Winery Review of Canter Cellars @ District Wine Village
DWV Series - 5 of 10
When you go to their website, you will quickly get the answer to why this winery is called Canter.
Canter: A horses gait with three distinct beats and a winery with three founding families
Well, that answers that. After researching Canter to fill in some details for this review, I better understood the "why" behind the colour palette in their location at District Wine Village. It was a very cowboy-rustic feel to the colours. Consisting of natural colours and neutrals with wood tones and is highlighted by a brownish-red. This theme also explained the leather-made merchandise available for sale. They did a great job subtly carrying that horse motif within their brand. Unsurprisingly, the three families that imagined this winery share a love of horses. What was also interesting to note that one of the three founding families is Matt Kenyon, one of the founders of District Wine Village. An odd coincidence is that the winemaker for Canter is South African and has crafted wine at Burrowing Owl and Maverick and now for Gneiss. This micro-winery produces about 2000 cases of wine per year.
My Wine Host for this tasting at Canter is Sarah. She is very knowledgeable about the history of wine and the winery. When I arrived, another table was on the tail end of their tasting experience. She was splitting her time, and for the early part of my tasting, she gave me just an intro to the wine and then jumped back to the other group. She did a great job of dividing her time and providing great information. The grapes for their wines are sourced mainly from vineyards in Penticton, Kaledon, and Okanagan Falls.
One thing I noticed on the bottles I purchased was that there was no back label. Instead, you will find a brief description of the wine on the front label at the top. Now let's dive into these wines from this new young winery, which opened in 2022.
2021 Riesling: Interesting note is that the grapes for this are all from a single vineyard in the South Okanagan. Bright acidity with a sweetness like Goldilocks and the Three Bears (not too sweet and not too dry). Nicely balanced, and on the finish, there was some lovely fruit - citrus, banana, pineapple. This wine has a vibrant energy that waked up the tastebuds. Overall I was reminded of a Germanic flavour profile. The nose reminded me of classic old-world versions.
2021 Field Blend (Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Riesling): Straightforward stone fruit flavours (peach & nectarine) with a honey finish. The mouthfeel was rounder and softer than you'd get with a solo Riesling. This wine was straightforward to drink, begging for a hot summer day and a shaded patio to sip and pass the afternoon away. I must thank Sarah for the following little nugget of information. Auxerrois is in the same family as Chardonnay but with a heavier mouth feel.
2021 Chardonnay: Sarah shared with me that the grapes for this are from vineyards in Naramata. Sarah said this Chard was "lightly oaked," they say "unapologetically oaked" on the tasting menu. I'm not fond of Oaky Chardonnay, but this one differed. It spent three months in a puncheon (A puncheon is a barrel more significant than the standard barrel size), then matured in stainless steel. I could pick up the oak treatment on the nose. I didn't pick up any indicator of oak aging on the palate, but it did have a richness more like whipped cream than butter, which I found enjoyable. It gave me more of an impression of a French Chablis, reminding me of club soda with its crisp acidity and hints of citrus and some other fruit. I'll admit that the flavours of this wine were elusive to me. This wine is a lovely enigma, so some came home with me.
2021 Rose: This rose was made with Cabernet Franc grapes predominately. I got flavours of fresh watermelon - close to the rind, pink grapefruit, and strawberry. Each sip started with an impression of sweetness and transformed into a dry finish. That lovely transition made it an easy call to bring this one home with me.
2021 Rogue: This is all, Merlot. But this Merlot did not see any oak. It was all matured in stainless steel! It had a lovely depth of flavour, being fresh and fruity. The flavours were not what I'd expect for a Merlot. Fresh and stewed fruit flavours of plums and blackberries. Along with wet leather and green tobacco with a very long finish. This is a wine one could drink now or cellar for up to seven years.
2021 Pinot Noir: These grapes were hand-picked for this heavenly bottle. On the nose, it was earthy and dusty. On the palate, there was licorice, black cherry, and fennel. The tannins were a supporting character in this chorus. After nine months in French Oak, this wine was elegant in a glass. I loved this one because it made me think of a classic Pinot from Burgundy, which is why it came home with me.
My overall thoughts and feelings about Canter are very muted. That may be because I had to research this winery to know and understand its brand. My challenge was that I couldn't connect with their story to appreciate their wine and desired style. I'd still suggest going there and seeing for yourself. I could be wrong, and you may be able to connect with them to enjoy their wines better. At the very least, I'll enjoy my selections and their labels.
Cheers 🥂
-DD
Website: Canter Cellars
Address: District Wine Village
Email: info@cantercellars.com
Instagram: @cantercellars
Tasting Fee: $10.00 (Fee waived with purchase of a bottle)
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