April 2015 BCBusiness 71
it's a brilliant fall day in the South
Okanagan, and a black bear and two
cubs are up a tree peering over a
frenetic crush time at Tinhorn Creek
Vineyards across the gully.
The winery's mechanical har-
vester—a 4.5-metre-tall giant that
straddles the vines and causes the
fruit to fall via gentle vibrations from
oscillating brushes inside—sits at the
end of a row in prime position for the
eight-to-10-week-long harvest on Tin-
horn's two growing benches, which
bisect the valley near Oliver.
Around four kilometres away,
across Highway 97 below, the purple-
tinged Black Sage Bench is plump
with such grapes as cabernet franc
and merlot. But it's this east-facing
upper Golden Mile Bench, with
its backdrop of ochre mountains,
favourable temperatures and buzz
of visitors to the winery's tasting
rooms and specially created tours,
that looks set to yield more than just
gewürztraminer and pinot gris.
Five years in the making, Golden
Mile Bench is slated to become part of
a sub-appellation that allows drink-
ers, for the first time in the province,
to pinpoint the exact origins of their
wine rather than the all-encompassing
BCVQA (Vintners Quality Alliance)
"Okanagan" label. The British Colum-
bia Wine Authority, the provincial
government's wine-quality regulator,
A Sense of
Terroir
W
courtesy tinhorn creek
BOUNTIFUL
HARVEST
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
now produces roughly
40,000 cases per year
T r a v e l
Golden Mile Bench, home
of Tinhorn Creek winery,
may soon be B.C's first
sub-appellation
by Lucy Hyslop
a p r i l 2 0 15
O
ou t of office
INSIDE
Pier 7 + the Rob feenie experience ... Million-dollar ball ... Lunch with Anne Giardini
"It's all about people connecting
with the winery so that it leaves an
imprint.... People who haven't been
here just don't have that connection"
—Sandra Oldfield, CEO of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
