Olivier Humbrecht, France’s first Master of Wine, is the owner and winemaker of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace, France. The renowned Estate has been in his family since the early 17th century, and today is one of the world’s leading Pinot Gris and Riesling producers. Currently, he also presides Biodyvin, a prestigious biodynamic certifying body based in Europe.
Phantom Creek Estates white wine program is decidedly Alsatian inspired and includes principal varieties Pinot Gris and Riesling. Both varietals are widely produced in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and come in an expressive range of styles from many producers. Olivier and the team at Phantom Creek are making Alsatian inspired white wines from grapes that are naturally farmed and cared for through every step of the winemaking process. Parcels of selected fruit are gently pressed over many hours to bring out the subtle nuances and complexities from the grape’s skin. The resulting juice is then wild fermented over a period of months and aged in neutral oak Stockinger foudres. Our white wines are balanced, elegant and ready to enjoy now or in the future with proper aging.
It may sound like a simple process; however, As Olivier Humbrecht says, “when you get fantastic grapes from good vineyards, you want to try to use them as much as possible. It needs to be done right from the beginning.”
A great wine, regardless of its colour, concentration or age, should not shrink the palate when you drink, it but rather open it. First and foremost, a wine’s destination is not to be smelled, it’s to be enjoyed. There needs to be a specific structure on the palate, a salinity, and you want to salivate when you drink these wines – you want to feel a certain length. At the core, you want to understand the culture of the wine alongside the beautiful aromatics, which for anyone, is truly the cherry on top of the cake!
Phantom Creek uses casks or ‘foudres’ from the famous Stockinger family to gently age their white wines. If the ultimate goal is to produce a wine that has the right characteristics, taste and all the personality of the vineyard, it requires the perfect container to do so. The cask allows the wine to take the energy from the Earth and the environment. The wine, yeast and the bacterias within it need that influence inevitably providing structure and quality that is very important for white wine.
What’s truly important when you taste wines from the tasting room at Phantom Creek Winery is to focus on the wine. How do you feel about it? Which wines do you remember the most, and why? Even if just one wine resonates and sticks with an individual, it likely hit them where it should, and they’ll remember that wine for a long time. Wine tasting is like listening to great music. It requires training the taste buds and brain to remember what you taste. Enjoy the ride!
Sip and savour at Phantom Creek Estates!
Chapter 5: Focus
