James Cluer at Jackson Triggs Winery, Okanagan, BC

James Cluer: Poplar Grove definitely in my top 10 wineries of the Okanagan Valley. It was founded by Ian Sutherland who is a self thought but very accomplished wine maker and then Tony Holler came in huge businessman who’d made a fortune in biotech in Vancouver. He brought them a majority share holding and now they’re off to the races building a spectacular new winery. This is, is very exciting stuff in the Okanangan. So the new site, the new winery that they’re building? Tony Holler: So going to go right here then Ian Sutherland: So the mountain that you see right there that is a municipal park called Manson mountain and so we’re tucked it right up into one corner of it James Cluer: An underground sellers of — Ian Sutherland: Underground sellers, it’s meters underground, six meters underground James Cluer: All those can be very nice and capacity of? Ian Sutherland: 30,000 cases. James Cluer: So if 30,000 cases then what happens when you hit 30,000 cases and the demand exceeds your supply? Ian Sutherland: We’re very happy, we’re very, very happy and — James Cluer: You don’t want to go, to go listen to go to a 100,00 cases? Ian Sutherland: No, no. James Cluer: How about some painted turtle for you. Tony Holler: But you know what I think what we also learned Ian, how many guys said to us, you got to decide what you’re going to be when you grow up, up front and then you got to stick to that plan. James Cluer: So when is all these going to be ready? Ian Sutherland: We hope to be in there for crush 2010. James Cluer: So next year basically. Ian Sutherland: Exactly. In fact this our — James Cluer: July might be better. James Cluer: The new winery is located at the gateway to the Naramata Bench and should be absolutely spectacular. Too bad about the view right? Ian Sutherland: You know it is unfortunate but you work with what you can. If we’re going to expand and we want to have the facility to be able to accommodate people and just to share the fun of this because when you’re sitting on that deck with a glass of good wine and this view you know that’s like the magic moment that people come for and it’s what I’m stay for. Female: We could be doing that right now. It sounds fantastic where’s the wine. James Cluer: Poplar Grove range of white wines includes a delicious Pinot Gris and a Chardonnay. The reds of focus on Sira and the benchmark label called legacy one of the top border star red wines in the Okanagan. James Cluer : What makes legacy so special? I mean what is it you’re doing that sets it apart? Ian Sutherland: We like to say it’s the spoiled child of the winery as the fruit comes in we are tasting it at every bin and we sort of know that “okay here comes fruit from James Cluer and that taste extra good. So we’re going to we know already that the add is going to be kept separate and will be in its own barrels and would probably get the biggest percentage of the new barrels. So we take the components, do our blending trials and then blend them and them and put them back in barrel as a blended wine. But that’s only for five months out of 22. So they’re kept separate all the away along, pretty much 18. 17. James Cluer: Better plan right at the end don’t you think? Ian Sutherland: Well in my estimation it is and that’s not the French model but it’s we like to say this is the— James Cluer: They’re not always right. Ian Sutherland: They blend early and we just think we’re going to keep the components separate and just marry it in barrel. I know. We’ve got another 18 months in bottle to develop. James Cluer: Right. It is a big thing right. You keep it in bottle for 18 months there’s a lot of people really— big wines, big flavor wines after just a few months in bottle. Tony Holler: The problem with that is that a lot of people are dissatisfied when they drink the wine the next day, and actually it’s a fantastic wine they’ve just bought but they need to put it down, it’s now ready and we notice a difference in that 18 months when we first taste it and then when released it, there’s a huge difference. James Cluer: Tony Holler has made a massive investment in the Okanagan he’s purchased over a 100 acres of premium vineyards so far. I all seem about the future and his dreams from popular growth. Tony Holler: We’ve started from a fantastic base as you know Ian has a great reputation you know I’m like the cheap guy right. I like the wine so much, I bought the company and add— We want Poplar Grove to produce world class wines where people drink it and they don’t say oh this comes from this or this, this or this they say wow this is like a fantastic wine. James Cluer: Poplar Grove is already one of the best wineries in the Okanogan with a new winery being built, and the combined passion and experience of Ian Sutherland and Tony Holler well this winery is surely poised to capture the spotlight for years to come.