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Ann Sperling
Ann Sperling of Sperling Vineyards.
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Compost Tea
Working with biodynamic preparations at Sperling Vineyard.
The launch of Sperling Vineyards in 2009 marks the return of East Kelowna native Ann Sperling to her home turf. One of Canada’s premier winemakers, Sperling’s winemaking career started at Andrés Wines in Port Moody in 1984, after graduating from UBC with a Food Sciences degree. Following a four year stint at Cedar Creek, she left for Niagara in 1995, becoming the initial winemaker at Malivoire, an innovative, eco-friendly winery. More recently, at Southbrook, she spearheaded the top Poetica wines. With winemaker/husband Peter Gamble, they have also purchased a vineyard in Argentina’s Mendoza region, making a wine called Versado from 120 year old Malbec vines.
Through her mother Velma, Ann traces her provenance to Giovanni Casorso, who arrived from Italy in 1883 and worked as an agricultural specialist at Father Pandosy’s Oblate Mission. In 1929, two of Giovanni’s sons, Napoleon Peter and Louis Casorso, planted the 45 acre Pioneer Ranch vineyard on Casorso Road with grapes and apples. At the time, Giovanni’s wife Rosa, Ann’s grandmother, was the single largest investor in the group that established Calona Vineyards in 1931.
When Pete retired in 1960, his son-in-law Bert Sperling, and wife Velma took over Pioneer Ranch, planting it entirely in grapes. Now known as Sperling Vineyards, the property contains old planting of Maréchal Foch, Riesling, Bacchus and Perle of Csaba, as well as newer blocks of Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. Velma, Ann’s mother, lives in the original family house and continues to operate Pioneer Country Market on Benvoulin Road.
For Sperling, an authority on organic and biodynamic winemaking, wines are made in the vineyard and living soil is the key to making the best possible wines. “As a youngster growing up at Pioneer Ranch, the soil was considerably more natural than in 2008 when I took over. But in the 1970s, they were nothing like natural soils here in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before the introduction of chemical fertilizers and synthetic fungicides,” Sperling says. Obtaining organic certification for the vineyard from Pro-Cert (the wines will follow in 2018) is a major step in returning the vineyard to its natural state. Sperling goes the extra mile, taking a holistic approach to biodiversity. That means using specific compost preparations and herbal teas for vineyard management, as well as following lunar cycles to create balanced root and leaf growth.
The presence of bacteria and glacial deposits are harbingers of deep roots and better quality wines in the meager, clay-mineral soils. Deep roots draw more nutrients from the soil and require less irrigation, an added bonus.
Up on slopes overlooking Kelowna and Lake Okanagan, there are insufficient heat units to ripen Merlot, according to Sperling. Knowing the effect of vine varieties grown on specific sites is vital,” she says. “Balanced vines require shoot and cluster thinning and some leaf plucking.” But leaves impart more verve and age-ability to the wine, important factors in Sperling’s estimation, as is lower PH soils, which produce wines with higher acidity and greater mineral character. “I am seeking wines with the emphasis on linear structure,” she says. “That means greater spine and depth rather than high alcoholic strength, tannin and sweetness. Breadth not just brix.”
Sperling Wines
SPERLING WINES
2012 Old Vines Riesling
2012 Old Vines Riesling is from a 1.7 acre, southwest-facing slope planted with 38 year-old, Weiss 21 Riesling clones. The soil under the Riesling vines boast the highest concentrations of calcium carbonate (limestone), on a par with fine Burgundy and Champagne crus. “Production is small (200 cases) and very consistent,” says Sperling. “All our wines are made using natural wild yeast spores, a less efficient form of fermentation than using prepared yeasts.” It has a slatey-mineral character with hints of petrol, honey, lemon-lime and green apple balanced by a slightly off-dry finish. Still young and a little tight, this wine will benefit from further aging along the lines of a fine Mosel.
(4+ /5 stars, $32 tax incl. at the winery.)
Sperling 2014 Pinot Noir
Sperling 2014 Pinot Noir is made from hand-sorted Dijon clones grown on slopes with varying exposures and in soils with a high limestone content. From grapes picked at a modest 22.5 brix, fermentation took place with a small quantity of stems and whole clusters to add structure and slightly herbal tannins. The wine was aged in large format, “very neutral” 500 litre barrels using only 10% new wood. Made in a delicate style, this wine expresses subtle cherry and pomegranate fruit and a mineral spine backed by light, fine tannins. It has plenty of structure for further aging.
(4+/5 stars, $26 tax incl, at the winery.)
Sperling 2015 Pinot Gris
For “orange wine” aficionados, Sperling’s 2015 Pinot Gris will not disappoint. “Nothing is added and nothing is removed,” she says. Natural amber in colour, it is dry and intensely fresh with richly-extracted fruit exhibiting notes of tangerine peel, jasmine and Earl Grey tea. Anything but a “drag”, it is a wine that “pops” - only for the adventurous. It should be decanted and serve chilled. It does a beautiful job cutting the fattiness of rich pork dishes.
(4½/5 stars, only available in Ontario and Quebec.) ■
Check the Sperling wine shop for availability and prices of these wines/vintages. Sperling has built a functional winery beside the vineyard, but the wine shop is located in the family’s Pioneer Country Market, just off Casorso Road, where people line up for the hearty soups, hand-made meat and fruit pies, glazed spudnuts and gourmet takeaway.
