CheckMate Artisanal Winery

CheckMate Artisanal Winery

【Thinking several moves ahead — Chardonnay of distinction from tiny parcels】

CheckMate Artisanal Winery is based in Oliver, in the south of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Named for the chess strategy of thinking several moves ahead, it pours its attention into every variety, clone, rootstock and site, and focuses on small volumes of Chardonnay and Bordeaux-style reds.

No vineyard is farmed uniformly. Through years of research and trials, each site has been mapped as a mosaic of micro-blocks — some as small as eleven rows — with farming adjusted block by block. From the home vineyard, Dekleva-Combret on the Golden Mile Bench, planted in 1975, to Jagged Rock and Sunset on the Black Sage Bench and Border Vista, just 10 m from the US border, the team reads the character of each single vineyard. At Jagged Rock, Dijon clone 76 is paired with the estate's heritage Dekleva clone, bringing together freshness and tension with aromatics and rich texture.

Canopy management, leaf removal and cluster thinning are all done by hand. The Chardonnay is hand-sorted, whole-cluster pressed, fermented with both wild and cultured yeasts, put through malolactic fermentation in barrel with bâtonnage, and aged in French oak and concrete eggs. Old-World technique meets New-World innovation, and the team is willing to depart from industry norms.

Little Pawn Chardonnay 2015 was reported as the first Canadian table wine to receive 100 points from critic John Schreiner, and the cuvée went on to earn 100 points from him for four consecutive vintages, 2018–2021. The winery occupies the renovated former Domaine Combret facility, redesigned by architect Tom Kundig in black and white. Every wine is named after a chess move.