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Emandare Vineyard
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Mike Nierychlo
Mike Nierychlo tasting the wine at Emandare Vineyards.
In a quiet corner of the Cowichan Valley, Mike and Robin Nierychlo are making what is soon to be one of Vancouver Island’s worst kept secrets – a sauvignon blanc that has customers knocking down the door for more.
Mike and Robin Nierychlo
“Sauvignon blanc is our cult-followed wine,” says Mike. “I came to Vancouver Island to make pinot noir – this is the perfect climate to make pinot noir – but one of reasons we purchased this property is because it had sauvignon blanc on it. We have the oldest sauvignon blanc plantings on the island, they are 16 years old now.”
Mike and Robin bought the property in 2013, and started work to restore the 6.5-acre vineyard that was suffering from years of neglect. They named their vineyard Emandare, a phonetic combination of their initials ‘M’ and ‘R’ to symbolize their joint vision and commitment to their dream of growing and making wine with an Old World aesthetic.
“Our whole philosophy reflects the Old World, and doing things the old way,” Mike explains. “We farm completely organic, because back then that’s the only way you could farm. We dry farm, there’s no irrigation on the property. Our wine making is all done naturally as well – it’s all wild yeast fermentation, and there is very little commercial intervention in our product.”
For Mike, Emandare’s winemaker, the commitment to tradition and simplicity in growing and making the wines, allows the terroir to really shine through.
“Sauvignon blanc and pinot noir are both incredibly transparent varieties that reflect a sense of place,” he says. “Sauvignon blanc is a slow ripening variety, but still very well suited to a cool climate. It needs a long season like we have on Vancouver Island. We start in April and often harvest at the end of September, and then we have this heat in the summer.”
Mark has been advocating for other Island growers to plant sauvignon blanc, but to date there are only two other plantings he is aware of, including Roger Dosman at Alderlea Vineyard. With so many varietals competing for acreage, having something different puts Emandare in a good position with the local market.
“I think people are a little hesitant to pull something out to put sauvignon blanc in, but for us it was already here,” says Robin, who manages the vineyard. “We don’t have ortega or pinot gris, like many of the other wineries do. We want to offer something different so when people are wine touring they aren’t always tasting the same three varieties at every vineyard.”
The couple supplemented the original block of sauvignon blanc on the property with another 1.5 acres last spring. In keeping with “the old way,” they took cuttings from their original vines, and propagated them in pots, thinning out the weaker plants and planting the successfully rooted cuttings instead of using rootstock.
Sauvignon Blanc
It will be another five years before Emandare Vineyard will be able to increase their production, but in the meantime the following continues to grow. With a different flavour profile from sauvignon blanc grown in northern France or southern New Zealand, it holds promise as a uniquely Vancouver Island wine.
“It tastes completely different. You would assume it would have bright citrus notes because of our cold climate, but the best way I can describe it is fresh orchard fruit,” says Mike. “It has round melon flavours, round and soft, not tropical. It’s a really neat wine.”
“I wish I could take credit for being the pioneer who planted it, but I’m really glad that it’s here and we planted more of it.” he adds. ■