Burrowing Owl Syrah, Okanagan Valley 2019

Founder Jim Wyse purchased the first 100 hectares of vines in 1993, and began a replanting programme with the first vintage being made in 1997. Construction of the winery started in earnest in early 1998 and was built and completed just in time for the harvest later the same year! Jim’s son Chris Wyse is now at the helm, taking over the role over of president in 2007. They have 210 acres of vines spread over three vineyard blocks: Black Sage, Osoyoos and Keremeos. They grow 16 different varietals but the main plantings are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir for the reds, and for the whites: Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Current production stands at about 45,000 cases of wine. The winery is built into the side of the hill and works by gravity flow, leading down to their underground barrel cellar. This reduces the handling of both the fruit and the wines, minimising damage to berries and removing the need for pumps and lengthy pipes. Their building designs also include heat exchange, geo-thermal and solar heating. The winery is completely committed to environmental and ecological sustainability in both the winery and vineyards including raising money to support the endangered Burrowing Owl population from which the winery takes its name. These practices include ‘discouraging but never harming’ black bears and safely ‘relocating’ snakes found in ‘troublesome’ areas!