New kid on the Meyer Winery’s block: All you need to know about Mayhem Winery and their wines

The curios case of Mayhem Wines creation

It’s not every day you hear a story of siblings who not only get along exceptionally well but decide to take their bond to the next level by venturing into business together.

Meyer Family Vineyards has been a known name on the Okanagan wine scene for a while now. JAK Meyer relied on his sister Terry Meyer and her partner Andrew Stone for the vineyard management and grapes supply for quite some time. Eventually, JAK convinced the couple to join him in creating a new wine label that would complement, rather than compete with, the Meyer brand. This master plan formed the foundation of the marketing strategy behind Mayhem Winery.

When we spoke with Andrew Stone, he described the vision for the new label as a budget winery designed for Millennials. Given the demographics of British Columbia and Mayhem’s unique circumstances that prevent them from claiming an estate-driven status, it all falls perfectly into place and explains the styling of their tasting room and the wine lineup choices they made.

The two wineries do not share the same winemaker. Mayhem Winery has its own dedicated winemaker, Ajay, who was raised and trained in New Zealand. Ajay’s passion lies in crafting aromatic white wines. However, he deliberately excluded Sauvignon Blanc from his repertoire for a few years. Why, you might wonder? He didn’t want to be “another guy from New Zealand making Sauvignon Blanc.”

How we chose Mayhem Winery

Located on the same parcel of land as the Meyer’s inconspicuously looking wine tasting room, Mayhem’s wine tasting facility is hard to miss, especially as it looks much more inviting if you drive close enough to see inside.

After learning that the wines in cans were their most impressive differentiating wine offerings, we did not expect much but were curious enough that we decided to visit them.

What to expect if you are planning a visit to Mayhem Winery

When we visited Mayhem’s wine tasting room, it was tended by the owner Andrew Stone. He was friendly and not shy to discuss subjects that very few wineries open up about, like the hard work of caring for the vineyards, Mayhem’s differentiation strategy and marketing focus. Frankly, the abundance of inflated pink flamingos and the prominently displayed aluminum cans of their wines told us that much.

They designed a wine tasting room at Mayhem in such a way that their patrons can enjoy their wine tasting experience while being nearly exposed to the elements. A flat fee of $10 covers the wine tasting. This fee is non-refundable even with a purchase of their wines.

Mayhem wines line up: the oddities, the rarities and the aromatic Whites

Before we discovered Mayhem Winery, we had heard about their wines.

A young guide in one of the tasting rooms that we visited on our recent Okanagan trip told us about a new winery located where Meyer Winery is, offering wine in a 12-ounce aluminum can. She raved about it, saying:

To be fair, who can deny the appeal of popping open a can of sparkling rosé? Mayhem takes it a step further with their sparkling white and rosé wines sold in 12-packs for $88.32.

Forget about the customary boxed or bagged wine, which often signifies subpar quality. As our young guide at that other winery passionately proclaimed, wine in aluminum can transforms the taste when it’s chilled and infused with carbon dioxide. In our books, it’s a game-changer. Sipping carbonated wine from a can shifts the focus from evaluating the wine to marveling at the genius behind the marketing.

Another wine oddity that you can sample only at Mayhem is fortified Gewürztraminer. This wine, like an unwanted child, was a happenstance. Unlike the unwanted child, this fortified Gewürztraminer is very much liked and has a group of dedicated fans.

That’s where the oddities and rarities stop.

Given Mayhem’s focus on aromatic white wines, it’s no surprise that their lineup consists mainly of light to medium-bodied whites like their Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. Their red wine offerings are limited to Merlot and a Cabernet-Merlot blend.

Now, let’s dive into the tasting notes for the three wines we tasted at the winery.

Mayhem 2022 Sauvignon Blanc tasting notes

The grapes that went into the making of this wine came from the Anarchist Mountain Vineyard in Osoyoos and several other growers in Naramata. It was aged in 93% stainless steel and 7% seasoned barrique.

This Mayhem’s entry-level Sauvignon Blanc is as Andrew Stone, the winery owner, remarked: “still in search of its grassiness”. This Sauvignon Blanc reminded us of our first “blind” tasting as university students. Thinking that we had glasses of water on the table, we gulped what turned out to be a very young, almost translucent Sauvignon Blanc. The immediate reaction from everybody at the table was: “Hey, who put vinegar into the water?”

Mayhem Anarchy 2022 Sauvignon Blanc tasting notes and food pairing recommendations

Mayhem Anarchy Sauvignon Blanc is the more expensive of their two Sauvignon Blancs. This one is sold in the premium packaging, an inscribed wine bottle, that Mayhem uses to differentiate their premium wines. This wine is excellent for food pairing, which puts it into a Good wine category for us. It is worth the money, specifically as a food wine.

Grapes for this wine come from a single vineyard in Naramata. Initially started in stainless steel, 85% of it was subsequently moved to seasoned barriques and the rest to stainless steel barriques.

While this wine is very food friendly, you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to make a dish to complement this wine.

• Sauvignon blanc, in general, works well with goat cheese. This one is no exception.
• Pair it with creamy brie/camembert style cheeses, especially the ones made in the Naramata area, such as Poplar Grove’s Harvest Moon or Upper Bench’s semi-soft surface ripened Gold cheese.
• If you ever have a salad with a high dose of acidity in it, like, for example, our Salad Lyonnaise, this wine will make a perfect pairing for it.
• This wine works well when you need to cut through the grease of the meal, making it a perfect pairing for an English fish and chips meal or our Dutch kibbeling with delicious homemade garlic mayonnaise. Due to the high acidity in this wine, it even works with the tartar sauce, the usual condiment to go with fish and chips.

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Mayhem 2019 Fortified Gewürztraminer tasting notes and food pairing recommendations

There’s a bit of story behind the making of this wine. The grapes for this wine come from their Naramata vineyard. There was no plan to make a fortified Gewurztraminer, but because the grapes didn’t ripe properly, they didn’t know what to do with them. That was until they took the grapes to a distillery. Since they also happened to have alcohol readily available, the thought was, why not make it into fortified wine? And so they did.

Now, in its third iteration, this is no longer the wine they make by accident but something they make purposefully. The making of this wine borrows heavily from the technique used to make another fortified wine, Madeira. Similarly to Madeira, this wine is oxidized by being kept at a high temperature. They don’t use a complicated Canteiro process at Mayhem to oxidize their wine for 3 to 20 years. Instead, they keep the wine outside during the hot summer months for six months. The result is a sweet wine that has the same alcohol content as the three years old Madeira wine as well as the flavour profile that you will find in some of Madeira’s wines. Unlike Madeira, the colour of this wine did not change to become darker. Instead, it retained its straw-like colour.

While this wine is meant to be an aperitif, you can pair it with cheeses. We recommend:

• For cheese pairing, consider Taleggio and blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Danish blue or Tiger blue by Poplar Grove.
• For food pairing, go with a blue cheese cheesecake.

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Mayhem: The wine we took home

So, which wine did we take home with us?

In our winery adventures, we abide by a rule: one bottle per winery. This rule keeps us grounded amidst the many seductive wine choices we encounter. By following this principle, we choose a wine we know we’ll savour long after the visit’s excitement fades. It’s not about the priciest or most popular pick. It is a blend of factors. We contemplate food pairings, special occasions, and yes, the price tag.

Our initial inclination was to get a bottle of Mayhem’s fortified Gewürztraminer. Yet, visions of balmy summer days, delightful gatherings with friends, and refreshing al-fresco salads swayed us towards an irresistible bottle of Anarchy Sauvignon Blanc.

Bottom line

The time has come to answer THE question. Is this winery worth your time? We are happy to share our perspective.

If you’re a discerning wine enthusiast seeking top-notch experiences and wines, Mayhem Winery is not likely to meet your expectations. Let’s face it, wine in an aluminum can is a stretch for us too.

However, if you’re in search of affordable, food-friendly wines to enjoy with friends during an al-fresco meal, Mayhem Winery has got you covered. Plus, if you have a soft spot for inflated pink flamingos, you’ll feel right at home.