the
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KELOWNA’S Geoff White is the new head coach of the Kelowna Falcons of the West Coast Baseball League for the coming season.
MAXINE DEHART unveils a new bakery outlet for Tasty Treasures that has set up shop in the food court of Orchard Park Shopping Centre.
SATURDAY, DEC. 15
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THURSDAY DECEMBER 13, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ WESTBANK FIRST NATION
▼ SPIERHEAD
Chief Louie New winery wins top pinot noir award wants another term as chief If you had asked him two years ago, Chief Robert Louie would’ve told you the 2010 Westbank First Nation election would be his last. But Louie, who was first elected chief of WFN in 1986, isn’t ready to step out of office just yet. He confirmed this week of his decision to run in next August’s election. “I am definitely going to run for one more term,” said Louie. “There are just a few things that have to be worked on and I feel compelled that I’ve got to see them through.” The WFN chief said future phases of Okanagan Lake Shopping Centre (see story on B9), reserve expansion near Okanagan Lake and land Robert Louie additions from the Westside Road Interchange Project are some of the areas he hopes to focus on in the coming years. Another major project for Louie is Lake Okanagan Wellness Clinic, the private hospital proposal he announced last April. If all goes according to plan, construction on that facility could take place as early as next year. “We definitely are getting ready for that construction,” Louie said. “There’s a lot to this, many millions of dollars involved with this one. It’s just taking its time going through the normal process of proper design, construction and all the elements.” Louie said he made his decision to seek re-election after being asked by several members. But he’s not focusing on the 2013 election just yet. “I’m not campaigning or anything like that. I suppose as we get closer to the election, we’ll re-assess. Every political candidate has to reassess from time to time—I’m no exception. Right now, I certainly feel I’ve got the energy to proceed and want to proceed on some of these projects.” wpaterson@kelownacapnews.com
JUDIE STEEVES/CAPITAL NEWS
SPIERHEAD WINERY co-owner Brian Sprout tests a barrel sample of this year’s pinot noir after the 2010 vintage was judged the best of 94 in Canada, putting East Kelowna on the national wine map. wine shops: www.spierheadwinery.com. On the other hand, he figures if every adult in Kelowna tried a local wine over Christmas,
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what a difference that would make in the local economy and to local grape growers and winemakers. The picturesque, hill-
IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY SINCE 1977
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top winery plans to reopen for the season at Easter with a special event. jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com
N 7N
STAFF REPORTER
McCurdy Rd.
Y9
Wade Paterson
Although it’s known as the heartbreak grape, the pinot noir has turned out to be a thrilling addition to the portfolio of a new little East Kelowna winery. SpierHead Winery has only been open two years and this is the first pinot noir produced from grapes grown on the former Turton family property on Spiers Road, yet it has just been judged the best pinot noir in Canada in the Wine Access magazine annual awards. Of 94 pinot noirs entered in the competition, only four received gold medals, with the 2010 SpierHead Pinot Noir on the top of the heap. “I’m just thrilled,” commented one of the three owners, Brian Sprout, who said he thinks the second vintage is even better than this one. A Kelowna Secondary school buddy, Bill Knutson, and Bruce Hirtle are the other two owners. The grapes were only planted on this site in 2008 and 2010 was the first harvest, so to win such a prestigious honour with it was quite a surprise, he admits. Each cluster of the grapes was hand-sorted on the crush deck, and that’s the sort of individual attention the fruit receives, because of the winery’s small size. That may be a particular advantage in growing the pinot noir, which has a thin skin and can be espe-
cially finicky, Sprout concedes. “It’s like making a salad with flabby old lettuce. You have to have top ingredients to produce good wines,” Sprout said. “The grapes need to be at the peak of the varietal. Because we’re small, we have the luxury of being able to pick them when they’re at their peak.” This pinot noir was also judged to be the seventh best in a list of 25 of B.C.’s best wines in the Wine Access awards. The only other local wines to place were the Quails’ Gate 2010 Chardonnay, which was 4th and the Quails’ Gate 2010 Totally Botritis-Affected Optima which was 5th. In the sparkling wine category, Summerhill Pyramid Winery’s 1998 Cipes Ariel came 4th. For SpierHead, this is the 15th award since the winery opened, including this fall’s receipt of the Best New Winery award from the B.C. Wine Awards. As well, there was a silver medal for the pinot noir, and bronze medals for its 2010 Pursuit and 2010 Chardonnay. Sprout said he’s surprised how few local residents visit wineries, observing almost all his visitors are from out of town. SpierHead is closed for the winter, but the wines are available through the website (he says he’ll even deliver locally) and at local VQA stores and private
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Judie Steeves
STAFF REPORTER
★ Leathead Rd. Hwy 33w