One Winemaker, Three Cellars: Le Vieux Pin, LaStella & Artakama
Some of the most quietly serious wine in British Columbia comes from three labels that share a single winemaker, a single philosophy, and a stretch of the South Okanagan that bakes like few places in Canada. Le Vieux Pin, LaStella and Artakama are sister projects under the same ownership, and all three run through the hands of one person: Séverine Pinte. We have carried all three labels since the wineries first opened, and tasted our way through the range in the years since, so what follows comes from the shelf and the glass rather than a spec sheet. It is some of the wine we are proudest to pour.
The winemaker: Séverine Pinte
Séverine grew up in Lille, in the north of France, and trained at Montpellier, an agronomy degree followed by a master's in viticulture and oenology. Before the Okanagan she spent nine years as head winemaker in the Languedoc, with earlier stops as far afield as Western Australia and, fittingly, a season in British Columbia back in 1999. She landed at Le Vieux Pin in 2010 and never left, taking on both the winemaking and the vineyards themselves.
Her approach is vineyard-first: the wine is made in the rows, not manufactured in the cellar. It is an approach France itself has recognized. In 2023 she was named to the Ordre du Mérite Agricole, a 140-year-old honour. Three labels, three very different styles, all carrying her signature of restraint and precision.
Le Vieux Pin: the Rhône in the Okanagan
Le Vieux Pin sits on the Black Sage Bench near Oliver and looks to the Rhône for inspiration: elegant, perfumed, savoury wines built around Syrah. These are not big, jammy New World reds. They are aromatic and restrained, wines that show what the South Okanagan can do when someone holds back. What we are pouring now:
Le Vieux Pin Syrah "Cuvée Violette" 2012
Black Sage Bench, Okanagan · 750ml · $46.11
The pretty, perfumed side of Le Vieux Pin's Syrah. Floral and aromatic rather than big and jammy, with the savoury restraint that defines the house. The 2012 has had years to settle, and it wants something substantial across the table.
Braised lamb shoulder, short ribs, anything where fat and char can meet the wine's grip.
+ Cart
Le Vieux Pin "Petit Rouge" 2024
Okanagan · 750ml · $32.79
The everyday red in the range, and a genuinely joyful one. A fresh, aromatic Rhône-style red built for a weeknight rather than a cellar. The easiest way into the Le Vieux Pin style without spending big.
Roast chicken, a charcuterie board, or a Tuesday-night burger.
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Le Vieux Pin "Petit Blanc"
Okanagan · 750ml · $30.74
The white in the range: crisp, aromatic and made for the patio and lighter plates. The same restraint as the reds, poured cold. Only a couple of bottles left on the shelf as of writing, so do not sit on it.
Grilled fish, fresh cheeses, a warm afternoon on the deck.
+ CartLaStella: a Canadian Super Tuscan
Down on the east bench of Osoyoos Lake, in a building that looks like it was airlifted from Tuscany, LaStella makes the Italian counterpoint: richer, rounder, Merlot- and Sangiovese-leaning wines with real depth. If Le Vieux Pin whispers, LaStella sings. On the shelf now:
LaStella "Fortissimo" 2012
Osoyoos, Okanagan · 750ml · $38.94
LaStella's Super-Tuscan blend in a well-aged 750ml. Richer and rounder than the Le Vieux Pin reds, Merlot and Sangiovese leaning, with genuine depth and a decade of bottle age already behind it. (We also have the current Fortissimo in a 1.5L magnum, listed below.)
A ragù, a hard Italian cheese, or a rib-eye off the grill.
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LaStella "Lastellina" Rosato
Osoyoos, Okanagan · 750ml · $30.74
A dry, sparkling rosato and the patio bottle of the whole family. Savoury and structured rather than sweet, with a fine bead. The one to have cold in the fridge when people drop by.
A spread of antipasti, or anything coming off a wood-fired grill.
+ CartArtakama: nothing added, nothing taken away
Artakama is the natural-wine project: native-yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, sulphur only at bottling if at all. It is the loosest, most expressive corner of the portfolio, wine of time and place, as they put it.
Artakama Syrah (1.5L magnum)
Okanagan · 1.5L magnum · $81.99
The natural-wine Syrah, in a magnum. Native-yeast fermentation and a hands-off cellar give it the most expressive, unwound character in the range. The 1.5L format is the reason it sits above the 750ml bottles on price, and it is the one to open when there is a table to share it with.
Something off the grill, and give it plenty of air first.
+ CartAlso on the shelf
Four more from the family are in stock right now. We do not have studio photos of these yet, but they are here and ready to pour:
- Le Vieux Pin "Cuvée Sereine" 2024 · 750ml · $38.94 + Cart
The step up from Petit Rouge: a more serious Rhône-style red, still in the house's restrained register. - LaStella "Fortissimo" (1.5L magnum) · 1.5L · $102.49 + Cart
The flagship Super-Tuscan blend in a magnum, a proper centrepiece bottle for a big table. - LaStella "Expressivo" · 750ml · $61.49 + Cart
Merlot-led and plush, the rounder, more Italian side of the LaStella house. - Artakama Cabernet Franc · 750ml · $40.99 + Cart
Natural-wine Cab Franc: bright, firm and fine-tannined, made for lamb chops or anything off the grill.
Where to start
New to the family? The Lastellina Rosato or the Petit Rouge are the easy, joyful way in. Ready to see what the fuss is about? Open the Fortissimo or the Artakama Syrah with something off the grill and give it some air. Either way, we have the whole range on the shelf at 2752 West Broadway. Shop it online here at our shelf prices, or come in and we will walk you through it. If you want more BC in your glass, our BC Wine Month piece is a good next stop.
