Jean-Luc Parrhesia
Stoneboat
Lanny Martiniuk of Stoneboat Vineyards and MP Dan Albas.
Through the Agricultural Innovation Program the federal government is putting $125,000 into Stoneboat Vineyards to assist with buying equipment for making a new kind of sparkling wine.
The new sparkling wine will be made using the ‘Charmat’ method, which involves a second fermentation providing carbonation of smaller, longer-lasting bubbles. The money will be invested in the stainless steel autoclaves, which are like large pressure cookers.
Lanny Martiniuk, proprietor of Stoneboat Vineyards in Oliver, says, “The technical aspects of production are intensive, and the capital required is very significant for a winery of our size.”
He adds, “We wanted to create a fresh, approachable, fruit-forward sparkling wine, similar to Italian Proseccos. The style is a perfect match for the grapes we grow in the Okanagan.”
Stoneboat hopes the new wine will help it into a domestic market currently dominated by imported wines. Says Martiniuk, “We believe that we can create a product that is every bit as delicious as import wines made with the same technology.”
