Amphora Viognier 2022

Wine Profile

Viognier is a late ripening variety that requires a long growing season to fully ripen. For this reason, this fruit comes from two vineyards in Osoyoos.

Tasting Notes

This expression of Viognier is an interesting contrast to our annual Viognier. The extended lees aging and clay as a fermenting vessel, yielded a wine with aromas of Orange Blossoms and apricot up front, followed by wet stone and pineapple notes. The palate is a mix of chalky minerality, warm lemon and ripe peaches. The long and weighty finish will pair nicely with a Thai mango chicken salad.

Winemaking notes

The grapes for this wine were hand picked and double hand sorted before pressing and fermented using wild yeast in two clay Amphorae. Fermentation lasted a month and a partial malolactic fermentation (10-15% of the way) occurred. The wine was then left to age sur lie another 4 months which developed a round mouthfeel.

Vintage notes

The 2022 season kicked off late with a cool start to the season and finished with an amazingly warm and dry fall. The microclimates within the vineyards played a large role in the ripening of different varietals as the right slope and aspect can help collect warmth on the cooler days. Bud break and flowering was delayed by about two weeks with the cool weather, but August and September came through with higher-than-average temperatures which luckily lasted through most of October as well, ensuring that our late-ripening reds matured.

We harvested our first fruit on September 21st for our traditional method sparkling wine, Chardonnay from our Thomas Ranch vineyard in OK Falls. The vines produced close to average yields despite our extra crop thinning efforts to ripen the fruit in what we thought could be a shorter window. The hot and dry weather in October was invaluable, resulting in more intense aromatics in our late ripening whites and reds with concentration and finesse. Expect to see wines with more natural acidity and balance this vintage.

Vineyards

Sourced from Perfect Hedge and Bull Pine Vineyards in Osoyoos