Photo courtesy of Foxtrot Vineyards.

Here at Vitis we’re not sure what’s more exciting, that Foxtrot Vineyards will finally have a tasting room, or that its new owners include the Burgundy expert who helped unmask the notorious wine counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan.

Since 2002, Foxtrot founders Torsten and Kicki Allander have been producing some of B.C.’s most elegant, cult-worship-worthy Pinot Noirs on their Naramata Bench property. Last summer, they decided it was time to retire and sold the winery to Douglas Barzelay and Nathan Todd. Todd is a former Calgarian with roots in the Okanagan Valley; Barzelay is a New York lawyer who is also one of the world’s foremost experts on the wines of Burgundy. He even wrote a book—no, make that the book—about them, a hefty tome called Burgundy Vintages: A History from 1845, created in partnership with Allen Meadows of Burghound (US $79.99 at burghound.com).

The Allanders’ son Gustav is staying on as winemaker, and Barzelay has said he has no plans to change “the formula that has brought Foxtrot such success.” One thing the new owners are changing, though, is adding a tasting room, open by appointment only, likely early this summer. We can hardly wait. 

Vitis Magazine

Vitis is is an indispensable seasonal guide for vintners, sommeliers and weekend imbibers alike that is dedicated to British Columbia’s rapidly evolving wine culture.