By Margaret Swaine
(Foodservice and Hospitalilty September 2007)
Most wineries are content with creating miracles in the cellar. Some extend beyond wine to proffer picnics on their patios, dining on premises or retail counter sales of local farmers’ produce. A select few brazenly offer the full Monty to culinary tourists namely accommodations, food and wine. Such is the case with Cave Springs in Jordan Ontario, Burrowing Owl in British Columbia’s Oliver and Nk’Mip in Osoyoos BC. These are success stories many might like to emulate. It just takes an iron stomach ready for risk and a head for business.
Cave Springs founded in 1986 by the Pennachetti family and winemaker Angelo Pavan is one of the Niagara Peninsula’s leading vintners of premium wines. Still very much a family business, it all started in 1978 when John Pennachetti and son Len were among the first to plant vinifera vines in the area. Riesling and chardonnay may seem obvious grapes for Niagara today but at the time planting them was daring.
“There were basically just a handful of experimental vinifera plots back then,” said Tom Pennachetti, Len’s brother and a managing partner in Cave Springs. The riesling vines purchased from the German nursery Weis Reben on the Mosel lead not only to a commitment to cultivating quality wines but also to a another type of commitment. The Weis family, who are owners of Germany’s St. Urbans Hof Winery, saw an opportunity to start up a winery (Vineland Estate) in Niagara. Anne Weis came to work for the family business here and really put down roots. She married Tom Pennachetti.
Today Cave Springs controls more than 70 hectares of vineyards on two coveted sites along the Niagara Escarpment known locally as the Beamsville Bench and the Twenty Mile Bench. Justly proud of their vineyards, the Pennachettis and winemaker Pavan will happily bend your ear for hours about the glacial-till limestone, shale and sandstone soils, the sloping cliffs which create a unique microclimate and the density of their plantings. Their wines speak the same message by delivering consistently high quality notably in their flagship varietals riesling and chardonnay. Well-made wines from other varietals round out their portfolio; cabernet franc, merlot, pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, gamay, gewürztraminer and cabernet sauvignon.
In 1990 Cave Springs took another big leap. They bought the historic 1871 building that housed their cellars. Located in Jordan, one of Ontario’s first Mennonite settlements, the tiny town boasted just one antique shop and a few artisans. There weren’t even sidewalks. “In order to make this a destination we needed more,” said Tom. They opened the region’s first winery restaurant On The Twenty in 1993 (named after Twenty Mile Creek which it overlooks). Chef Michael Olson put the place on the culinary map and it did well from day one.
“We were pinching ourselves the first year or two. Was this sustainable? Was there enough in the area to do?” said Tom. The restaurant turned out to be the tipping point for more growth, attracting enough people that an inn became possible. Cave Spring opened Inn on the Twenty (run by Len’s wife Helen Young) a few years later with nine rooms expanding cautiously over the years until the current 28. “It became a more sophisticated hospitality offering by twenty rooms,” said Mrs. Young-Pennachetti.
The rooms are luxurious and large, some with private gardens, others on two levels. Its spa offers vinotherapy treatments as well as the more standard massage and beauty treatments. Guests enjoy breakfast across the road at Inn on the Twenty. Most recently the family bought and renovated the 1842 Jordan House, reputed to be the oldest roadhouse in Canada. Their focus with this 14 room inn and tavern is to offer stylish accommodation at a modest price.
Today the restaurant is under the competent hands of chef Kevin Maniaci. The space below the winery, used by the former owner to store massive piles of remainder books has become an area for private dining and tastings. The synergy of winery, inns, spa and restaurant has created the ‘destination’ that the Pennachettis were after. Jordan now has the power to draw not only individual tourists but also corporate groups, weddings and the like.
In the southern part of the Okanagan/Similkameen Valley in interior British Columbia lies one of Canada’s most unique ecosystems. Sunny and dry (the northernmost tip of the Sonora Desert reaches into it) with irrigation the soil is rich enough that all sorts of fruits grow in abundance. In this area from Oliver near the north end of Osoyoos Lake to the town of Osoyoos close to the US border lie some of the most highly rated vineyards in Canada especially for bold unctuous red wines. The town of Oliver has declared itself “Wine Capital of Canada” with justification.
Real estate developer Jim Wyse was a novice to wine making when the first vineyards for Burrowing Owl Estate Winery in Oliver were planted in 1993. Wisely he hired experts including Richard Cleave, a thirty-year veteran of Okanagan viticulture and renowned California winemaker, Bill Dyer who made the first wines in 1997 and for six subsequent years. Today Jim’s son Steve, mentored well by Dyer, carries on the tradition of richly textured boldly delicious wines from pinot noir, syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot gris and chardonnay.
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“We’re remote where we are so you have to offer more,” said Chris Wyse (another son) who is general manager of the facilities. “We added the restaurant to give people a reason to come and spend time here,” he said. The inn was another natural complement to the wine business. “It’s a nice way to give your customers a total experience instead of just the snap shot they get in a tasting room,” he said.
While the Sonora Room restaurant which overlooks 125 acres of their vineyards, is the least profitable, highest maintenance part of Burrowing Owl the Wyse family is serious about making it great. A few good chefs have come and gone for various reasons. However with the hiring in April of Chef Bernard Casavant to lead the restaurant team they’re hoping they have a long-term winner. His presence has created a buzz of excitement. Formerly executive sous chef at Four Seasons Vancouver, opening executive chef at Chateau Whistler and later owner/chef at Chef Bernard’s Whistler, he brings oodles of skill to the job. His menu showcases local produce such as west coast wild salmon, organic vegetables, Alberta beef and Carmeli’s artisan goat cheese.
Jim’s wife Midge is the detail person in the family and her talents have helped make the inn near perfection. The rooms are luxurious with reading corners, private balconies overlooking the vineyards, flat screen TVs and every modern convenience. The bathrooms are especially spacious with soaker tubs and separate rainspout showers with a cool open design. Guests also can enjoy a 25-metre pool surrounded by a large patio, a lounge, breakfast room and all seasons hot tub.
“Constructing something like this takes a toll on you,” said Chris Wyse who added they can now sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labour. And so they should as their wines continue to win top awards and their inn and restaurant garner high praise.
Nk’Mip is the first Aboriginal owned and operated winery in North America. Back in 1968, land rich but not cash rich the Osoyoos Indian Band planted southern Okanagan’s first grapevines clearing the land, removing rocks and planting vines all by hand. Eventually they had one of the largest vineyard areas planted in British Columbia extending from the east side of Lake Osoyoos in Oliver all the way to the town of Osoyoos practically at the American border. For a long time they sold grapes to other wineries, then in 2002 they partnered with Vincor to open Nk’Mip. (The long-term plan is for the band to buy back the 49 per cent of the winery that Vincor owns.)
Much of the success of this small Indian band of about 435 members can be attributed to the dynamic leadership of their Chief Clarence Louie. He’s often been quoted as saying “Be in school or be at a job or in counsel to get to one of those two places.” Along with twenty years of motivating his people towards self-reliance, he’s put his bands assets to work by forming partnerships with outside experts. Nk’ Mip Cellars today anchors a spectacular site with the four-star Spirit Ridge Resort and Spa, Sonora Dunes Golf Course and a state-of-the-art desert cultural interpretative centre.
“It’s a lot of individual partners working together for a seamless experience,” said Donna Faigaux Hospitality Manager at Nk’Mip Cellars. “Visitors can eat at Nk’Mip Cellars one night and Passatempo [at Spirit Ridge] another night.” The accommodations may be operated by another company (Bellstar Resorts) but Faigaux says there is great synergy between the different companies. “With 94 villas and suites next door we’re almost assured the people are going to visit the winery and visitors purchase wine.” With good reason she calls it a phenomenal success story. Under winemaker Randy Picton the wines from pinot blanc, chardonnay, riesling, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and merlot varieties have seen great success.
Everything fits together with a magical result. Tourists can start the morning exploring the network of interpretive trails that run through 50 acres of the Great Basin Desert, the reconstructed traditional aboriginal village and the exhibits of the culture of the Okanagan Nation at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. (There are 11 different aboriginal language families, or bands, in BC.) When they’re hungry and thirsty they can walk over to the Cellars for a wine tasting and lunch on the terrace under cooling misters. In the afternoon they can cross the parking lot and tee up for a game on desert links style golf course surrounded by sage, rabbit and antelope bushes (and yes, rattlesnakes). If their muscles are sore they can go for a “golfers rescue” massage and pedicure at the Sonora Desert Spa. Evening can spent at Spirit Ridge overlooking Lake Osoyoos enjoying Chef Brad Lazarenko’s inventively excellent interpretation of local fresh market cuisine such as bison with blue cheese and dark chocolate sauce.
Simply stated all three wineries have performed a most impressive hat trick and in the process transformed their sleepy towns into tremendous destinations..
Contacts
Nk’Mip Cellars: www.nkmipcellars.com or 1-250-495-2985
Burrowing Owl: www.burrowingowlwine.ca or 1-877-498-0620
Cave Springs: www.cavespring.ca or 1-905-562-3581