In June I attended the BC Wine Appreciation Society’s (BCWAS) celebration of Harry McWatters’ 50th vintage in the BC wine industry. We enjoyed a relaxed, seated tasting of ten wines from TIME Estate Winery led by Harry McWatters himself. He opened the evening making a joke about how we would be stuck listening to him for the rest of the night, but quite honestly, with his knowledge, experience and great narratives, it was our pleasure to do so.
McWatters joined the BC wine industry in 1968 at the age of 23 as the head of sales at Casabello Wines. In 1978 he was promoted to Director of Marketing. Then in 1979 he mortgaged his house and, together with a partner, purchased a golf course, turning it into the first estate winery in the Okanagan: Sumac Ridge.
While at Sumac Ridge, McWatters was instrumental in bringing the term Meritage to BC. Meritage, which rhymes with heritage, is a term used to describe a wine made with a blend of at least two of the following varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenère. No single varietal may comprise more than 90% of the blend. Sumac Ridge was the first winery in Canada to produce a Meritage. Sumac Ridge was also the first winery in BC to produce a premium sparkling wine made in the traditional method, Steller’s Jay Cuvée, which was first released in 1989.
Fast forward to 1992 when McWatters purchased a 115-acre vineyard on Black Sage Road in Oliver and planted it with Bordeaux varietals. At the time many thought these varietals would not thrive in the region, but they did, and some of Sumac Ridge’s best wines were made using grapes from this vineyard.
“The vineyard was owned under a structure in which McWatters and the winery were roughly equal partners.” [1] When McWatters sold Sumac Ridge to Vincor International in 2000, ownership of the Black Sage Road vineyard was eventually “formalized [leaving McWatters] with the front 60 acres and Vincor with the back 55 acres.”[2] After the sale of Sumac Ridge, McWatters stayed on as president of the winery until April 30, 2008. The very next day McWatters established Vintage Consulting Group Inc., essentially “a talent pool assembled in Penticton”[3] that would soon have winery and vineyard clients throughout BC.
McWatters didn’t stay away from winemaking for long. In 2011 he released a 2007 Meritage made with grapes from his vineyard on Black Sage Road. This Meritage was released under a new label called the McWatters Collection. Eventually McWatters established a holding company, called Encore Vineyards, under which now exists three brands: McWatters Collection, TIME Estate Winery and Evolve Cellars.
In 2013 McWatters unveiled a plan to build a winery for TIME at his vineyard on Black Sage Road, which he named Sundial Vineyard. Construction for the winery began in 2015 and in 2016 some of the winemaking equipment was set to be moved into the new building when McWatters received an offer for the vineyard that he simply could not refuse.
During the BCWAS celebration of his 50th vintage, McWatters told us that it was a very difficult decision to make, but he eventually arrived at the conclusion that it’s called the wine “business” for a reason. He also admits that it was a difficult conversation to have with his children who are heavily involved in Encore Vineyards. The vineyard was sold in April 2016 to a businessman named Mr. Bai, who also purchased Phantom Creek Vineyards, which was named one of the “Top 10 Single Vineyards Around the World” by Wine Access Magazine. Bai has made headlines with his one hundred-million-dollar investment in the BC wine industry and he plans to open Phantom Creek Estates in Spring 2019.
With the sale of Sundial Vineyards McWatters had to turn his attention to finding a new home for TIME Estate Winery. A property that captured his attention was a vintage movie theatre, the PenMar, in downtown Penticton, which was built in 1956. The PenMar had personal history for McWatters who recalls bringing a date there in his youth. The renovations and seismic upgrades to the aging theatre are almost complete and include plans for a production facility, tasting room, shop, theatre and a lounge. The winery is set to open this fall, although the production facility is already busy processing the 2017 harvest.
Throughout McWatters’ career he has made (and continues to make) many significant contributions to the BC wine industry. He is one of the founders of the Okanagan Wine Festival and founding Chair of the BC Wine Institute, the BC Wine Information Society and Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) Canada. He was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the Okanagan University College in 2001 for the role he played in the development of both BC and Canada’s wine industry and in 2003 he received the Order of BC for Outstanding Achievement. An exhaustive list of all of McWatters’ accomplishments would be far too long to include here, so let’s talk about a couple of the wines I tried.
2014 Cabernet Franc $18.99
On the nose there is cedar, blackberry and dried cherries. This full bodied wine is slightly hot at 14.5%. The palate has plums, dark cherries and strawberry fruit leather with a hint of clove on the finish. A good wine for pizza, grilled meat or charcuterie.
2013 Syrah $35.00
On the nose there is black pepper, blackberries, salty leather and a note of smoke. This wine is medium-to-full bodied. The palate has black pepper, sour cherry pie filling and brine, with slightly green Italian prune plums and cinnamon on the finish. This wine has soft tannins and medium-to-high acidity. The acidity would pair well with fatty meats like a rich steak or duck. This wine benefits from decanting or, as the winery suggests, you can age through 2021.
TIME Estate Winery (under construction at time of publication)
361 Martin Street
Pentiction, British Columbia
V2A 5K4
www.encorevineyards.ca
Foot Notes:
[1] Schreiner, J. (July 12, 2011). He’s back! Harry McWatters unveils his own label. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2011/07/hes-back-harry-mcwatters-unveils-his.html
[2] Ibid
[3] Schreiner, J. (April 3, 2010). The Second Coming of Harry McWatters. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2010/04/second-coming-of-harry-mcwatters.html
Sources:
Bassett, J. (April 10, 2017). The Man who put British Columbia on the International Wine Map. Retrieved from https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/the-man-who-put-bc-on-the-international-winemap/article34652951/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
Bell, R. Dr. Harry McWatters. Retrieved from http://www.winesofcanada.com/harryMcwatters.html
Schreiner, J. The Wineries of British Columbia. North Vancouver, BC: Whitecap, 2004.
Schreiner, J. (April 3, 2010). The Second Coming of Harry McWatters. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2010/04/second-coming-of-harry-mcwatters.html
Schreiner, J. (July 12, 2011). He’s Back! Harry McWatters Unveils his own Label. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2011/07/hes-back-harry-mcwatters-unveils-his.html
Schreiner, J. (June 4, 2013). Harry McWatters Unveils Time Estate’s Winery. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2013/06/harry-mcwatters-unveils-time-estates.html
Schreiner, J. (May 31, 2016). Evolve Cellars 2015 Debut Lawrence Buhler. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2016/05/
Schreiner, J. (August 25, 2016). Steller’s Jay Releases Sparkling Gewürztraminer. Retriever from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2016/08/stellers-jay-releases-sparkling.html
Schreiner, J. (December 13, 2016). Evolve Bubbles and Friends. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2016/12/evolve-bubbles-and-friends.html