Canada’s Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys (5) Quails’ Gate
Website: https://www.quailsgate.com/
Quails’ gate are one of the most important wineries in the Okanagan, making top quality wines at a reasonable scale. They are farming 435 acres (176 hectares) now.
The land has been in the hands of the Stewart family for a long time. They came to the Okanagan in 1908 from Ireland, and started Steward Brothers Nurseries. In 1950 they moved to South Kelowna, and established the farm in 1958, converting it to vineyards in the 1960s.
In 2015 they started planting on the other side of the Lake, looking to make traditional method sparkling. They got the first grapes from here in 2020.
In Spring 2025 they had to replant 84 acres because of the 2024 cold spell, and in Spring 2024 they also had to replant 48 acres because of the 2023 cold spell. They have lost some of the other varieties and doubled down on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the two grapes they specialise in.
As a climate mitigation experiment, they have planted a test block with alternative varieties and disease-resistant crosses. They have L’Acadie Blanc, Blaufränkisch, Grüner Veltliner, Frontenac Blanc, Petit Milo and Petit Perle, as well as two Blattner varieties.
They are also trialling geotextiles on one acre, and are trialling frolight (infrared cables).
Like many Okanagan wineries they had a land-based licence, which after the frost they switched to a commercial license in July 2024. This has allowed them to make wines from imported grapes. So they bought grapes from Oregon, Washington and California, and these form the label Field and Flight by Quails’ Gate. And they are also using a label called Plume for grapes from Sonoma, Alexander Valley and Napa. They had already used this brand for a Similkameen Cabernet Sauvignon in 2022.
They were down 20% in tonnage in 2023 after the December 2022 cold spell, and then in 2024 harvested just 60 tonnes of the usual 1200.
We had a look round the vineyard and tasted with Rowan Stewart, son of the owner Keith Stewart. Farming isn’t organic, but it is thoughtful. The standard approach is one glyphosate spray early in the season and then they move to mechanical weed control.
They don’t use the Okanagan sub-AVAs, so everything is labelled Okanagan Valley. Of recent vintages, 2022 was the best vintage in the last five, says Rowan. Then there was a small bit of winter damage in winter 2022, and then there were bush fires in 2023. The whites were mostly unaffected, and the Pinots aren’t showing too much smoke yet.
Chardonnay is one of their specialities. ‘We love Chardonnay and I think we do this amazingly here,’ says Rowan. ‘Estate Chardonnay is being pushed on quality and quantity. We’d love to do 25% barrels for this, but we’ve been pushed. We are looking at battonage tanks. These have a giant blade in the bottom and when it spins, it vortexes up. You can lees stir without oxygen.’
UK agent is Berkmann
Qualis’ Gate Chenin Blanc Clone 220 2023 Okanagan Valley, Canada
This is raised in concrete egg and neutral oak. Supple and bright with nice citrus drive and good acidity. There are some really nice textural qualities here. Supple and fresh with a slight chalky texture on the mid-palate, and slight salinity on the finish. 93/100
Qualis’ Gate Estate Chardonnay 2023 Okanagan Valley, Canada
This is textural and fine with sweet pear and peach fruit, with a hint of honey. Nicely textured with good acidity but also some depth and richness of fruit. Stylish with a nice dynamic range and a sense of depth and richness. 92/100 ($28)
Qualis’ Gate Estate Chardonnay 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
This has brightness and depth, with some pear, a touch of citrus and some fine peachy notes. There’s some pastry, a touch of honey, and fine spicy detail, with good acidity. Nice breadth to this wine, but also some focus. Just a bit of oak here, with the emphasis on the ripe fruit. 93/100 ($27)
Qualis’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
This wine has been made since 1994, and is the most iconic wine of the estate. 100 NTU target, inoculated, but wild malolactic fermentation. This is bold and focused with crystalline citrus fruit and some pear and white peach. Nice concentration here with some spicy wood notes (around 45% new oak) weaving in nicely with the concentrated fruit. Has some savoury notes here, a touch of butterscotch, as well as focused citrus fruit. Long spicy finish. 94/100 ($49)
Qualis’ Gate Dijon Clone Chardonnay 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
The vineyard that made this went down in the freeze. 96, 95, 78 and 548 clones. This used to be a nursery site, and the YANs are very low. It’s basically a sandpit. A touch of nice reduction on the nose. Taut, nutty, slightly spicy and very refined with subtle oaky hints and some spicy detail. Really expressive. 94/100
Qualis’ Gate Rosemary’s Block Chardonnay 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
Mostly 95 clone, with some 548 (Musque clone), plus some 76 and 96. All barrel fermented. This is fresh and linear, but has a bit of grapey depth, and lovely crystalline citrus with some fine spicy detail. This has richness as well as restraint, with some finesse. Nicely textured. There’s some oak influence, but it enhances rather than distracts. 95/100 ($70)
All the Pinot Noirs are destemmed, with the exception of the reserve wines where they use 5-10% whole cluster, after lots of trials. They are moving from punch downs to pump overs because the tannins can end up being a wall if you aren’t careful.
Qualis’ Gate Estate Pinot Noir 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
Around 13 clones in this (they now have 16). In the past they have balanced the over-ripe fruit with some grower fruit from lighter sites where they were cropping a bit heavy. Now they tend to lease rather than buy from growers, as it is hard to get good Pinot from growers. Sweet cherry and plum fruit with some nice acidity. This has a nice juiciness with ripe fruit, and a hint of sour cherry and damson, finishing fresh and expressive. Nice bite on the finish. Tannins are present, and firm, but integrate well with the sweet fruit. This is really expressive with some elegance. 93/100
Qualis’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
When this was first made in 1994 it was made in a rich style, almost heavy, because they wanted to prove you could make great red wine in the Okanagan, which was something of a debate at the time. This is dense with nice concentration of fruit, showing cherry and plum fruit with a touch of sour cherry. There’s some spicy structure here and well integrated oak, with a lovely density to the wine. Big, bold and beautiful, without being clunky. There’s a lot of wine here. 94/100
Quails’ Gate Dijon Clone Pinot Noir 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
Mostly 828, with some 777 and 115. Supple, juicy and quite fine with open cherry and plum fruit. Elegant and refined with good structure, but the structure isn’t intensive. Real finesse, with a lovely flow across the palate, showing purity. Good acidity and nice brightness, finishing with a bit of grip. Taut and compact. This is lovely, and has masses of potential. 95/100
Quails’ Gate Richard’s Block Pinot Noir 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
This is the top Pinot. 777 and 115 clones, from two parts of the same vineyard. Wild ferment, with very fine grain barrels. Textured and refined with lovely red cherry and plum fruit, showing real purity. There’s some depth, but also texture and elegance, with some silkiness to the red cherry and plum fruit. Grainy finish. This is lovely, and it’s approachable now. 95/100
Quails’ Gate Ailm Reserve Brut 2020 Okanagan Valley, Canada
82% Pinot Noir, 18% Chardonnay. 40 months on lees. Compact and focused on the nose with sweet citrus fruit and a touch of pear. There’s a hint of mandarin here. Nice focus and energy, with lovely fruit but also a bit of toasty complexity. There’s an ease to this, but also a touch of complexity. A really good starting point. 92/100 ($85)
Quails’ Gate Ailm Blanc de Blanc 2021 Okanagan Valley, Canada
24 months on lees. This is tight and focused with some lovely citrus fruit as well as a bit of white peach. This has lovely crystalline detail with nice concentration of fruit, and a tapering finish. Very stylish. 92/100 ($65)
