Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris & Marechal Foch, Vancouver Island, British Columbia 

An aromatic and gorgeously glou-glou red-white blend from Vancouver Island! Founded in 2001, Averill Creek produces low-intervention wines guided by organic and biodynamic principles, and regenerative farming across their 30 acres of vines on Mount Prevost, in the Cowichan Valley. Known as "The Warm Land" from the Coast Salish word Quw’utsun, the Cowichan Valley is located in the sunny south of Vancouver Island and spans from coast to coast across it’s width. FUN FACT! Vancouver Island has Canada’s mildest climate, and Canada's only maritime Mediterranean climatic zone. It is also home to towering ancient rainforests, AND is actually Canada's second most populated island after Quebec's Island of Montreal! Joue means ‘play’, and that is exactly what they do with this lineup, experiment to produce unique, frolicking and vintage-reflecting wines that inspire delight. From the estate’s glacial stone and gravelly soils, the ‘Joue Red’ is a blend of bright, structured pinot noir, rich, spiced pinot gris and concentrated, dark, and berried hybrid, marechal foch. The marechal foch was kept whole-bunch and 30L of actively fermenting pinot gris juice was added to kickstart fermentation, before being left for two weeks to pull juicy nuance. The wine was then pressed and underwent the ‘ripasso' method, where the wine was added to pressed pinot noir skins (marc) from their top cuvée (Somenos), for three days to add structure and aromatics before being aged in stainless steal. FUN HYBRID FACT! The dominant grape in this blend is marechal foch, a hybrid that they intentionally grow in higher humidity, more sheltered and more shaded areas of their land, as hybrids are more disease resistant and, in foch’s case, early-ripening, which means that cooler conditions will still allow for ripening in this region! Kiwi skin, thimbleberries, stuck in some thorns, blackberry mash, red peppercorns, a stiff breeze & a rocky minerality and texture. Pour alongside reading Bee Time by Mark L Winston.