Burrowing Owl Estate Explained

Winery Name:Burrowing Owl Estate
Location City:Oliver, British Columbia
Location Country:Canada
Appellation:Okanagan Valley
Year Founded:1993
First Vintage:1997
Key People:Jim Wyse (founder), Chris Wyse (president)
Cases Per Year:28,000 to 30,000
Varietal1:Cabernet Franc
Varietal2:Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal3:Chardonnay
Varietal4:Merlot
Varietal5:Pinot gris
Varietal6:Pinot noir
Varietal7:Syrah
Homepage:http://www.bovwine.ca/

Burrowing Owl Estate is a Canadian wine grower and producer. The estate is based fifteen kilometres south of Oliver, British Columbia, in the Okanagan Valley wine region.[1] [2]

History

The estate was started in 1993 when Jim Wyse, a developer from Vancouver, was looking for new business ideas and purchased a neglected vineyard south of Oliver.[3] Initial plantings consisted of Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.[4]

The estate is named after the endangered burrowing owl (A. c. hypugaea or northern burrowing owl) which resides in the area. Tasting fees from the cellar door are donated to a local conservation society.[5]

The first vintage of grapes was processed at another winery facility in 1997, prior to the completion of the on-site winery in 1998 which has been used for subsequent vintages.[6] The winery was set up to use a gravity flow processing system.[7] The original winemaker was Bill Dyer from California,[8] who continued in this role until 2005 when Stephen Wyse, Jim Wyse's son, took over the job.[9] Bertus Albertyn, a South African, took over the senior wine making position in 2010.[10]

Jim Wyse's son Chris Wyse is the current company president.[11]

Burrowing Owl Estate has been described by James Cluer, a Canadian Master of Wine, as a pioneer of the area and one of the iconic wineries of British Columbia.[12]

Wines

Burrowing Owl owns 140 acres of vineyards and produces between 28,000 and 30,000 cases of wine each vintage.[13] [14] Organic viticulture techniques are used by the winery as part of the environmental policy.[15]

The estate produces nine wines, entirely from grapes harvested from their own vineyard holdings.

Red wines produced are made from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir, Syrah, a Meritage blend and a new wine released in 2010, the Athene, a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.[16]

White wines are made from Chardonnay and Pinot gris.

Other

Burrowing Owl Estate has a restaurant and accommodation at the winery. The restaurant Sonora Room was opened in 2003 and ten guestrooms were completed in 2006.[17] [18]

The cellar door, restaurant, swimming pool and accommodation are powered and temperature controlled by a hybrid Solar energy and Geothermal electricity heating and cooling system that also provides heated water for winery use.[19] [20]

Quails' Gate Winery and Burrowing Owl formed a partnership called Appellation Wine Marketing Ltd in 2009 to sell and promote a portfolio of local and international wines in British Columbia and Alberta.[21] [22]

External links

49.1013°N -119.5335°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: First time to the Okanagan Wine Festival . Pique Newsmagazine . 2011-01-07.
  2. News: Canada . A Canadian cab that's definitely worth hailing . The Globe and Mail . 2009-05-23. 2011-01-07 . Toronto.
  3. Book: Danehower, Cole . Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest: A Guide to the Wine Countries of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Idaho . Timber Press . 2010 . 246–247 . 978-0-88192-966-9.
  4. Book: Melander, Christina . Pacific Northwest: The Ultimate Winery Guide: Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia . Chronicle Books . 2007 . 98–99 . 978-0-8118-5529-7.
  5. Web site: Burrowing Owl Estate - Environment . Bovwine.ca . 2011-01-07 . 2011-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706170054/http://www.bovwine.ca/environment.html . dead .
  6. Web site: Burrowing Owl Estate - The Winery . Bovwine.ca . 2011-01-07 . 2011-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706170221/http://www.bovwine.ca/thewinery.html . dead .
  7. Book: Johnson, Hugh. Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion . Mitchell Beazley . 2003 . 475 . 1-84000-704-4.
  8. Book: Aspler, Tony . Vintage Canada: The complete reference to Canadian wines . McGraw-Hill Ryerson . 1999 . 214–215 . 978-0-07-086043-8 . registration .
  9. Web site: John Schreiner . Burrowing Owl Winery Is Flying On Its Own . Gismondi on Wine . 2011-01-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711095450/http://www.gismondionwine.com/article.php?key=591 . 2011-07-11 .
  10. Fresh Starts . Remy Scalza . Prosper Media Group . Savour . 28 . Fall 2010 .
  11. Web site: Burrowing Owl Estate Winery . WineAccess.ca . 2011-01-07 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928032601/http://www.wineaccess.ca/wine-annuals/item/burrowing-owl-estate-winery-2 . 2011-09-28 .
  12. James Cluer . 2009-11-12 . James Cluer at Burrowing Owl Winery, Okanagan BC . swf . Television production . James Cluer's Wine Route . 2011-01-07 . 2011-07-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711003136/http://www.finevintageltd.com/JC-Wine-Route/?CategoryID=1&VideoID=11 . dead .
  13. Web site: Burrowing owl's Wines take flight . Winetrails.ca . 2011-01-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110423193933/http://www.winetrails.ca/okanagan/burrowing-owls-wines-take-flight/1791836 . 2011-04-23 .
  14. Web site: Wine & Vines - Sleeping in the Vineyards . Winesandvines.com . 2011-01-07.
  15. Web site: Canada Office of Energy Efficiency - CIPEC Newsletter . Oee.nrcan.gc.ca . 2009-04-15 . 2011-01-07 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928115730/http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/industrial/technical-info/library/newsletter/archives-2008/Vol-XII-no-14-sept15.cfm?attr=80 . 2011-09-28 .
  16. Web site: John Schreiner on wine - Burrowing Owl reds sometimes pack 12-cylinder torque . Johnschreiner.blogspot.com . 2010-12-11 . 2011-01-07.
  17. News: Canada . Jim Wyse . The Globe and Mail . 2010-10-20 . 2011-01-07 . Toronto.
  18. Web site: Vancouver . The . Vancouver Sun - Guesthouses sprout at Okanagan vineyards . Canada.com . 2008-07-02 . 2011-01-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101224151251/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=4b6e4b0f-fb63-4de9-a5cb-af0b74b0d9e3 . 2010-12-24 . dead .
  19. Web site: Ground Source Heat Pump Systems Case Studies . Canadian Consulting Engineer . 2009-01-05 . 2011-01-07 .
  20. Web site: Pro Eco Energy recent projects:Burrowing Owl Winery . Proecoenergy.ca . 2011-01-07 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706193836/http://www.proecoenergy.ca/projects/owlwinery.html . 2011-07-06 .
  21. Web site: Eat Magazine - Quails' Gate Winery & Burrowing Owl Team up to start New Wine Agency . Eatmagazine.ca . 2009-07-23 . 2011-01-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150609031802/http://eatmagazine.ca/news/2009-07-23/QuailsGate . June 9, 2015 .
  22. Web site: John Schreiner on wine - Burrowing Owl, Quails' Gate launch a wine agency of their own . Johnschreiner.blogspot.com . 2009-07-24 . 2011-01-07.

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