More recently, Sauvignon Blanc, a Loire variety, has been planted. The quality, complexity and polish for which Blue Mountain wines are noted comes from a combination of terroir, attention to detail at every step and an international perspective. “Our success has been the site. It shows in the wine,”Mavety said. Blue Mountain’s goal has always been to produce authentic wine, wine that has a sense of place.


The Mavetys have always done their own winemaking using simple techniques.


Those techniques were originally acquired from renowned winemaker Raphael Brisbois, who was born and educated in France, and later honed under his watchful eye.


Primarily based in California for many years, Brisbois worked with the Mavetys from 1991 until his death two years ago. “Raphael brought an international palate to Blue Mountain wines. That’s important because our competition is increasingly international ,” Mavety said. Multiple clones grown at different locations in the vineyard, each optimally matched to soils and microclimates, significantly contribute to the complexity


of the wine.


This ‘vineyard within a vineyard' concept is well-suited to the varied and undulating terrain of Blue Mountain vineyards. The clones from each site are


fermented and stored separately and only then blended as desired. “The joy is you can assess each lot,” Mavety said.


The use of multiple clones to achieve complexity is particularly important for Pinot Noir, because it does not blend well with other varietals.


Ian and Jane became interested in Pinot Noir after attending a Pinot Noir conference in Oregon in the mid-1980s and later visiting vineyards in France. Upon returning home, they began replacing hybrids with Pinot Noir. Their early focus on Pinot Noir, a risky venture at the time, made Blue Mountain one of the first wineries in B.C. to embrace the concept of a “specialized”estate winery. “For most of the 1990s, Blue Mountain owned Vancouver’s cultivated palates. These days, the cultivated palates have a lot more choice among British Columbia wineries. But Blue Mountain seems to be holding its own with


consistently good wines,” Schreiner wrote.


Generally speaking, Mavety thinks the provincial wine industry has a bright future.


His optimism begins with the energy and new ideas Matt and Christie and other members of their generation are bringing to the industry.


“Our biggest competitive advantage is a climate that is conducive to producing excellent fruit and is relatively free of risks as compared to many areas, including Burgundy, Napa, Sonoma and Oregon,” Mavety said.


In his opinion it’s imperative to capitalize on this climatic advantage to make wines that reflect the area rather than imitating the style of wine made from the vast tracts of land in places like Australia and Chile which have an economic advantage.


Labour costs in B.C. are not high by international standards according to Mavety.


Regarding the cost of land he said, “Just suck it up. Try buying a hectare of Bordeaux soil.


“The more you travel, the more you realize what we’ve got.”


22


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36