Aasha Wines is a winery that almost didn’t happen.
Gaurav Puri is the head of emergency medicine at a hospital in Toronto. He was introduced to wine while he was doing his residency, but his passion really developed whilst traveling and tasting his way through different wine regions around the world. This passion eventually inspired Gaurav and two partners to search for a property to build a winery in Ontario’s Prince Edward County. As they were not interested in mass producing wines, they were looking for a small property where they could focus on quality. In 2014 their search took them across the country to the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan. There they found a 2.8 acre property which had been planted in 2007 with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Viognier. Everything appeared to be moving ahead as planned until just after the winery was purchased, which is when the partnership began to fall apart.
At this point, Gaurav could have walked away from the project. For his part, Gaurav was only meant to have been a silent partner and he did not have the capacity or experience to run the winery himself. He was a busy emergency room doctor on the other side of the country and his wife, Tracy Rook, was a registered nurse at the same hospital. Instead of walking away though, Gaurav and Tracy decided to pickup the pieces and have a go at the wine business. They decided to name their winery after Gaurav’s Grandmother, Aasha; the name meaning hope, aspiration and prospect in Hindi.
As they did not own a licensed facility for winemaking, they retained the services of the Okanagan Crush Pad to make their first vintage in 2016. They chose Pascal Madevon as their Winemaker, who formerly worked as the winemaker at Osoyoos Larose and Culmina Family Estate Winery.
The estate vineyard at Aasha Wines is small, allowing the winery team to focus on quality over quantity. Their goal is to create wines that reflect the land and each growing season. To diversify their wine portfolio, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are sourced from small, quality vineyards that are farmed sustainably. In the vineyard, the vines are pruned for low yield and the team takes a hands-off approach as much as possible.
Aasha Wines released their first vintage to the public in 2020. Each wine they produce features an illustration from artist Reena Mistry, depicting whimsical stories from key moments in Gaurav and Tracy’s lives.
Currently Aasha Wines does not have their own tasting room but they are hoping to launch one this summer; so stay tuned for more details on this. Aasha wines are available through their online store as well as private wine shops and restaurants throughout BC. Visit the winery’s “Find Us” page to locate a supplier near you.
Westward 2019 Pinot Noir $45
Westward is made from Pinot Noir sourced from the Similkameen Valley. It was tank fermented with regular punch downs and maceration lasted three weeks. This wine was aged in barrel for 8 months.
Aromas of a pine forest, cherry pie, sweet spice and milk chocolate covered prunes. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The palate offers notes of red cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lavender, fennel, sweet spice and saline on the medium+ finish.
I paired this Pinot Noir with mushroom arancini and garlic aioli.
The Forest 2020 Pinot Noir $45
The Forest is made from Pinot Noir that was also sourced from the Similkameen Valley. This wine underwent fermentation in tank while malolactic fermentation took place in barrel where it aged for 7 months.
The Forest Pinot Noir has aromas of sweet cherries, black plum, dark chocolate, sweet spice and a hint of cool forest floor. It is dry, medium+ in body, with medium+ acidity and high tannins. The palate offers notes of salted caramel, cherry, tart cranberry and mocha before being somewhat muffled by the powerful tannins, resulting in a medium finish.
I would recommend serving this wine with a succulent rib eye steak to help mitigate the tannins. I would be interested to see how time would soften and develop this expression of Pinot Noir, as the winery recommends that it can be comfortably aged until 2030.
References
Schreiner, J. (March 7, 2022). Aasha Wines Makes Impressive Naramata Bench Debut. Retrieved from: https://johnschreiner.blogspot.com/2022/03/aasha-wines-makes-impressive-naramata.html?m=1