The View Winery: Think pink (and green)
Jennifer Turton-Molgat at The View Winery and Wards Cidery has always been an innovator. Always a step ahead of the trends in the industry, Jennifer and her team were pioneers in canning wines and were also large contributors to the early craft cider movement in the Pacific Northwest. They were one of the original producers of Pinotage in B.C. and were the first in North America to produce a Pinotage rosé.
Now they are spearheading another movement by bottling their rosé in green glass to preserve the wine’s integrity and prevent damage from the effects of lightstrike.
“Lightstrike occurs when a wine is exposed to blue and ultraviolet light, resulting in the transformation of amino acids into particularly stinky compounds such as dimethyl disulphide (DMDS for short)," World wine authority Jancis Robinson explains. "Fruit flavours become first tainted, then completely occluded by characters of overcooked cabbage, damp cardboard, and sewage. The idea that light can damage wine is not new, informing as it does the standard advice that cellars should be kept dark….”
Going green now has a whole new meaning in the wine industry.
“After becoming educated on the negative effects that UV and blue light can have on rosé wines, we decided to bottle ours in protective green glass,” Jennifer explains. “After all, the 'pretty in pink' aspect of a rosé is all the more enchanting if accompanied by fresh, delicate fruit notes, free from the off-flavours caused by light strike.”
The practice of bottling in clear glass is related to the marketing of rosé wines based on their range of beautiful colours. But The View stands by their decision.
“Everyone loves the look of a rosé bottled in clear glass,” says Turton-Molgat. “But our commitment to quality outweighs marketing pressures.”
Her hope is that other B.C. wineries will follow their lead.
The View Winery is located in Southeast Kelowna and is open daily for Covid-safe wine tastings. They also offer visitors the opportunity to stroll through their fifth generation, family-owned orchard and vineyard and to enjoy a picnic in the shade of their old growth apple trees. Reservations are recommended.
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