Grant Stanley sits back, takes a sip of the SpearHead 2022 Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir ($39) and declares: "I can see why the judges loved it."
Stanley, the winemaker at SpearHead Winery in Kelowna, is referring to the judges at the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, who awarded the 2022 Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir a prestigious platinum medal at the 2025 competition.
"It's light and fresh and elegant," continued Stanley.
"It's super easy to drink and it's really good value wine."
The platinum win and my little chat with Stanley on the sunny patio at SpearHead this week was impeccable timing.
International Pinot Noir day is coming up Monday and SpearHead is using the wine holiday to tout its award-winning 2022 Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir, showcase the six different Pinot Noir wines Stanley makes every year and promote a week's worth of Pinot Noir parties.
SpearHead may very well make the most Pinot Noirs of any Okanagan winery because Stanley is jacked on the varietal.
The winemaker is originally from Pinot hotbed New Zealand, where he cut his teeth at Pinot Noir house Ata Rangi before working at wineries in Oregon -- another Pinot playground -- and then moving to the Okanagan to make more Pinots at Quails' Gate Winery in West Kelowna and 50th Parallel in Lake Country.
"Pinot Noir is only about 1% to 2% of the wine world because it is limited in where it can grow," explained Stanley.
"As such, Pinot is special and the people that love and make Pinot are so collaborative."
In fact, Pinot Noir is one of the only wines Stanley drinks.
"And, if I'm not drinking Pinot, I'm drinking a light-to-medium bodied wine like Pinot, such as Sangiovese or Nebbiolo."
These wines always accompany food for Stanley, usually salmon, chicken or a hearty salad.
And, when he wants a wine to drink on its own on the patio, he reaches for the Dual Citizen 2024 White Pinot Noir ($29) or Dual Citizen 2024 Pinot Noir Rose ($27) that SpearHead made from Washington state grapes sourced after the January 2024 deep freeze meant there was no Okanagan grape harvest in the fall of 2024.
Besides the catchy Dual Citizen name, the label of the wines feature two stamps -- one 'Vinified at SpearHead, Canada Passport Control', the other 'Grown in Washington state, US Border Security Agency'.
And then, a Maple Leaf sticker with 'Made before the madness' was added to the bottles, a reference to US President Donald Trump's tariffs and 51st state trash talk.
The three other Pinot Noirs that SpearHead makes are the 2023 Cuvee ($46), 2023 Braided Hill ($39) and 2023 Blueberry Hill ($39).
The red Pinots are light in body, but big on flavour with a common thread of bright cherry and earthy spiciness.
The white Pinot drinks like a white wine with aromas and flavours of peach and lemon.
And, the rose Pinot has a strawberries-and-cream profile.
The Pinot events SpearHead is putting on includes sold-out barrel blending workshops for wine club members on Saturday and Sunday; a sold-out dinner at Waterfront Restaurant in Kelowna on Sunday; $10 Pinot blind tastings on Monday's actual International Pinot Noir Day; Pinot masterclasses on Tuesday and Thursday with instructor Eleizabeth Rawluk; more blind tastings on Wednesday; and then a big Pinot Party with singer Jeff Piatelli on Friday, Aug. 22 from 5 to 7 pm.
Get more info and tickets at www.spearheadwinery.com.
More Pinot
The Okanagan Valley flows with more awesome Pinot Noirs.
Others that my wife, Kerry, and I have sipped lately that are worthy of International Pinot Noir Day celebration are:
- See Ya Later Ranch 2023 ($21) from Okanagan Falls
- Evolve 2022 ($42) from Penticton
- Liquidity Reserve 2022 ($60) from Okanagan Falls
- CedarCreek 2022 Reserve ($31) from Kelowna
- Road 13 Select Harvest 2024 Rose ($28)
Made by the Oliver winery of Pinot Noir grapes from cool-climate Petaluma Gap in California.
Sunday Aperitivo is Aug. 24
Mirabel Vineyards is throwing an Italian Mediterranean-inspired Sunday Aperitivo Aug. 24 from 1 to 4 pm at its winery at 3740 Hart Rd. in East Kelowna.
To the Italians, aperitivo means 'to open' as in opening up your home and your heart for a pre-dinner ritual of social drinks and snacks, la dolce vita-style.
As such, Mirabel's aperitivo features its almost-sold-out 2020 Blanc de Noir sparkling wine, appetizers and seafood risotto from chef Andrew Toncini (yes, he's originally from Italy) and a cannoli cart for dessert.
The dress code is light and summery white.
Tickets are $60 at www.mirabelvineyards.com.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
