One rainy Sunday, a few weeks back, I was headed out to Mission in pursuit of a pair of antique sconces I found on Craigslist, when out of nowhere I came across a sign for a winery tasting room – so of course I had to stop by.
Singletree Winery is owned by the Etsell family and it seems that farming has always been an integral part of life for them. Farming took a detour though when one of their son’s, Andrew Etsell, returned home from a summer internship at Mission Hill Winery, having fallen in love with wine. Back at his family’s farm he was successful in convincing his parents to share his dream of turning part of the farm into a Vineyard. Andrew has since completed a diploma in horticulture at the University of the Fraser Valley and he has become a certified winemaker through the University of California, Davis.
A singletree is a wooden or metal bar used to balance the pull of a horse when they are pulling a vehicle. Used extensively in the late 1800’s, the singletree made it possible for large areas of fertile land to be cleared for farming.
Singletree Winery planted their first vines in 2010 and their lovely tasting room opened in 2014. Currently all of their white varietals are grown on site in Mount Lehman while the red grape varietals are sourced from the Okanagan. All of the wine is made at the Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland with the assistance of winemaker Matt Dumayne, but in 2018 the Etsell family plans to have all wine production on site at their vineyard.
I returned to Singletree Winery recently for their Spring Wine Release and I enjoyed several tastings along with the Etsell family’s friendly hospitality.
2016 Siggy ($22.00 taxes included)
Floral aromas with notes of honey, nectarine and a touch of lychee. Floral notes carry through to the off dry palate where they meet fresh apricots and an acidity that balances the sweetness and gives the wine a good finish.
The 2016 Siggy is made from 100% Siegerrebe (pronounced see-geh-RAY-buh), which is a relative of Gewurztraminer. Earlier vintages of this wine were named only Siegerrebe, but as it is exceedingly difficult to say, Singletree decided to make it easier for their customers to ask for the wine by name and started calling it “Siggy”.
I couldn’t help myself from purchasing four vintages of the Singletree Siegerrebe (2013-2016) because really, how often do you get the opportunity to buy four vintages at a time?! I look forward to rounding-up a group of friends to do a vertical tasting this summer.
2016 Rose ($20.00 taxes included)
This rose is made from 100% pinot noir sourced from a certified organic vineyard in West Kelowna, although the wine itself cannot be labeled as organic due to the wine making process. On the nose this wine has aromas of pink grape fruit and it is a light bodied, off-dry, patio sipper. This is a popular wine at Singletree, it sold out last year, so they made twice as much of the 2016, which was just released.
2016 Wild Siggy ($25 taxes included)
This was quite an interesting wine to try. It was fermented with wild yeast and then spent 90 days on the skins. The aromas were very similar to the regular Siggy – floral notes with honey and lychee – but it was much more aromatic. On the palate the wine was earthy and tart with flavours of cantaloupe. Because this white wine has spent so much time on the skins it actually had really solid tannins and an extremely long finish where I experienced floral and apricot notes. A very unique wine and, given the tannins, I would be curious to see how it ages.
2014 Pinot Noir ($25 taxes included)
I really enjoyed nosing this wine. It spent 11 months in French Oak and on the palate there were red fruits, vanilla and even a hint of caramel. It has high acidity and medium tannins.
Singletree Winery charges $4.00 for a tasting but this fee is waived if you buy a bottle of wine – look forward to their picnic area this summer overlooking the vineyard. They are open Wednesday through Sunday from 12:00-5:30 or by appointment.
Singletree Winery 5782 Mt Lehman Road, Abbotsford, BC (604) 381-1788