Quails Gate Winemaker Grant Stanley Brings His Wines to Sutton Place Hotel

by Tim Pawsey on February 16, 2011

in Belly's Best Bites, Hired Belly's Best Wines

Benchmark Okanagan Chardonnay at Quails Gate, Tim Pawsey photo

A reality of the explosion of Okanagan wineries (now 200 plus) is that more than a few rely on consulting winemakers, which means you likely won’t find them or their winemakers putting on dinners.

Not so in the case of Quails Gate, which was one of the first wineries in the valley to identify specific goals and varietal focus. The Westbank estate winery’s owners, Tony and Ben Stewart, recognised the potential early on for Burgundian varieties and charted course accordingly to become a dedicated producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

To establish Quails Gate as a serious cool climate candidate, the winery was also one of the first to go out of its way to hire winemakers from recognized regions elsewhere, who would bring much needed outside expertise to BC—the first being Australian Jeff Martin, who made the early top tier wines (and made Marechal Foch respectable), before moving on to establish La Frenz.

Winemaker Grant Stanley talks blending, Tim Pawsey photo

Although current Quails Gate winemaker Grant Stanley hails originally from the West Side of Vancouver, he gained his experience in New Zealand, with Montana, most notably working for Martinborough’s Ata Rangi and in Oregon’s Willamette Valley before joining Quails Gate in 2003.

Knowledgeable and highly engaging, Stanley visits Vancouver to host a March 1 winemaker’s dinner at the Sutton Place Hotel.

Last year, we had a chance to ‘power taste’ through most of the range with Grant, who’ is one of the most well informed, not to mention personable winemakers around. What we found was the best line-up of Quails Gate to date, underscoring, again, the winery’s reputation as one of the Okanagan’s most consistent producers. We’re looking forward to this year’s release with even more anticipation.

Not to be overlooked, Sutton Place Chef Michael Deutsch prepares five courses to go with the following wines:

• 2009 Chenin Blanc

• 2009 Dry Riesling

• 2008 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay

• 2009 Pinot Noir

• 2008 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir

• 2008 Late Harvest Optima

Chenin Blanc, Dry Riesling, Pinot Noir (now all estate grown) and Stewart Family Reserve were all top scorers, as was the SFR Chardonnay, though not tasted at this session.

We’d suggest it’s one winemakers dinner not to be missed.

Call 604-682-5511 to reserve.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

6:30PM Reception

7:00PM Dinner

Sutton Place Hotel, 845 Burrard Street, Vancouver

$120 Exclusive of taxes and gratuities