Our Ancient Waters series is a reflection of the glaciers, rivers, and bygone lakes that shaped our beautiful province. These waters helped to create the distinctive geology and terrior that influence the character of these wines. All of our Ancient Waters wines are intended to be true representations of the places they were farmed and pay tribute to a land that exists nowhere else on earth.
In short, the Ancient Waters wines are inspired by a sense of place.
The Impact Of Water
Largely, historic geological events have had a large influence on the soils we grow in today. Whether it was the glaciers, rivers, or lakes, water and ice have shaped the hills we see from the winery and the valleys in which our vineyards reside. The ancient waters left behind the broad spectrum of soils that create diverse characters in our fruit. Whether it’s glaciolacustrine silt, loamy sand, alluvial stone, or others, they each contribute their unique dimension to what we drink today.
Prized Soils
Our topsoil has a neutral pH and is made up of clay, silt, and fine sand with very few stones which means it drains well but still holds some moisture. The vines love this soil composition and can grow their roots deep into the soil. Our soil is also rich in base elements essential for plant growth: calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
When analyzing glaciolacustrine soils, it is common to have more calcite (a calcium-based carbonate mineral) than dolomite (magnesium based). Interestingly, in the soil at our Lions Head vineyard, dolomite was more prevalent. The abundance of dolomite means that our vines have access to plenty of magnesium, which is a good thing. Among other processes, magnesium is the central atom in a chlorophyll molecule (the chemical that gives plants their green colour), so if vines are deficient, their leaves turn yellow between the veins.
So how does all that translate into our wines? Having mineral-rich, healthy soil is an important starting point for growing any plant. With the information that we learned from a soil report done with Scott Smith, M.Sc, P. Ag, it has been confirmed that our soils are well-suited for growing grape vines. If our vines are healthy, we get high-quality fruit. And high-quality fruit means we can make beautiful wines.
Award-Winning
As mentioned, these events formed the land and prized soils. Our Ancient Waters series has already received significant praise such as 90 Points 2022 WineAlign Awards, for our 2020 Ancient Waters Chardonnay. Other wines in this series are Riesling, Rosé, and Pinot Noir.