Into Wine and Harry McWatters’ Time Winery, an Photos: Martin’s An Expression of Design. A Statement on Wine. urban winery in downtown Penticton. Lane Winery is Wine magnate Anthony von Mandl con- a Corten-clad building, designed Martin’s Lane Winery and the greater Okanagan Valley. tinues to transform the wine business in by Tom Kundig, Canada. He has often been compared to the and carved into a Writer Rod Phillips late Robert Mondavi. Both founded their hillside to harness own wineries, but actively supported their gravity and minimize regions (the Okanagan Valley and Napa the movement of the grapes where f you’re looking for a success story in the One sign of a maturing industry is the and Saint-Julien in Bordeaux, or villages Valley, respectively), even when it meant winemaker ICanadian wine industry, look no further emergence of sub-appellations—small such as Volnay and Meursault in Burgundy, drawing attention to their competitors. One Shane Munn is than British Columbia. The driver of B.C.’s districts within the broader Okanagan although Canadian wine laws do not impose of von Mandl’s latest creations is Martin’s focused on creating success is the Okanagan Valley, where more Valley region that have gained official such tight restrictions as French laws do on Lane Winery, named for his late father. top-tier pinot noir than 80 per cent of the province’s wine is status for their unique combinations of such matters as permitted grape varieties. Like Mission Hill, with its arch, bell tower, and riesling. made. There are wineries elsewhere—in climate, geology, and landscape, and the Along with sub-appellations, the and loggia echoing the Italian Renaissance, wine regions to the north and in other parts distinctive wines they produce. The first Okanagan Valley has seen a recent wave of Martin’s Lane is impressive, both inside and of the Mainland, as well as on Vancouver sub-appellation was Golden Mile Bench, acquisitions and new investments in winer- out. But it reflects the architectural time Island and some of the Gulf Islands—but officially recognized in 2015, and the ies. The prime movers in acquiring wineries that has elapsed in the nearly 20 years since the Okanagan has been the animating second was Okanagan Falls, recognized in have been Andrew Peller, Arterra (formerly Mission Hill was built. The same archi- force from the beginning with Anthony 2018. Producers in a region must make the Constellation Wines), and Anthony von tect, Seattle-based Tom Kundig, designed von Mandl one of the early pioneers, never case for a sub-appellation; others, includ- Mandl, who owns iconic Mission Hill Family Martin’s Lane and this time he produced a straying from his 1981 vision: “When I ing Naramata Bench, are expected to be Estate, the go-to wine destination in the relentlessly modern structure that catches look out over the valley, I see world-class approved soon. Sub-appellations speak to Okanagan (along with CedarCreek Estate and holds the eye because of the tension vinifera vineyards winding their way down a maturing industry because they acknow- Winery, Martin’s Lane Winery, CheckMate between its two conjoined components: the the valley, numerous estate wineries, each ledge a region’s growing conditions, their Artisanal Winery, and Road 13 Vineyards). winemaking structure, whose roofline fol- striking spiral staircase that rises from the be appreciated. The winemaker at Martin’s distinctively different, charming inns, and suitability for producing specific grape New builds include the Bai family’s Phantom lows the steep slope of the hillside, and the main entrance, and some of the sombre Lane is Shane Munn, a New Zealander who bed-and-breakfast cottages seducing tour- varieties, and their effects on wine style. Creek Estates, a destination winery on the building that holds offices and public areas, hues and gritty textures were chosen as an previously made wine in France, Italy, and ists from around the world.” The analogies are districts such as Pomerol Black Sage Bench in the southern Okanagan, which sits on a horizontal plane. From the homage to the massive wildfires that ripped elsewhere. He’s a proponent of intervening tasting room in the latter, the land falls away through this area in 2003. in winemaking as little as possible, and at dramatically until it ends at Okanagan Lake, In the dining room, racks hold some of Martin’s Lane he oversees a winemaking giving one the impression of being in a can- the most prestigious wines from around the process that is gravity driven: the grapes are tilevered structure. Steel, concrete, wood, world—a statement of the context in which sorted and pressed at the building’s highest and glass are the order of the day, with a von Mandl wants Martin’s Lane wines to elevation point, and end up in barrels and tanks at the lowest, without the need for pumps. This is the function underlying the sloping winemaking structure. For all its capacity, Martin’s Lane pro- The Okanagan Valley has seen a recent wave of duces limited volumes of wines made from only two grape varieties: riesling and pinot acquisitions and new investments in wineries; noir. The grapes are drawn from three of the company’s vineyards in various loca- Martin’s Lane Winery is an impressive new build. tions in the Okanagan Valley and vinified separately. Each wine then is influenced by the growing conditions of the vineyard its grapes were sourced from. The four rieslings (Simes Vineyard 2015 Riesling, Naramata Ranch Vineyard 2014 Riesling, Fritzi’s Vineyard 2015 Riesling, and Fritzi’s Vineyard 2014 Riesling) range from dry to off-dry, show poised balance, round tex- ture, and juicy acidity across the board, while the pinot noirs (Simes Vineyard 2014 Pinot Noir, Naramata Ranch Vineyard 2014 Pinot Noir, and Fritzi’s Vineyard 2014 Pino Noir) are variations on the themes of persistent fruit, well-calibrated acidity, and fine tannins. All amply show their proven- ance and their vintage. Wineries such as Martin’s Lane, Phantom Creek, and Time are currently the bright, shiny objects of the mod- ern Okanagan Valley, where the modern British Columbia wine industry began, and continues to lead the way. 60 · · Summer 2019 · Summer 2019 · 61.