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CO VER S T OR Y TECHNICAL REVIEW Lean, Green Design British Columbia's Tantalus Winery leverages efficient design in preparation for growth By Peter Mitham NORTHWEST Kamloops BRITISH COLUMBIA Vancouver WA Seattle Spokane P Tantalus vineyards' winery overlooks young Riesling vines planted on a west-facing slope above the Okanagan Lake. Yakima erched on a gentle hillside above Kelowna, British Co- lumbia, in the city's historic Mission District, Tantalus Winery strives to honor its location while adopting wine- OR making practices that reflect long-standing commitments to environmental steward- ship as well as sound business practices. Its vineyards, planted near where Rev. Charles Pandosy cultivated the province's first winegrapes in 1859, trace their origins back to 1927 and the start of British Co- lumbia's commercial wine industry. But with aims to boost production from just 4,500 cases to more than 10,000 cases in the coming years, Tantalus— pronounced like "tantalize" but ending with "us"—has developed a new winery that will make it possible to work effi- ciently and effectively with grapes from its 58 acres of estate vineyards. Winemaking 26 Wines & Vines sePTeMBeR 201 1 in the new facility began with the 2009 harvest, and the premises opened to visi- tors in May 2010. The winery is awaiting certification under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) pro- gram administered by the Canada Green Building Council. Tantalus expects to be the province's first LEED-certified winery and one of just three in Canada (the other two are Stratus Winery and Southbrook Winery, both in Ontario.) The 13,000-square-foot winery overlooks a planting of young Riesling vines on a west-facing slope above Okanagan Lake. The soils are primarily fine silt deposited by retreating glaciers. Current owner Eric Savics bought the property in 2004 from Den Dulik, who had been growing on the site for close to 60 years and whose father Martin was one of the valley's first commercial winegrape growers. "When he bought the property there was the classic Okanagan fruit salad of grape varieties, and so we decided to pull out some vines that we felt didn't really work or make sense on the site," says current winemaker David Paterson, who joined the winery from New Zea- land in 2009. Savics removed Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Bacchus vines and replanted with Riesling, which now accounts for 70% of the winery's production. Pinot Noir accounts for most of the rest, though the winery also produces a few hundred cases of Chardonnay and some Pinot Meunier for rosé. The grapes are entirely estate-grown in 36 bearing acres spread across two parcels. While not certified organic, the grapes are grown with as few chemical inputs as possible with substanc- es approved for organic production used whenever possible. Many tasks such as Tantalus Vineyards Kelowna ID MT AB Vancouver Island