Clos de soleil
Clos du Soleil is thrilled to reveal that their recently purchased Whispered Secret Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley, BC, has been granted organic certification.
When Clos du Soleil added Whispered Secret to their already stellar lineup of vineyards in 2020, they continued to convert the vineyard to fully organic status, with this certification being the culmination of a three-year transition process. As Winemaker and Manager Director Michael Clark explains, “Organic certification is really central to our whole approach at Clos du Soleil. We put a great deal of effort into producing wines of place, wines that speak of the land on which they were grown. Organic practices are a crucial part of that process by encouraging healthy soils, and healthy vines, which make for more expressive wines. I’m so pleased that Whispered Secret Vineyard has achieved full certification now, as it is a very special property to us, and this certification recognizes the efforts we make to showcase this terroir.”
Special how? “Before being presented with the opportunity to purchase this secret gem, we had already been working with grapes grown here since 2014,” says Clark. Initially buying just the Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the original owners, and eventually leasing the vineyard, Clark and his winemaking team became more and more enamoured with this secret pocket of land. Converting to fully organic status was a no-brainer when the chance arose.
“We believe that organic farming is a moral obligation when one becomes a steward of land," said Vineyard and Operations Manager Steve Roche. "It’s endeavouring to leave the soil as a living entity, a microcosm displaying the results of years of hard work, soils that are alive with micro fauna and flora, soils that give rise to wines that show where they come from as opposed to what they come from.”