LaStella’s Tuscan Tweak in the South Okanagan
By David Lawrason
This feature was commissioned by LaStella Winery.
In the past two decades the proliferation of wineries in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley has been nothing short of shocking. The number of wineries has tripled to 335 since 2004 (according to 2022 statistics). Most have sought distinction through branding and marketing. After all, how different can one be in one small region?
LaStella gambled a step further with a vision to emulate the styles of Tuscany by planting the Italian sangiovese grape amid the well-established Bordeaux grapes of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. (Tuscany is most historically famous for Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino, but super-Tuscans based on Bordeaux varieties are now also important). Very occasionally LaStella makes a small amount of 100 percent sangiovese called Arioso, and in the Classico d’Osoyoos 50% of the wine is a blend of merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. In most of the other reds it is blended in smaller proportions to provide lift and elegance and naturally lower alcohol levels.
The People, Place and Vineyards
We return to the sangiovese concept after introducing the people behind LaStella. It is a property owned by Enotecca Winery and Resorts, a Vancouver-based company led by entrepreneurs Sean and Saeedeh Salem. As they launched LaStella on the shores of Lake Osoyoos in 2006, they also established a sister property called Le Vieux Pin, a few kilometres away on the Black Sage Bench. The motif for LVP was to specialize in syrah and other southern Rhone varieties, another important point of differentiation.
Both concepts were bold at the time, but in my mind the master stroke for their current success was hiring French-born and -trained Severine Pinte in 2010. Her story is worthy of a whole other article but she has become one of the most accomplished, respected and involved winemakers in Canada, receiving awards both from her adoptive Canadian industry and from the French government (for her work in Canada). She started out as winemaker at Le Vieux Pin but added winemaking duties at LaStella in 2012, becoming executive winemaker, viticulturalist and a managing partner for both properties.
Dave Marchand, who now oversees the red wines at LaStella — the lion’s share of the production – joined Enotecca in 2015 after working as a sommelier and wine director in Vancouver restaurants, then made a right turn into winemaking with pinot noir in Oregon’s Willamette Valley before joining Enotecca at Le Vieux Pin. He is a highly prized member of the team.
Other accomplished individuals play significant roles, including viticulturalist and managing partner Jody Subotin. Okanagan raised and trained, he worked for several years at very nearby Osoyoos-Larose, originally a ground-breaking joint venture with Bordeaux partners. His experience has been crucial in the expansion of LaStella’s vineyard holdings in the south Okanagan, which is key to the label’s growth and quality.
LaStella now draws fruit from seven sites — five of them estate owned, totaling 30 acres — and two long-term contracted sites. The original two sites are at the winery on the shores of Lake Osoyoos: the eight-acre Selona Vineyard, planted mostly to Bordeaux varieties and some Sangiovese, and the six-acre Lumeno Vineyard, dominated by merlot, again with sangiovese. The other sites in the Golden Mile appellation, south of Osoyoos and Oliver, yield a mix of grapes including syrah, cabernet sauvignon, pinot gris and chardonnay.
Before we get to the wines, another note that LaStella and Le Vieux Pin, from the outset, have been environmentally engaged — they are now accredited by Sustainable Winegrowing British Columbia (SWBC). They employ organic viticulture practices (no synthetic applications) but are not “certified organic” due to the geographic, non-contiguous spread of their seven sites. They are also, as we speak, in transition to lighter-weight glass bottles.
The Wines & Winemaking
And now to the wines, five of which WineAlign Exchange members will have the opportunity to purchase in a 6-pack to enjoy over the next weeks, and possibly years. As Dave Marchand explains: “We try to achieve a balance between approachability in youth and age worthy qualities in all our blends and single varietal reds.”
LaStella is built on “big reds,” befitting this hot, dry little corner of Canada. “Osoyoos is an arid biotic zone and has Canada’s lowest annual precipitation, warmest annual temperature and the warmest fresh water lake making it very unique,” Marchand explains.
Merlot is the cornerstone, as it is elsewhere in the Okanagan, with the two lakeside sites delivering the highest quality fruit from the oldest vines. But all the wines will contain portions of other varieties, including sangiovese, which is really the essence of the place and the wines.
As Dave Marchand explains: “Varieties from different vineyards are vinified separately to maintain their characteristics and blends are decided on a barrel-to-barrel basis each year by a small team. The goal is not to over extract, paying close attention to the fine details daily and choosing pump-over and punch-down cycles based on taste and texture along with the brix and temperatures and only soaking the cap near the end when we have reached that point of tannins and extraction that we like.”
That gets a bit technical, but it creates what he calls “modern wines with that rustic edge.” And I very much agree with this description of the LaStella style.
And now back to the sangiovese component. “I believe sangiovese is what makes our red blends unique. It does well here in Osoyoos with a hotter, drier, longer growing season bringing out the Tuscan flavours and textures we are looking to add to our blends.”
With the focus so far clearly on the reds, I must mention a pretty, spry yet serious pinot gris-based white called Vivace that crosses into Italian pinot grigio styling. To me it captures pure B.C. pinot gris essence in a very lively style. And it is notable that they are looking to another Italian white grape called vermentino for future consideration.
But the future in the Okanagan is now clouded by recent climatic events. Most people think of wildfires, but it has actually been polar vortex winter freezes that have been most catastrophic. The last freeze in January 2024 nudged –30°C in some places and has essentially wiped out the 2024 vintage (and some tender fruits as well) and will have longer term implications where vines have been killed outright and replanting is required.
Severine Pinte explains: “The extent of the winter damage in the vineyards depends on location, micro climate, varietal and landscaping around the vineyards. Some vineyards faired very well, some will be retrained from suckers growing on the trunk, and only a few [of our] acres will be removed. We are actively studying where to replant and what to replant, exploring winter protection systems. Out of the damage and the sadness, we rise and focus on the opportunity these challenges are offering us.”
This entire operation has been built on this kind of optimism, energy and inquiry from the beginning. I hope our members who purchase the specially curated LaStella case will toast to this as they enjoy the wines. Click on the links for the full reviews of the WineAlign Crü.
Wines in the case (Price is $350 including shipping):
LaStella Vivace Pinot Grigio 2023
LaStella Lastellina Rosato 2023
LaStella Fortissimo 2022 (2 bottles)
LaStella Allegretto Merlot 2020
LaStella La Sophia Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
The price for the curated case of 6 wines is $350 which includes shipping.
Cheers
David
This feature was commissioned by LaStella Winery. As a regular feature, WineAlign tastes wines submitted by a single winery, agent or region. Our writers independently, as always, taste, review and rate the wines — good, bad and indifferent, and those reviews are posted on WineAlign. We then independently recommend wines to appear in the article. Wineries, wine agents, or regions pay for this service. Ads for some wines may appear at the same time, but the decision on which wines to put forward in our report, and its content, is entirely up to WineAlign.