WINEMAKER’S CUT: 2019 Sauvignon Blanc

This year Winemaker’s Cut released their fifth vintage. The proprietor and winemaker, Michal Mosny, was born in Slovakia where he and his wife, Martina, operated a 500-case-per-year, boutique winery.

Their first glimpse of the Okanagan was through a television documentary on Nk’Mip Cellars in Osoyoos. In 2011 Michal and Martina immigrated to the Okanagan where Michal setup a vineyard management company called GAGW (Good Attitude, Good Wine) Solutions. In addition to consulting for numerous Okanagan wineries, Michal spent five years working as general manager and winemaker at Lunessence Winery & Vineyard.

In 2013 Michal met Colin Stevens, owner of Deadman Lake Vineyard. The Stevens family had been growing fruit trees on their property since the early 1920’s. Between 2000 and 2005 they converted part of their land to vineyards. It had always been their intention to start their own winery, but it had never come to fruition.

Michal ended-up leasing the Deadman Lake Vineyard from the Stevens family and he began making wines for Winemaker’s Cut with the harvest in 2015.

Within the last year, Michal and Martina have taken two more vineyards into their fold: the Chahal Vineyard in Oliver and the Slow Vineyard, located in Naramata. Their portfolio now includes eight wines under three labels: CUT wines, BOHEMIAN wines and BOHO wines.

Michal eventually left Lunessence in 2019 to focus on Winemaker’s Cut. He converted a small fruit-packing plant into a winemaking facility and he is a self-proclaimed, Garagiste winemaker. 

According to Wikipedia, the term “garagistes” makes reference to a group of winemakers in Bordeaux who, in the mid-1990’s, rebelled against the traditional wine style of the region (wines that were high in tannin and built for aging) and made wines that were ready to drink and more in-line with international palates. The term is now used more generally to reference small production winemakers who often do not own their own vineyards.

Michal describes his connection to the BC garagiste community stating, “We are connected by passion, by drive, by similar experiences, and we are sharing the same joy from the wine we produce. We don’t have marketing departments, logistic departments of cellar helpers or other staff. All is done by the same hands that are pouring the wine.”^[1]

Winemaker’s Cut is unique, not only within the Garagiste community, but within the wine community as a whole, because they play classical music in both the vineyard and in the cellar. There is some evidence that music played for plants positively impacts their growth and Michal is a believer that it can additionally influence vinification. It is believed that classical music can also deter harmful bugs and birds in the vineyard, which highlights the sustainable farming practices at Winemaker’s Cut.

2019 Sauvignon Blanc $26.00

The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested at the Deadman Lake Vineyard, where sustainable farming practices are used, including zero pesticides and very low sulphur use. The grapes were processed at low temperatures on the same day that they were picked. They were double sorted, destemmed and cold soaked before wild and organic fermentation took place for 29 days. 10% of this wine spent time in Slovakian Oak.

This Sauvignon Blanc offers aromas of guava, peach pits and gooseberries. It is a medium bodied wine with moderate acidity. The palate has gooseberries and lemon with salted, grapefruit pith on the lingering finish.

At the moment Winemaker’s Cut does not have a tasting room or wine shop. Their wines can be purchased online at www.winemakerscut.ca or check out a comprehensive list of retailers here.

Footnotes

^[1] Schell, J. (August 14, 2019). Why this Okanagan Winemaker has 13 speakers in the vineyard. Retrieved from: https://infotel.ca/inwine/why-this-okanagan-wine-maker-has-13-speakers-in-the-vineyard/it64823

References

www.winemakerscut.ca

Schell, J. (August 14, 2019). Why this Okanagan Winemaker has 13 speakers in the vineyard. Retrieved from: https://infotel.ca/inwine/why-this-okanagan-wine-maker-has-13-speakers-in-the-vineyard/it64823

Schreiner, J. The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide. Vancouver, BC: Whitecap, 2020.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garagistes