2012 ‘Ava’
After three atypical vintages in a row, 2012 is a return to a more typical growing season in the South Okanagan Valley. After an initial scare of unusually high record rainfall in late spring the remainder of the growing season was an absolute dream come true. Mid July till late fall gave us very hot days combined with typical cold desert nights. Growing degree days for the South Okanagan were above average and certainly much higher than 2010 and 2011. One of the hallmarks of this vintage was the extremely uniformly ripe and clean grapes with minimal need for sorting (quite the opposite of 2008 and 2010 and what we are seeing in 2013 as I type these words). The resulting wines are more fruit forward with round structure thanks to plenty of sunshine and heat units; the cool nights resulted in excellent, piercing aromatics and bright acidity in the wine.
2012 Ava is composed of 61% Viognier, 21% Roussanne and 18% Marsanne. The keys to growing these late ripening varieties successfully are to keep yields very low and to manage the canopy carefully to expose the bunches to the sun and promote air circulation.When mastered, the telltale dried apricot and floral aromas step forward firmly with that hard to miss oily and viscous qualities these grape varieties are admired for.
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Meat-Based
Herb-crusted quail or chicken with corn breadsStuffing served with apricot jus or a side dish of roasted potatoes in herbes de Provence would go perfectly with this wine.Plant-Based
A mild spicy noodle dish like pad thai or a mixed vegetable stir fry would pair marvellously. -
2012 ‘Ava’ Spec Sheet (PDF)
Spec sheets for other vintages