THE ADVOCATE 521
VOL. 79 PART 4 JULY 2021
THE WINE
COLUMN
By Michael Welsh, Q.C.*
I shall not wholly die, and a great part of me will escape the grave.
—Horace
LEGENDS OF WINE
Every wine region in our world has its icons. Whether locally or world
renowned, they are the people who built or transformed the reputation of
the wines where they live. Some are still with us, but many have passed.
Baron Philippe de Rothschild in Bordeaux, Lalou Bize-Leroy in Burgundy,
Niccoló Antinori in Tuscany and Robert Mondavi in Napa are but a few of
those iconic names.
I thought about this yesterday (May 23), as it was the birthday of one of
British Columbia’s legends, Harry McWatters, who would have been 76. We
celebrated the occasion with dinner and his wine at Time Winery, the last
winery of several that he founded, and the last place where I chatted with
him shortly before his too-early death. (As you now discover, I write these
columns a couple of months before you read them.)
A part of British Columbia’s growth as a wine region are the people who
built it but have sadly passed along the way. So, in this article I pay homage
to three of them who all died too early: Harry McWatters, Frank Supernak
and Chris Jentsch.
* Michael Welsh, Q.C., is a bencher, although he does not write or drink in that capacity. His views expressed here are
entirely his own. Both Michael and the Advocate endorse healthy and responsible attitudes towards alcohol.