Behind-the-Vine Wine

Wanna know a wine secret? Some of the best Chardonnays and Merlots from Okanagan Valley are about to be showcased in a most unique way—and you’re invited!

Though Oliver, B.C.-based CheckMate Artisanal Winery’s doors are usually closed to the public, this Saturday, July 29, will see the opening of a “pop-up” tasting room designed by superstar Seattle architect Tom Kundig. Called “The Installation,” the pop-up will provide an opportunity for guests to taste CheckMate’s small-batch wines for the first time on site at the winery, within an innovative, contemporary designed facility (daily from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., no reservations required!). Four to six wines will be featured daily, with each tasting including a selection of CheckMate’s 2014 Chardonnays, the inaugural vintage of the 2013 Merlots and one library Chardonnay from the 2013 vintage. There will also be a cellar exclusive wine available for tasting and purchase: the 2016 Bear’s Move Chardonnay, naturally fermented in CheckMate’s Dekleva Vineyard in a ceramic vessel.

In anticipation of this extraordinary event, we quizzed CheckMate winemaker Phil McGahan on all things sippy. Cheers! —Noa Nichol

When, where and why was CheckMate Artisanal Winery established?

In 2013, CheckMate Artisanal Winery released the inaugural vintage of chardonnays. The winery is founded upon old vine plantings (40-plus years old) on the Golden Mile Bench, the only official sub-appellation of the Okanagan Valley. These vines and other Chardonnay vineyard plantings (all 20-plus years old) are used to create distinct single vineyard Chardonnays. The Chardonnay wines are supported by sub-regional merlot wines. CheckMate is a sub-regional winery with all vineyards located within 20 minutes of the winery. Merlot excels in the South Okanagan and was a logical pairing for our Chardonnays.

Is there any significance behind the name CheckMate, and what makes the winery "artisanal"?

Like a chess player, a winemaker has to think many moves ahead. Decisions are being made now, in the vineyard, that will impact the style of the wines many years down the road. Just as a chess players opening move will impact the course of their game against his or her opponent. The winery is described as “artisanal” because at CheckMate everything is tended to by hand: all the viticulture (canopy management, leaf-pulling and cluster-thinning) is done manually to ensure precision and old-fashioned, time-honoured techniques are utilized in the winery without recourse to fining or filtration.

What is your background as a winemaker?

I am an Australian-born lawyer-turned-winemaker. I began my winemaking career in the Hunter Valley in my native Australia in the early 2000s and completed my oenology degree at Charles Sturt University. In 2007 I relocated to the Russian River Valley in Sonoma to make wine for Williams Selyem before relocating to the Okanagan Valley in 2013 to join CheckMate.

What does CheckMate make, and who does it make it for?

At CheckMate we craft a collection of five remarkable Chardonnays and four distinct Merlots available in very small, extremely limited quantities. We let nature take its course, with no fining or filtration to allow the full potential of flavour expression in our wines. These wines are best suited for wine lovers who are interested to taste new-world wines with old-world styling and elegance.

Why offer this pop-up tasting room now?

Until now, these wines have been made available by allocation only through our website and in high-end restaurants. This summer, for a few months only, visitors will have a rare opportunity to taste these wines for the first time on site at the winery with the winery team. We wish to introduce the wines to members of the public in a unique architectural setting, crafted by Tom Kundig, who has designed landmark wineries in the Okanagan, like the iconic Mission Hill Family Estate, and has an innate ability to take advantage of the valley’s unique landscape. What better way to introduce our wines to a broader audience?!

What can visitors expect to experience at the pop-up and who should check it out?

The building itself is an intriguing art exhibit in its own right: a cool, innovative “pop-up” design. Our goal is to provide an intimate tasting room experience onsite at the winery for wine lovers who want to experience CheckMate wines for themselves onsite at the winery with our winery team. At the pop-up you will be able to enjoy our wines while being able to view all the vineyard sites from which the wines are made, in space designed to allow you to do just that.

What’s in your wineglass at the moment?

When I can, I use Gabriel Gold glasses, a lead-free crystal wine glass of unsurpassed quality. Elegantly shaped with a broader base at the bottom of the bowl of the glass, allowing for more surface-to-air contact, and with a conical shape at the top, which is intended to “drive” the bouquet of the wine in the glass—ideal for any style or color of wine. As for my wine of the moment: it is CheckMate Artisanal Winery 2014 Capture Chardonnay, 100 per cent natural fermentation from our Border Vista Vineyard on the Canadian-U.S. border. The nose opens with notes of graphite followed by apple blossom and a complex bouquet; on the palate a rich creamy entry gives way to apple and orange flavours, stone fruits, lively acidity and hints of minerality and salinity.

CheckMate Artisanal Winery, 4799 Wild Rose St., Oliver, B.C., checkmatewinery.com