Roger joined the BC wine industry in 1995 after many years experimenting with wine techniques. Tinhorn Creek provided a training ground for starting a winery from the ground up. Pinot Reach and Gray Monk helped solidify Roger’s winemaking techniques and vineyard management skills. Invaluable experience from the vineyard to the glass has helped Roger craft our award-winning wines. Media Inquiries: rogrer@intriguewines.com | https://www.intriguewines.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
We started the winery as an opportunity to express our passion for wine. Each of the four partners has a different angle on what they find interesting about wine and the wine business. From vineyards and winemaking techniques to food pairings and the actual business of wine. We all have our interests. From that, we realized that we were all ‘intrigued’ about wine and that’s how we found our name. As the winery grew, we found that many former colleagues wanted to join us somewhere in the operation. To this day we still have many of these people working with us in a very familial atmosphere. This environment has allowed us to maintain a strong presence in the community and has allowed us to keep our wine tasting room open year-round.
The Okanagan Valley has very seasonal tourist traffic so to remain open during the winter the local customers are essential. We are serious about removing some of the stigmas around wine that make customers feel intimidated. Our Social lineup of wines includes fun word clouds on the bottles to make people feel comfortable. We have another wine called “I DO”. This is a sparkling rosé wine that is fun for weddings and engagements but also an easy sipper to share. The wine that resonates with the family atmosphere of Intrigue the most is called Damitz Good. A good friend named Rob Damitz worked with two of the partners way back to 2005. Sadly we lost him to Lymphoma in 2011. We wanted to find a way to keep his memories and legacy going so we purchased some Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery we had worked at and blended it with some of our own Merlot. We bottled half of the batch and put the rest into barrels. We have continued to do that over the years. While it’s more of a symbolic thing, in every bottle of Damitz Good there is a little bit of wine that Rob had worked on.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
In 2002 I started a brand called Focus Wines. The idea was to ‘focus’ on the best grape varietal for the region. For the Okanagan Valley I feel that is Riesling. So, I made a Focus Riesling in 2002. It was the first wine to receive the VQA designation with an alternative closure. I chose to use a sparkling wine bottle with a crown cap. The wine was very well received but in 2003 we had a devastating wildfire near Kelowna BC which caused significant smoke taint damage to the whole vintage. Pondering how to move forward I had 2003 Focus Riesling labels made up with 0ml, 0% alcohol and sent out 500 empty bottles with the back label telling the story of why I wouldn’t/couldn’t produce a wine that vintage. Fast forward to 2008 when we started Intrigue and since that time we have been able to product a Focus Riesling most years. The big dream would be to have Focus Okanagan producing Riesling only. Focus Marlborough producing only Sauvignon Blanc. Focus Willamette producing Pinot Noir. Overall, 7 or 8 Focus properties around the world producing the best varietal for each region but sold under the same banner.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
I feel that our Social White blend reflects the style and values of Intrigue. As a blend of (generally) Riesling, Gewurztraminer and some other aromatic grapes (Muscat, Ehrenfelser, Kerner) it has the backbone to hold up to many meals but is fine as a sipper as well. We strive to take much of the pretentiousness out of the wine business. It’s a strange industry that creates an atmosphere where customers are intimidated by the knowledge required to understand the product. It’s just a beverage.
As a part of that our Social line of wines is pallet and wallet-friendly. The bottles are wrapped in ‘social’ words such as Wedding, BBQ, beach. The idea is that these are wines for everyone to enjoy, not analyze. Check out the “Social” White review, and why Roger chose this wine.
What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
While my surname is Wong, most people wouldn’t expect me to be of Chinese heritage when they see me. My Grandfather was born in China and moved to Canada at a very young age. He eventually became known as the ‘Mayor of Chinatown’ in Vancouver BC. Both he and my father married women of English descent, but the surname carries on.