Wine Culture Magazine
Wine Culture Magazine
The surprising Red Barn can be found amid the sun-soaked terroir of the Black Sage Bench. Photos courtesy of Red Barn Winery
Seeking an authentic wine experience in the South Okanagan, a curious oeno-tourist might just bypass the soaring sculptures and luxe premises of other wineries and follow a dusty back road along the Black Sage Bench to what appears to be a modest-looking barn.
This winery is plenty authentic—and anything but rustic. For one thing, it’s perched on some of the finest terroir in the Okanagan Valley. The namesake structure of Red Barn at Jagged Rock is, on closer inspection, a modern landmark by architect Tom Kundig. The red-metal-clad barn fronts a pergola-topped, Italian-inspired patio, where misting fans keep wine tasters comfortable as they take in eclectic wines along with rolling views of the Black Sage Bench.
On the inside, the winery floor is as spare as a gallery. It’s lined with winemaker toys that look like works of art, some of them behind glass. There are concrete fermentation eggs in hues from natural grey to crimson, and fermentation tanks in gleaming purple stainless steel. There’s a steel Egginox storage and fermentation tank that looks like, well, an egg; a concrete Dolia fermenter that resembles a tooth; and a small-batch glass Wineglobe from France that looks like a giant lab beaker. Each of them contributes to making low-intervention, organic wines that allow each grape variety to speak for itself.
What you won’t see is barrels. “This far south [in the Okanagan Valley], you expect big wines,” says guest experience manager and wine educator Valerio Mariani. Red Barn builds each of its food-friendly wines with “tension,” he says, bright acidity meeting fruit-forward flavours achieved with very little use of even neutral oak.
Winemaker Kaylee Barss creates vibrant organic wines in these concrete egg fermenters.
Fresh and Thoughtful
A sip of Red Barn’s Discordian White, a Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc blend (“Nobody else does that blend … so we do,” Mariani jokes) confirms that “no oak” is my wine love language. The wine gets its silky-round texture from patient lees-stirring. Like the Gamay-based Transfiction Rosé 2023 that has been a barnburner of a hit this summer, it bursts with the brightness of an Oliver summer day.
“Organic goes well with the style of winemaking we use here,” winemaker Kaylee Barss says. (Both vineyard and winery are certified organic.) B.C.-born Barss, who studied plant biology at Western University and winemaking at Brock University before returning home to B.C., says she learned to use modern tools to create innovative, organic wines from her mentor, Aussie winemaker Phil McGahan. Barss is now also assistant winemaker at CheckMate Artisanal Winery, the fellow Iconic Wines of British Columbia portfolio brand that McGahan originally put on the map by making exquisite, award-winning Chardonnay and Merlot wines.
Simple but striking design by architect Tom Kundig.
Barss explains that the different types of concrete vessels, in particular, promote “a little micro-oxygenation without the flavour of oak … for a little more freshness in the wines.” Low-intervention, additive-free winemaking is right in line with how people seem to be drinking today, she says: choosing better quality and more thoughtfully made wines, which are often lower in alcohol and offered by wineries that prioritize transparency around farming and winemaking practices.
Red Barn’s unusual vineyard is a patchwork of plantings: everything from a thriving wedge of Viognier vines to rows of Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Barbera and Lagrein. It’s a dream for a creative young winemaker ripe for experimentation. A recent trip to the Northern Italian region of Alto Aldige whetted Barss’s interest in expressive white blends with texture, sophistication and a light oak touch. “It’s interesting to think about the age-ability of white wines and how complex they can be.”
Red Barn’s vineyards find inspiration in Italy.
Italian Inspired
It’s no coincidence that the winery, with its selection of Italian-inspired wines, serves Italian-inspired street food eats (crafted by Liquidity chef Josh Mueller). Think: crispy squares of Roman-style pizza or succulent mortadella sandwiches. “It’s like a little Italian quarter on Jagged Rock, which I love,” says Barss.
More tried-and-true Okanagan favourite wines, like the berry-rich Cabernet Franc and round, citrusy Pinot Bianco, are also part of the Stand Apart series, available only to Wine League members. The wine club is a rapidly filling roster of in-the-know oenophiles craving a taste of grape varieties rarely grown in B.C., carefully made into unique vintages.
Other bottlings, like an annual artist-label series, also reflect the limited-edition, small-batch philosophy that makes each wine from Red Barn at Jagged Rock potentially collectable, covetable and cellar-worthy.
“You never know what’s going to hit when you make a brand-new [wine],” says Barss. “And we’re doing that all the time. Every year I’m experimenting with different fruit from different blocks.” Like the standout red barn that marks the winery’s spot, her philosophy is where innovation meets tradition, perhaps to share a toast and a snack: cin cin!
Charlene Rooke writes about and drinks wine in Vancouver while working toward WSET Level 3 certification. Her family has Okanagan roots as former Kelowna orchardists, and she loves dry, aromatic white wines.
Charlene Rooke writes about and drinks wine in Vancouver while working toward WSET Level 3 certification. Her family has Okanagan roots as former Kelowna orchardists, and she loves dry, aromatic white wines.
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