Gneiss Wines @ District Wine Village
DWV Series - 5 of 10
Walking into this winery at the District Wine Village was the first place I visited today with merchandise on their shelves with their wine. The significant part that caught my attention was the steel tanks and barrels in the back 3/4 of the building space, visible through a glass wall separating the production area from the tasting room.
My Wine Host was Kayla, and she is the Guest Services Manager. She was engaging, outgoing and knowledgeable of the Gneiss Wine history and wines. Kayla spoke very well of the other wineries at District Wine Village. She had to as the Wine Host at Foolish is her significant other. Daniel at Foolish said she was funnier than him. He has been making this ongoing running joke for a while. This level of camaraderie throughout the District Wine Village reflects the Canadian Wine industry as a whole. It just reinforces that "friendly Canadian" stereotype.
My first question was the origin of the name of the winery. Looking out the back window, you can see the highway the owners have travelled repeatedly in the wine industry over the past 30+ years. And they were driving past a beautiful rock formation, almost like a symbol/gateway to the south Okanagan. On my drive to Oliver, I did notice this rock formation myself. When researching this rock formation, they discovered it was a Gneiss (pronounced Nice) rock formation. And with that, a winery name was born. This rock formation is also the inspiration for one of their labels. You can look out a window from their tasting room and get a great view of this formation.
Their grapes are from seven acres in Naramata and three acres in Oliver (you'll pass them when driving to Oliver from the north). They make all of their wines at District Wine Village, and they are a micro-winery. What you see in the back of the building is the entirety of their storage. They have been here at District Wine Village since its opening in 2021. A funny factoid is that they had completely sold out of their inventory in their first year! Their winemaker, from South Africa, is one of the founding owners of Maverick Winery, who now consults.
Now onto the tasting. The tasting menu consisted of nine offerings, so I let Kayla walk me through and choose the five wines I'll be enjoying.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc: Fresh with grapefruit flavours, some citrus supporting characters, guava, refreshing herbaceousness, and lively acidity. Kayla described this one as a "patio pounder," and I'd have to agree. I found it creative that 90% of this matured in stainless steel tanks, with 10% matured in barrels to add a subtle richness without impacting its crisp profile. This wine reminded me of the New Zealand-style Sauv Blanc. Not surprisingly, this is one of their more popular wines, which makes sense, as I liked this one enough to take some home.
2021 Viognier: Kayla pointed out that this varietal likes the heat but requires careful vineyard management to control its sweetness and viscous/oily mouthfeel. To ensure a lovely balanced wine, they do two pickings - one earlier in the season and one later in the season. Compared to the Foolish Viognier, having more residual sugar, the Viognier at Gneiss sees barrel. Their Viognier has 75% that matures in steel tanks with 25% matured in barrel and batonnage (Batonnage is the gentle stirring/agitation of the wine to displace the expired yeast cells from the bottom of the barrel throughout the wine.) It had a light creamy mouthfeel with peach, apricot, nectarine flavours and floral hints. One thing that surprised me was that its aromas were much more muted than what I'd expect for a Viognier. Kayla also noticed this and was surprised by how muted it got, but this was part of the stages that a wine will go through. When it was first released, it was super aromatic. Recommended to pair this with Moroccan, Indian, or Thai cuisine (aromatic spiced dish, but not spicy)
Before we jump into the Reserve Series, I want to point out that the label is a painting made by the owner and textured. It's funny to note that this painting should be hanging in the tasting area. However, the winemaker accidentally spilled wine on it while entertaining and educating some guests, and it is out getting fixed. So I couldn't see the entire art piece, but if the label does it justice, it's beautiful.
2020 Reserve Pinot Noir: What is fun about this wine is that some of it is foot pressed, like back in the day (Please note that this is done in a very hygienic manner) and this was fermented on the stems as well and matured in French oak with 30% in new oak for nine months. The winemaker likes to add a touch of Syrah; that was about 5% in this case. Kayla stated that this wine is still a baby, as it was released in the summer of '22. Lovely dark cherry, cranberry, and vanilla. As it was still young, the tannins and acid were noticeable but showed room for cellaring growth. Beautiful all around, possessing great cellaring potential was my primary reason for picking up some of this. I can't wait to see how it ages. Kayla did say that only 14 barrels of this were produced. Remember, they are a micro-winery.
2020 Pendulum Red: Again, you will see how this winemaker loves to add a touch of Syrah. As a result, this is not a Bordeaux blend or a Meritage blend. It consists of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, a touch of Syrah, and Merlot. It matured for 15 months in French oak, while the Merlot was in American oak. This is a very complex wine. Very fruit-forward, with lots of ripe fruit and a peppery undertone.
2020 The Chief Reserve: This is their pinnacle. A beautiful red blend of hand-picked and hand-sorted grapes from Oliver. This care and attention reminded me of the Mission Hill Oculus. This blend of 53% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. They conducted the same barrel program as the Pendulum Red. For flavours, there were lots of berry and cherry notes, a peppery or spicy-like essence, and anise and vanilla. The tannins were surprisingly smooth and chill. But the acidity made this a food wine. The acidity also showed great cellaring potential. Kayla described this Bordeaux blend as "coming out of the gate pretty showy" and can grow in the cellar for another 5-7 years. Once I thought of Oculus, I immediately knew this baby was coming home with me. Like the Reserve Pinot Noir, this is a small production of only 8 barrels.
Overall I was very impressed with their reds and their cellaring potential. I found their whites wearing two masks, one for solo enjoyment and one for partnering with food. But overall, they did show an old-world inspiration that is very approachable and delicious.
Cheers 🥂
-BC Wine Nerd
Website: Gneiss Wines (FYI - they also have some recipes available on their website)
Instagram: @gneisswines
Address: District Wine Village
Phone #: 250-485-4932
Tasting Fee: $10.00 (Fee waived with purchase of a bottle)
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