It was early 2010 when Iâd made the decision to take the big leap from working in the restaurant industry to becoming a self-employed wine consultant. As I was winding up the last few weeks of a three-year gig running a Vancouver wine bar, an unexpected phone call changed the course of what Iâd had planned for the next six months. A friend was running the food and beverage program at the Okanaganâs Naramata Heritage Inn, and had offered me the opportunity to spend the summer assisting him and grabbing the reins of the wine program. It was a rare chance when the stars were aligned just enough that spending a vintage âliving the dreamâ right in the heart of wine country seemed doable.
As I pulled up to his house on Naramataâs Old Main Road with luggage in hand mere weeks later, I was already charmed by the sun dappling on the lake, the quail scurrying around and the surrounding vines springing into action. As I was led to the houseâs guest bedroom, there was a knock at the door.
Stepping in with a grin was Jak Meyer, the proprietor of Okanagan Fallsâ Meyer Family Vineyards, who had just been visiting with Chris Carson, his winemaker, who lived in the next house down the road. Heâd heard I was making the big move, saw me towing my stuff inside, and thought to be neighbourly, stopping by to welcome me to my new home.
Over what turned out to be a rather cool vintage, I watched one of Meyerâs Chardonnay vineyards next door flourish and got to know Chris Carson fairly well. I learned that his keen and savvy propensity for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was a result of experience in New Zealandâs Central Otago and in Burgundy which, of course, is mecca for those varieties. The guy does things old-school with grace; weâre talking stomping the grapes with bare feet because itâs less harsh on the skins and everything.
Yup, it wasnât the hottest of summers, but those who were smart about handling their fruit on the vine ended up with stunning wines, lively with natural acidity and great concentration. I toiled away in the Innâs charming little cellar, got to know many of my neighbours, chatted at the pub with winemakers about how things were going and what their current week entailed, and enjoyed so many other aspects of being witness to the day-to-day life of a vintage.
Iâve long admired the wines of Meyer, and I love that every time I open a bottle of their Tribute Series Chardonnay, from the vineyard I lived mere steps away from, it takes me back to that time and place, the warm welcome, and those few months when I got the rare opportunity to âlive the dreamâ.
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