Brent Rowland is the winemaker at Averill Creek Vineyard in Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, BC. In his twenties, Brent travelled extensively, surfing during the day and running wine programs as a Sommelier at night. After 10 years, he decided to move into the production side of the industry.
Brent graduated with distinction from the University of Adelaide’s Oenology & Viticulture program and has worked in renowned wineries such as Alpha Box & Dice and By Farr in Australia, Calera in California, and Escarpment in New Zealand. He was Winemaker at Niagara’s Pearl Morissette for four years before joining the Averill Creek team in 2018.
His approach to his career was premeditated, with a focus on Pinot Noir production. He selected estates that he felt were most successful in taking the Burgundian philosophy and adapting it to their specific region. He takes the same approach here: “I feel that Averill Creek has all the components required to make quality, focused wines with complexity, amazing perfume, poise and restraint.”
Media Inquiries: brent@averillcreek.ca | https://www.averillcreek.ca/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
Vancouver Island really is on the edge of where you can grow wine. There is a big difference between cool climate latitude and cool climate altitude. We are most definitely cool climate latitude. The shoulders really define our vintages. This makes it very challenging but also very rewarding at the same time. You definitely can’t just copy and paste what has been done in other regions. I really have to listen to what the grapes are trying to say and allow them to express themselves. But in doing so we are creating unique wines full of poise, precision, nuance and restraint. While at the same time being fresh, vibrant and expressive. It truly is the wild west out here and the future is very exciting.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
I have a feeling that my response is not the first in this series. The dream of most winemakers I know would be 10 acres of only a few varieties, in my case Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, That you can have complete autonomy and control of every aspect of the process from growing to bottle. Go ultra premium for 80% of the portfolio then play around and experiment with the other 20% to make sure I can satiate all my creative anxiety.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
The 2022 Somenos Pinot Noir is definitely Vancouver Island and Averill Creek in a glass. Our goal is to have the wine be the clearest segue from the vineyard to the bottle. Ideas are conceived in the vineyard, captured in the cellar and hopefully speak loudly in the glass. Vancouver Island wines are all about power, precision, perfume and freshness. 2022 was just a classic growing season that we were able to achieve full phenolic ripeness and fruit development, while maintaining freshness, power and perfume. Read the Somenos Pinot Noir review here.
Bonus Question: What are your wholehearted convictions related to the wine business?
I consider myself quite open and malleable in the cellar. But one conviction I would have would be to not have any convictions. Be pragmatic not dogmatic.
There is a lot of emulation in the wine world. We tend to look to other regions, especially the old world, and just do what they do because it works for them. My first “liquid mentor” told me to never follow the status quo but rather make intelligent responses to the environment you are in. That resonates with every decision I make and is super important here on Vancouver Island. We are an infant in the global context of wine, there is no cluster of data points from a history of wine production in the region to inform our decisions. It forces us to be able to pivot and dance with mother nature and make unique expressive wines that speak of the Island.