This one has long been on my winery bucket list. I have been wanting to visit Martin’s Lane ever since I first tried their wine at a pop up event. I was enthralled by the stories tied to their unique magnum bottles, each with a coloured 4D sculpted ear on it. And after hearing that their property is just as much of an art piece, I immediately wanted to go.
And during this trip to Kelowna I would get to. There are no walk-ins, you have to book a tour and tasting and it will cost you ~$200. It is by appointment request only, and guests are encouraged to contact the winery directly for availability. It doesn’t include food and they don’t have any available on property, so take that into consideration when planning your own trip.
The wines, winery, and the ability to tour the property is all a love letter to BC’s wine region. This is a passion project for the owner, who is doing what he wants and how he wants and the enthusiasm shows. They are of a small production and small allocation. They don’t hold public events like a wedding, but only offer private tastings and access to members. We were even asked to limit our filming and photo taking, to keep that exclusivity in check.
The property is kept secured behind a gate and you need to be given a code in order to enter the property.
As per the press release, “Martin’s Lane is a remarkable, architecturally stunning six-level graavity fed winery dedicated to the creation of extremely limited quantities of Pinot Noir and Riesling. Designed in partnership with renowned architect Tom Kundig, Winemaker and General Manager Shane Munn harvests scarce quantities of grapes from four small estate vineyards in the Northern Okanagan Valley. Using gravity, he guides the fruit through only five precise movements without using a single pump to minimize movement throughout their journey. Martin’s Lane Pinot Noir and Riesling, always single vineyard, showcase the purest and most natural expression of vineyard varietal, and vintage.
In 2021, Martin’s Lane Winery was awarded the 2021 American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Architecture Honour Award, highlighting the best in contemporary architecture, showcasing the ways these places and spaces improve the lives of their users and communities.”
Our tour started right at the main entrance to appreciate the look at the building, as the only gravity fed winery in North America. “Gravity-fed” is a system or process that uses the natural force of gravity to move liquids, gases, or materials downward without the help of a mechanical pump or motor. Because of this they require the source material to be placed at a higher elevation than the destination so it looks like the winery is sitting on stilts. They do this to allow the grapes to stay natural, and to allow the terroir to speak for itself.
The first piece of art we paused at is a giant, boulder-sized bronze sculpture of Van Gogh’s head, resting heavily on its side (the one missing the ear), done by Canadian artist, Douglas Coupland.
This speaks to the connection between Pinot Noir grapes (which the winery specializes in) and red hair (which Van Gogh is remembered as having). Both being mutations, one in Burgundy’s vineyards and the as a rare genetic fluke in humans.
So as Van Gogh, being one of history’s more famous and serious redheads, he became the spokesperson of this thought concept. In order to create this piece Coupland launched a worldwide campaign to find a modern-day Van Gogh lookalike and to then use as a model for this construct. This was the result of that. Coupland would also design the winery’s wine labels as well.
Next to it a series of statues, each with its own unique bar cross its chest and over its heart. This is meant to represent the soul, and when the light hits each just right, they glow.
Entering the building there are less visual pieces, but everything is still intentional. From the spiralling staircase that pays homage to the Okanagan wild fires, meant to mimicking plumes of smoke. To the concrete walls stamped with wood planks, each one unique and only used once, meant to mimic ash.
Our first tasting glass was Martin’s Lane 2024 Riesling from their Erratic Oaks Vineyard, enjoyed in a private glass tasting room within the basement. The name comes from an oak tree that grows in the middle of the vines. However, the grapes in this was carefully sourced from vineyards in Oregon, due to the cold snap that affected most of the Okanagan in 2022. The result was the winemaker cherry picking his ideal grapes and who he wanted to work with. He even went and personally oversaw the harvest, transporting the grapes back himself. And after that it was production was like normal.
And we were now literally drinking the fruits of that labour. Sipping from delicate stemmed Gabriel glasses, hand blown for both red and white wines. The bowl supports the body of the red, and the lip of the glass for the fragrance of the white.
With glass in hand we continued on with our architectural tour. The doors of their chilly cellar, were also intentionally burnt to pay homage to the fires.
Through it were their aging barrels, where we got to smell them inside and out, removing the glass bung to do so. They use Austrian oak for their barrels due to its very fine grain. So fine that you can’t tell the joints of the wood.
The cosmetically done tiles of this room represent their Pinot and Riesling, red for the former, and gold for the latter. By colour alone you can tell they produce more Pinot Noir.
Their dining room with light fixtures representing Riesling grapes coming down from ceiling, has hosted the prime minister and other esteem guests.
We then travelled from basement to the main floor, noting that even the staircase’s hand rail had a part to play in storytelling. Made from leather they wanted a piece that would age, discolour, and change over time; to show traffic through wear. This was also the case for the table top where we then enjoyed our second reisling. They encouraged no coasters and wanted the edge of the bottle’s bottom to literally leave its mark. The table also serves to balance out the weight of the cantilever.
Martin’s Lane Hyland Vineyad 2024 Reisling with grapes sourced from the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Another necessity bottle from the Oregon Project. This wine features old growth where its natural rot is preserved and adds complexity to the wine, in the form of golden honey notes. This is a hand off production to showcase the vintage and terroir. There is less petrol notes, as they allow their reisling to sit in an oak barrel with stoot, to balance out the gasoline scent. The result is tart, sharp, and a wine high in acid.
Beyond the table is a listen lounge with room dividers on tracks that mimics the swirl of wine. These slats move to let in more or less light. The adjacent library doubles as wall of memories, including former menus of dinners past. Most notable was the one they did as a spoof of McDonalds with custom trays. I would have loved to have known about and be in attendance for that one.
Next on our tour was the production room with a look at operations. Where grapes go immediately into the press, the Pinot sees wild fermentation with whole clusters going into the wine, stems and skins included. And there concrete tanks are labelled by vineyard, showcasing the winemaker’s fantastic cursive writing skills.
I was most amazed by the dental inspired spittoons that they installed. This is where the winery team does their tasting, with the ability to spit and flush as a table of four.
Our tour ended at their first floor tasting room, overlooking vineyard with water, sun, and sprawling views. We took a seat around a table that changes as you walk around it, reflecting the water that is in the distance with bits of red.
Here, we sampled four of their Pinot Noirs, each from a different vinery. Two from 2024’s Oregon project and two from 2023. Each done with identical production to be able to taste the terroir.
Martins Lane Zena Crown Vineyard 2024 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon. It had bolder tannins, while being soft with a nice weight in the mouth. I got vegetal notes of swiss chard, the bitterness of greens and a slight woodsy-ness of pine.
Martins Lane Gregory Ranch 2024 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon. You could taste the coastal influence where the soils are fertile offering a lush, soft, and delicate texture. I got sandalwood and incense on the nose. Plenty of tannis in the mouth. I found this woodsy with savoury notes of sour plum.
The Martins Lane Naramata Ranch Vineyard 2023 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC VQA. This is one of their classic vineyards that gets 17 hours of direct sunlight. This warmth results in smaller, more concentrated grapes. A bold red with juicy and sharp edges. This was my favourite of our quartet.
Martins Lane Simes Vineyard 2023 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC VQA. This cool climate vineyard is located just down the road. It gets early morning sun and cool breezes from the lake. These grapes were also concentrated, but with higher volume clusters. It was the biggest of the four with floral notes on the nose and a tad bit of smoke on the tongue. I thought it would be best with food, it was a lot to take on, on its own.
In conclusion, I am so grateful to be given this experience. The property is as stunning as I imagined and the guided tour made it come to life. Shame, we were not able to stay for longer, to sit and sip their wine in our favourite room.
Martins Lane
5437 Lakeshore Rd, Kelowna, BC V1W 4S5
250-707-2263
martinslanewinery.com
