gardens might also stop at VEW to enjoy a glass of wine and perhaps buy some. And VEW did have trouble keeping up with demand.
VEW had a few problems as well. A year ago, the provincial regulators threatened to pull the winery’s license when they found, among other things, that wine was being sold by the glass at the tasting bar. As antiquated as that rule might be, it is never a clever idea for a winery to push the regulators too far.
VEW’s biggest problem in its initial years has been the inconsistent quality of the wines, and the lack of a clear focus. When Winchester took over as winemaker in May, 2004, he found he had inherited several tanks of whites made from Ehrenfelser, Scheurebe and Kerner, along with a more modest quantity of red wines. Even when British Columbians were drinking more white than red, those German varietals were never best sellers.
Today, Winchester and his assistant winemaker, Richard Kiltz, have the portfolio under control, as one would expect from two well-qualified vintners. Trained at a German wine school, Kiltz is the son of Hans Kiltz, the owner of Blue Grouse winery near Duncan.
Born in New York in 1952 and now a Canadian citizen, Winchester is trained at the University of California in Davis. For several years, he had a winery in Paso Robles in California. After selling it in 2001, he and his wife moved to Victoria. In short order, the wine community pulled him in. He was soon running a winegrowers’ association and teaching winemaking courses. He was recruited for the VEW cellars after the founding winemaker, Eric von Krosigk, left to become the fulltime winemaker at Hester Creek.
Earlier this year, Winchester also opened his own small winery, Winchester Cellars, down the road from VEW. This boutique winery is focussed on Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.
VEW has young vines on its property – six acres planted to Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Schönburger, Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and Dunkelfelder. With the exception of Pinot Noir, this is not a selection that Winchester is very happy with. The Kerner did not get ripe enough to make a late harvest wine. The Gewürztraminer site is “a little swamp.” Dunkelfelder, a rustic German red, did well. “But it is still Dunkelfelder,” Winchester grumbles. “It is just taking up space.” Next year, the winery will plant Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris across the road from the current vineyard.
The only Vancouver Island wine in the VEW portfolio shown to me is a 2003 Ortega, made from grapes grown at Blue Grouse. This crisp, lively $16 white has aromas and flavours of grapefruit, with a dry, food-friendly finish. Ortega is one of the varieties best suited to the island’s vineyards. I scored the wine 86+.
In the past, VEW has had Madeleine Sylvaner made from island-grown grapes. Winchester is prepared to make it again if he can buy the grapes. However, VEW is focussed on seven mainstream varietals, mostly purchased from the Okanagan.
The winery’s 2002 Pinot Noir is a blend of island and Okanagan fruit. The wine is medium-bodied with hints of raspberry (85 points). Perhaps the VEW’s future is shown by the 2003 Pinot Noir from Winchester Cellars, a full-bodied, dark-coloured with flavours of plums and strawberries (89+).
VEW’s 2002 Reserve Merlot ($29) is what Winchester calls “unapologetically full-bodied.” It is a chewy, muscular wine with flavours of mocha, coffee and currants. 90 points.
Von Krosigk had made from Petite Verdot as a blending wine but Winchester was so impressed with the 2002 in the cellar that he bottled 75 cases as a varietal. The plan is to price it aggressively. The wine is an explosion of blueberry and cherry flavours, with a long, supple finish. 90 points.
Winchester also has assembled small lots of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the 2002 vintage into a wine called Classic Red (about $14). It is a fruit-forward, berry-flavoured wine with notes of oak. 86 points.
He is working on a blend of white wines for Classic White, and on another blend of the Germanic varietials he found in the cellar. And he has put together a blend of Riesling and Ehrenfelser from 2002, calling it Late Harvest Friesling. (No one, it seems, pronounces Ehrenfelser with assurance.) It is an intriguing white with the aroma and taste of orange marmalade. 88 points.
VEW has closed its tasting room until next spring (except for special events). This tasting with Winchester suggests the winery will be worth visiting when it reopens to the public.
goodgrog@shaw.ca
John Schreiner
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