Results from the 2024 Nationals – Winery of the Year

SpearHead Winery

By veteran NWAC judge DJ Kearney

This boutique Kelowna estate achieved an unprecedented and astonishing triumph at the 2024 National Wine Awards of Canada, capturing both Best Performing Small Winery of the Year, and Winery of the Year trophies. Congratulations to the entire SpearHead Winery team for this truly excellent result.

To paraphrase Aristotle, excellence is never an accident but the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent execution, and wise choice, not chance. I am convinced Aristotle would have swooned, as we judges did, when blind-tasting the masterful wines of SpearHead Winery.

SpearHead started in 2008 on the benchlands of South East Kelowna when (locally born) Bill and Marina Knutson bought 20 acres of land on Spiers Road with two partners. Bill tapped Quails’ Gate’s Ben Stewart for advice on what to grow and engaged ex-CedarCreek winemaker Tom di Bello to consult before Bill Pierson was retained as SpierHead’s (as it was formerly known) first winemaker. A winery building was finished in 2010 and the tilt to pinot noir started soon after. In what was a dream start, the first wines immediately turned heads.

Success has been burgeoning for SpearHead year on year; they earned serious plaudits in previous awards (including 2022 Best Performing Small Winery of the Year) but shone brightest in 2024. In addition to the twin accolades this year they also notched unparalleled success in a single category (pinot noir) in the history of these awards – winning a total of seven medals for their pinots including three platinum, one gold, a trio of silvers and a bronze.

This accomplishment is no surprise to close observers who have witnessed the SpearHead team’s laser focus (especially on pinot), constant experimentation with clones and cuvées, acquisition of supreme fruit sources to augment estate vineyards, and securing the prodigious pinot chops of Grant Stanley, who joined the project in 2017 as GM and winemaker.

Stanley studied viticulture and vinification in Nelson, New Zealand, gained seminal winemaking experience in stages at Oregon’s Yamhill Cellars and Ken Wright before returning to New Zealand for a decade where he worked at Martinborough’s celebrated Ata Rangi. Lured back to BC in 2003 as winemaker at Quails’ Gate, Grant has since become one of our most knowledgeable pinot practitioners bringing intellectual rigour, vast experience and a superb pinot palate to the equation. His ground-breaking clonal trials at Quails’ Gate gave him an intimate understanding of soil and clone affinities, winemaking choices (he favours 20-25% stem inclusion and restrained oak treatment), and familiarity with nuance in regional expression. There is no question he pioneered BC’s path to pinot noir distinction.

Grant Stanley is quick to point out that at SpearHead it’s a group effort: “the detail and knowledge that comes from working together for seven years is the blueprint for quality,” as is his close working relationship with majority owners, Bill and Marina Knutson.

Surprised and elated with the 2024 results, Bill put it this way: “With this project we have been focussed on an ambition to create a winery that would become nationally recognized for its premium wine production, particularly pinot noir. We know that this pursuit is never-ending and there are always improvements to be made. Nonetheless, it is very gratifying to periodically feel we are moving in the right direction. Being named ‘Winery of the Year’ at the 2024 National Wine Awards of Canada is an achievement that is a great honour and one that allows us to feel we have had some success in the pursuit of our goal. We have watched the successes of wineries who have been recognized in the past by the National Wine Awards of Canada and we are very proud to be associated with that group. This achievement has made SpearHead Winery more determined than ever to play a role in securing for our industry a place on the world’s stage for Canadian premium wines.” Marina Knutson said it even more poignantly to Grant when she heard the news: “Thank you for making our dreams come true”.

Yes, SpearHead makes captivating wines from chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris and gamay, but their single-minded devotion to Burgundy’s noble grape and its ability to transmit and translate site is what consumes and excites them. A handful of single-vineyard pinot noirs anchor the program, two blends (Cuvée and Consensus) display the artistry of clonal, vineyard, and barrel fusion, and a new single Pommard clone (my particular favourite) signals the next exploration for SpearHead.

As a judge who’s been part of the WineAlign panel for over two decades, I can confirm two things: SpearHead wines reflect the people behind them who are generous of spirit and rich with experience, and that their success is no accident. Distinguished by purity, transparency, energy and authenticity, you can taste Aristotelian high intention, intelligent execution and the wise choices SpearHead’s gifted team make in the vineyard and winery.

The wine shop is open 11-5:30pm Sunday to Wednesday and 11-7pm Thursday to Saturday. Table-side tastings are by appointment only, the wine club is loyal and thriving, and there is an inviting calendar of summer events including Shakespeare at the Winery, Bocce Ball, Music Thursday’s and Wine Trivia nights. As they rehabilitate their winter damaged vineyards, look out for the wines Grant will make from purchased Oregon and Washington fruit.

Here are all the NWAC 2024 Spearhead medal winners: