Vino Borealis

Peter lives on a lake just north of Whitehorse, and says “I’m a ‘wine enthusiast’, not a ‘wine connoisseur’… I still have lots to learn!” In a past life, he was a wine merchant for the largest wine store in the U.S. Midwest, offering more than 4500 choices. He blames his life-long love of wines to growing up in Montreal with wine-loving parents, who let him start tasting at about age two.

TAKING (LAUGHING)STOCK OF THE BEST OF THE NARAMATA BENCH

PHOTOS: Peter Turner

Sipping some prize-winners

The Naramata Bench, a plateau above Okanagan Lake, northeast of Penticton, emerged as a fruit growing area around 1900. The scenic Naramata Road through the bench, between Penticton and the little town of Naramata, passed a selection of my favourite vineyards.

The Yukon Liquor Corp. (YLC) carries wines from a number of vineyards along ‘The Bench,’ including Red Rooster (Merlot $19.70), Joie Farm (Think Pink Rose, $25.45), and Poplar Grove (Pinot Gris VQA $22.45). All are good examples from the region, and I can recommend all three, but, as I like to try wines unavailable at home, our destination this day was Laughing Stock Vineyards.

Founded in 2003 by former stock brokers David and Cynthia Enns, their investment in a vineyard made them the “Laughing Stock” of their Bay and Wall Street colleagues, who thought their vineyard ‘fiscally foolish, and financially unwise.’ David took courses at the University of California, Davis (maybe the best wine university in the world) and apprenticed with wine-makers in the Okanagan. Cynthia used her MBA background to become the vineyard manager.

For 15 years, they developed an amazing and diverse ‘portfolio’ of wines, including memorable whites, outstanding Bordeauxstyle red blends, and a superb Syrah. The vineyard’s wines have twice been awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in B.C. Wine, the 2011 Syrah was named the Best Red Wine in Canada by Decanter World Wine Awards, and, in 2018, Laughing Stock Vineyards won the top trophy for Syrah in the Six Nation (Canada, US. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile) Wine Challenge.

We were led through an excellent tasting by a very knowledgeable wine guide, who had us sample the Pinot Gris and ‘Amphora’ whites, as well as the reds, including the Pinot Noir, Syrah and ‘Portfolio’ Bordeaux-style blend. All were outstanding. We brought home a half-case of all of the above, plus the ‘Blind Trust’ red, which is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grapes.

We recently celebrated a birthday by preparing cedar plank salmon on the grill, with a maple syrup, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and shallot marinade. We opened our bottle of ‘Amphora’ blend white, which is aged in 500-litre ceramic tanks (or amphora). This magical vintage, a blend of Roussanne and Viognier, is naturally fermented, with whole grapes left covered and untouched for 90 days, the natural yeast on the grape skins precipitating the fermentation process.

The result is a slightly cloudy, orange/golden-hued treat, with a bouquet of honey and pears, and a surprisingly dry taste of apricots or ripe peaches, as well as some mandarin and almond notes. The finish has a slight suggestion of caramel and sea-salt. What a surprising treat! Keep your eyes peeled for any of these wines if you are in B.C. I’m going back for more this fall!

Just a quick note that the B.C. wines in this article (except the Think Pink Rose) are VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance), a certification put in place in 1990 to identify high quality B.C. wines. To be a B.C. VQA, wines must have 100 per cent British Columbia grapes, come from one of nine geographical indications (regions), 95 per cent of grapes must come from specific region mentioned on the label, 85 per cent of grapes must come from the vintage on the label, and 85 per cent of grapes must be the stated varietal (type of grape, e.g., Merlot). So, while wines like Grey Monk or Mission Hill are VQA; non-VQA ‘B.C.’ wines like Copper Moon, while bottled in B.C., may have grapes from anywhere in the world, and may not meet the other, above criteria. Not judging, just sharing. n

Amica Marie Sturdy 1976-2021

The world lost a beautiful light on November 25, 2021.

Shine on, Amica… Thank you for enriching our lives. You will always be in our hearts.

Amica came into this world in Vancouver on October 6th, the daughter of Joan Sturdy and Robert Miller, granddaughter of Marie (Dixon) and John Sturdy, and Peggy (Wilkinson) and Sherman Miller. She spent her childhood up until graduation in Salmon Arm, where she welcomed her brother, Noah, into the family when she was 10 years old. She loved her Aunties Mary Ann (“Auntie Rob”) and Pat (A.P) and cousins very much and enjoyed a close relationship with her cousin and pod-mate Laura over the years. After graduating from Salmon Arm Senior Secondary in 1994, she moved to the lower mainland, where she studied Criminology and volunteered at the John Howard Society. It was during this time that she met her lifelong friends, Shelly and Natalie. She started her career with Home Hardware in Duncan on Vancouver Island. While there, she spent time with her father and grandparents, and established enduring friendships with Jackie and Jim, and Leanna. She quickly rose to the challenges and opportunities presented to her and was transferred to Whitehorse Home Building Centre in 2011. Her talents, skills, personality, and dedication took her to the position of operations manager for 6 Home Building Centres in Western Canada. She enjoyed a wonderful relationship with her employer, Patti, and would go to the wall for her employees to support them, teach them, and encourage them along their career paths. At first in Whitehorse, she lived with friend and mentor Gaye, from whom she learned shamanic drumming, and found great adventure and beauty in journeying with a drumming group. She was able to weave these, and other spiritual understandings she shared with her mom and friends, into the fabric of her life. Amica loved to have dinners, go on road-trips, attend concerts and special Yukon events. Her relationship with step-father Glen, and soul-sister Sarah were very meaningful to her. One of her greatest loves in life was her dog, Kodi. Amica’s life in the past 6 years has revolved around this wonderful dog. Together, they enjoyed fabulous hikes, lots of camping trips, major training lessons and great companionship. Her housemate Catheryne, and buddies Megan, Chrissy, Cathy, Tammy, Mark, Heather, Shelly, and Shawn also enjoyed many nights playing board games at home and out camping. She was a “force of nature”, as one friend put it. She was smart, kind, funny, insightful, courageous, generous, and a wonderful cook. Her pottery and crochet items are a testament to her creativity and skill. During her more recent years, she served on the Board of Special Olympics Yukon, where she enjoyed participating in many fundraising and special events. Something we will always remember about her was her down to earth straightshooting. Amica could pierce through to the essence of any given situation and call it like it was.

A celebration of her life will be held in Whitehorse, at a limited in-person event. Donations in her honour will be gratefully received by Hospice Yukon or Special Olympics Yukon. As her name suggests, she was a friend and mentor to many people who will miss her greatly.

Year 1 total: 116,644 oz

17 SEP 2019 NOV 2019 10,000 OZ 10,544 OZ Q1 / 2020 Q2 / 2020 28,352 oz Q3 / 2020 35,312 oz Q4 / 2020 42,436 oz Q1 / 2021 26,759 oz Q2 / 2021 32,140 oz NEW RECORD August: 20,744 oz

Q3 / 2021 55,827 oz Annual production is estimated to be 200,000/year

Anticipated 2.4 million oz over the life of the mine of 11 years

2030

First Gold Pour

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 YEAR 6 YEAR 7 YEAR 8 YEAR 9 YEAR 10 YEAR 11

 Gold production was 55,827 ounces; a 58 per cent increase from the same period of 2020.

 Ore tonnes mined was 49 per cent higher, waste tonnes mined was 13 per cent lower, while total tonnes stacked was 72 per cent higher in the third quarter of 2021 as compared to the third quarter of 2020.

Earlier this Fall, Victoria Gold was honoured by the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and ranked #13 in the 2021 TSX30 program; a fl agship initiative recognizing the top 30 performing TSX stocks over a three-year period.

MINE UPDATE

Third Quarter (Q3) Record Gold Production

The Victoria Gold team is pleased to have achieved a number of production records at the Eagle Gold Mine in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021 (July 1 to September 30).

“The Eagle Gold Mine achieved many production records in the third quarter of 2021 including ore mined, total material mined, ore stacked on the pad and gold produced,” says Victoria Gold President & CEO John McConnell. “We anticipate this gold production record will be short-lived as we expect production growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 and annual production growth into 2022 as well.”

It has been an eventful season at Victoria Gold, the Eagle Gold Mine and the company’s Dublin Gulch exploration camps, while the team continues to maintain strict enforcement of COVID-19 precautions.

“The health and safety of our workforce, contractors and community members remains at the forefront in all our operations,” continues McConnell. “I recognize that all the achievements realized at the Eagle Gold Mine have been made possible with the continued support and involvement of our employees, contractors, communities and business partners and I extend my sincere appreciation to each and everyone.”

VICTORIA GOLD is the owner and operator of the Eagle Gold Mine located northwest of the Village of Mayo, within the traditional territory of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun (FNNND). The company employs over 500 workers and contractors; half of which are Yukoners At Work and many are FNNND citizens.

If you are a Yukoner with mining experience, Victoria Gold encourages you to become a Yukoner At Work. Visit the “Work For Us” page at vgcx.com/contact/ work-for-us/ and send your resume to greatpeoplework@vgcx.com.