On a recent tour of the Canadian Rockies, I noticed that Alberta’s license plates feature the slogan “Wild Rose Country,” topped with an image of the flower itself. I asked our guide to point them out along the way, but he told me it was still a bit early in the season for Alberta’s wild roses to bloom.
At one of our stops, I picked up a visitor’s guide and came across an article that made me do a double-take. A local winery, Spirit Hills Winery in Millarville, was using Alberta’s wild rose petals in its Wild Rosy rosé wine. They also used violets, dandelions, and other local wildflowers in their wines. I was intrigued. If I couldn’t see the province’s namesake flower in bloom, maybe I could still taste it.
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
A stop at the winery wasn’t on our itinerary, but serendipity intervened. During some free time in Canmore, I wandered through a farmer’s market a few minutes from our hotel. And there, unexpectedly, was a booth for Spirit Hills Winery. It was as if I had manifested it.
Shelly Kurylo, a winery representative, filled me in on a bit of its history as I sipped small samples of all six of Spirit Hills’ wines.
Spirit Hills Winery’s Origin Story
Spirit Hills Winery opened in Alberta, Canada, in 2012, 15 years after Hugo Bonjean and his wife, Ilse, moved from Belgium to the foothills of the Canadian Rockies with their three children.
Hugo Bonjean, its Founder, comes from a long line of traditional winemakers who still maintain vineyards in Blanzat, France. “I knew that grapes couldn’t be grown here,” he said, citing the harsh winters. “I decided to try making dandelion wine instead, using wildflower nectar, water, dandelion flower petals, rosehips and herbs.” He called the wine Dande, and he aged it for six months in the bottle. Photo: ©Spirit Hills Winery
After achieving success with exports to Europe, where it was served in Michelin-starred restaurants, he began developing other wines using wildflowers native to Alberta.
The second flower wine he developed was Wild Rosy. He uses wildflower honey, water, rosehips, and herbs in the fermentation, along with hand-picked Alberta wild rose petals. The wine is then aged in the bottle for six months. It’s in the “off-dry” category, with 18g/L of residual sugar. Photo: ©Spirit Hills Winery
The two driest of Spirit Hills wines (and lowest in residual sugars: less than 2g/L) include Whitetail, infused with violet flowers, and Saskwatch, which includes crushed black currants. Both are fermented with champagne yeast.
YeeHaa! (a sweet wine, with residual sugars of 28g/L) incorporates black currants, apples, and some cinnamon into the mix. The sweetest of all is Bonfire (residual sugars:45 g/L), again using black currants, cinnamon, and cloves. Often served warm as a dessert wine, it helps take the chill off those cold Alberta winters.
Award-Winning Wildflowers
in both the U.S. and Canada. ©Spirit Hills Winery
Spirit Hills and FlorVino wines have earned a steady string of awards. They have received Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze recognition at competitions in both Canada and the U.S. That includes the San Francisco International Wine Competition, the National Wine Awards of Canada (WineAlign), and others.
High Praise from France — “The way Spirit Hills manages to craft such structure and balance with flowers, honey, and berries is impressive. I thought this could only be achieved with grapes.” Éric Beaumard, winner of best sommelier in France and Europe, and vice-champion of the world. Fine dining manager, Hôtel George V, Paris, France, and the 3-star Michelin restaurant, Le Cinq
Flower Wine vs. Mead
While Spirit Hills’ flower wines are considered a sub-category of mead (often referred to as honey wine), there are differences.
According to Carly Nathe, Spirit Hills’ Co-General Manager, “Meads are traditionally honey-forward, while Spirit Hills dilutes honey further to land closer to wine’s body and acidity. But honey is the fermentable sugar in both.
“Just as grape wine is named for the natural source of its sugars—the grape—our flower wines are inspired by another natural source of sugar: the nectar collected from wildflowers. Wildflowers in the Canadian Rocky Mountain foothills provide the nectar, creating a true expression of our local terroir.
“The flowers also contribute natural acidity, which gives our wines the ability to replicate a grape wine more so than a traditional mead.”
Three of Spirit Hills’ wines — Saskwatch, YeeHaa! and Bonfire — include the addition of black currants, which still allows the product to fall within the category of a flower wine.
Bjorn Bonjean, Spirit Hills Co-General Manager and Winemaker, explained, “Flower nectar, by a large proportion, accounts for most of the sugar that the yeast uses to convert to alcohol, creating the wine. Black currants do add some sugars, but overall it is quite small. We use them more to get a different profile/flavor of wine.
“Also,” he continued, “before a black currant turns into its berry form, it starts as a small bell-shaped flower, so they still come from the flower.”
It’s All About the Bees
“Because we live here and manage our bees, we see each year which flowers are more dominant,” Bonjean said. “It helps our winemakers to adjust their recipes in the wine cellar to match the vintage of the previous year as closely as possible. The flowers that grow predominantly in Alberta’s foothills include clover, alfalfa, wild roses, dandelions, wild lupines, blanket flowers, violets, fireweed, and a few others.
“The back label of Spirit Hills wine displays the vintage year of the honey, which varies each year based on the dominant wildflower, rather than the year the wine was bottled,” he added. “Since we produce small batches using all-natural organic ingredients, each batch can be slightly different, which is why we like to specify which year of honey was used.”
Benefits of Flower Wines vs. Grape Wines
Flower wines are a good choice for those who may be sensitive to the tannins in red wines, since tannins are natural compounds found mainly in grape skins, seeds, and stems. Bonjean noted, “Our wines contain about one-tenth the sulfites found in grape wines. New analysis also points to the absence of histamine, which is a common cause of people’s reactions to grape wine.”
Additionally, drinking wine made with black currants offers benefits. They contain more Vitamin C than oranges and are rich in anthocyanins — the deep red, purple, and blue pigments in plants and fruits that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
The Addition of FlorVino — A Flower Winery in Texas
A decade after Spirit Hills opened in 2012, Manny Ortiz, born and raised in the Lone Star State, opened a flower winery in San Antonio, Texas.
The 2022 opening of FlorVino followed Ortiz’s 2021 visit to Spirit Hills. He recalls, “I discovered flower wine when visiting the Spirit Hills Flower Winery in Alberta, and was intrigued. I decided to bring flower wine to Texas.”
Hugo and Ilse Bonjean later relocated to Texas, leaving their son, Bjorn, in charge of Spirit Hills. That freedom let them team up with Ortiz, who now serves as General Manager, to craft flower wines in Texas.
Lewis Bonjean, Hugo’s nephew, has also joined FlorVino as Junior Winemaker. He is the next generation of the Bonjean family to be involved in the winery.
FlorVino’s Line-up of Six Wines
FlorVino’s line-up of six wines includes Dande, Wild Rosy, and YeeHaa!, but also includes three others that depart from Spirit Hills’ list: Jasmine, infused with jasmine flowers (residual sugars: 4 g/L); Glory, infused with hibiscus flowers (residual sugars: 6 g/L; and Peaches, infused with peach blossom flowers (residual sugars: 42 g/L).
Instead of building their own facility, FlorVino chose to lease production space at Bending Branch Winery in Comfort, Texas. They utilize the space after grapes have been harvested. “It has truly been a win/win for both companies,” Ortiz said.
FlorVino’s San Antonio tasting room is located at Hotel Gibbs. It is next to The Alamo, the most visited destination in Texas.
From noon until midnight, the hotel’s breakfast room becomes FlorVino’s tasting room and wine bar. “We host live music nights on the weekends,” said Hugo Bonjean. “In Texas, Florvino’s strategy is to bring the winery to the people, which is why the tasting room is right by The Alamo. In Canada, like most other wineries, Spirit Hills brings the people to the winery.”
The Rosé I Never Saw, But Tasted Instead
I never did see Alberta’s wild rose in bloom. But by the time I left Canmore, I’d tasted it — along with violets and dandelions, all carried from one foothill terroir into a bottle. The story didn’t end there, either. Hundreds of miles south, in a Texas tasting room, that same idea of turning wildflowers into wine is already blooming on its own. Sometimes the thing you can’t find is waiting for you anyway, one glass at a time.
If You Go
Spirit Hills Winery — Millarville, Alberta, Canada
Visit Spirit Hills Winery, located in Millarville, Alberta, Canada, for a tasting ($12). Or, book a one-hour tour and tasting ($20). Check for dates/times and availability on the website under the Tours tab.
Spring/ Summer Hours: April-October: Wednesday-Sunday 10:00–5:00 p.m.; Winter Hours: November-March: Friday & Saturday 11:00-4:00 pm, or by appointment
Spirit Hills is available in most major liquor store chains in Alberta and ships all over Canada through the website.
Any Heartland Fans?
Heartland fans will be interested to learn that the ranch where the long-running CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Co.) TV series is filmed is near Millarville (home to Spirit Hills Winery). High River, about 45 minutes away, stands in for the fictional town of Hudson. It’s where Maggie’s Diner and other scenes are filmed. Interiors are shot in a studio in Calgary.
FlorVino — San Antonio, Texas
Visit FlorVino’s tasting room and wine bar in San Antonio, Texas, located at Hotel Gibbs on the corner of N. Alamo St. and E. Houston St., right on Alamo Plaza.
Start with a Flower Wine Flight (Six 1 oz.) $15. Or, order one of several featured Flower Wine Cocktails, Spritzers, or Wine Floats.
Mix It Up: Flower Wine Cocktails
Flower wines aren’t just for sipping — their bright, floral character makes them surprisingly good mixers, too. Here are two easy ones to try at home:
Danderita — a cowboy spin on the margarita
2 parts Dande, 1 part Sprite or 7-Up, ½ part tequila, ¼ part lime
Wild West Rosy
2 parts Wild Rosy, 1 part Sprite or 7-Up, ½ part amber rum, ½ part orange juice
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 2:00-10:00 pm; Friday-Saturday, 12:00 noon-11:00 pm; Sunday, 12:00 noon-10:00 pm
Florvino offers free shipping within Texas, $1/bottle outside of Texas; order through the website.
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Read more from Debbra on her website, Tropical Travel Girl, and on her Published Articles page.
