Riesling and Rattlesnakes - Canadian Writers Group

EXPLORING THE DELICATE
BALANCE BETWEEN DESERT ECOLOGY
AND DESSERT OENOLOGY (THE
STUDY OF WINES) IN THE OKANAGAN
WINE COUNTRY
First of all, despite what you’ll undoubtedly
think, the reason I was staring at the rings of
Saturn and seeing stars in broad daylight had
nothing to do with wine.
True, I’d been lured to an afternoon Merlot by
Jack Newton, proprietor of the Observatory B&B,
located high on a mountainside overlooking
Osoyoos, B.C. But it was he and not the grape that
had treated me to a close-up view of the sun and
several other marvels through a hydrogen-gas filter
mounted aside a computer-driven, 16-inch telescope,
the centerpiece of Jack’s world renowned,
hand-built observatory.
To see what could be revealed in the daytime
sky was, in a word, astounding, making it clear why
this place was one of the Okanagan Valley’s star
attractions, as well as a focus of the global
astronomical community. In fact, just that morning,
Jack had received e-mail confirmation that he’d
discovered a new nebula.
But astronomy isn’t the only science abetting
the fruits of Okanagan commerce. Shifting my gaze
down and across the valley revealed a mosaic of
vineyard, orchard, pine forest and sage desert — the
latter one of Canada’s most fragile and fastest-disappearing
ecology. High agricultural pressure is
consuming desert habitat at an alarming rate, bringing
people into increasing contact with creatures that
depend on it for their livelihood. The same semi-arid
lands responsible for the explosive success of B.C.’s
wine industry are also home to 23 species of plants
and animals currently at risk, including cute-as-apuppy
burrowing owls and the not-quite-so-cuddly
pacific rattlesnake.
How agribusiness handles these conservation
issues will ultimately determine whether the desert
ecosystem survives, and the plight of the
much-maligned rattlesnake — rodent hunter
extraordinaire, icon of the old west and bogeyman of
every Boy Scout campfire tale — is a signpost of
that struggle.
As an unlikely intersection of herpetology (the
study of reptiles and amphibians) and oenology (the
study of wines), rattlesnakes and wine make for a
good story. So in the waning warmth of early
October, with snakes curling into winter dens and
wine-tasters crawling around the Okanagan during
its annual wine festival, I set out for a few days to
explore this dalliance of decadent and deadly.
There was only one rule: snake-catching could
precede wine tasting, but never vice versa.
RIESLING
&
STORY AND PHOTOS BY LESLIE ANTHONY

DAY 1
The trail begins at the Okanagan
Nature Centre in Kelowna City Park.
Scott Alexander, an award-winning
educator, conservationist and resident
naturalist dressed in Ranger Rick
motif, proves to be a fountain of arcane
information about everything from water
bombers to wasps and, of course, rattlers.
Scott explains how the centre had
opened with a timely showcase of fire
ecology, then expanded to the not
unconnected issue of local biodiversity.
“Habitat is evaporating around
here, but agriculture is only part of the
problem,” says Scott, noting Kelowna is
also one of Canada’s fastest-growing
cities. “Housing and roads do far more
damage to rattlesnake populations.”
The issue here, at the northern edge
of the rattlesnake’s range, boils down to
the location of dens in the rocky scree of
hillsides, and the typical separation of
these from valley-bottom foraging habitat
by any kind of development.
Modern vintners take a more
enlightened approach to rattlers traversing
vineyards en route to and from dens
— in fall and spring respectively — than
orchardists of yore who simply did them
in, but local enmity toward rattlers still
runs deep.
As we drive north to check out a
roadside den, Scott relates the tale of
Vernon, B.C.’s rabid Reverend Mackie.
In the 1930s, taking a literalist biblical
view, the good reverend launched a
personal campaign to eradicate this
scourge. He spent 20 years clubbing
snakes, dynamiting dens and perpetuating
the serpent’s image as evil.
It was unfortunate that most farmers
got on his bandwagon, because rodents
are what damage crops, and snakes are far
more efficient rodent predators than
other animals — not only consuming
adults but locating nests and wolfing
down the young.
“Nobody complains if a rattlesnake
gets killed, but shoot a bear in a residential
area and everyone’s up in arms —
despite the bear being far more dangerous,”
Scott says.
In fact, rattlesnakes are among the
most reasonable forms of dangerous
wildlife — their first line of defense is to
remain motionless; they head for cover if
you get too close, and if you surprise
adventure
SMALL PACIFIC RATTLER, PENTICTON DEN
them or cut off retreat, they give an audio
warning. They’re reluctant to bite, and up
to 25 per cent of all bites are dry, that is,
no venom is injected. The Okanagan,
home to hundreds of thousands of
people, sees an average of only two bites a
year.
With wan afternoon light filtering
through rapidly yellowing leaves,
we climb a steep, rutted hill just off the
highway. At its crest is the den, with a
“RATTLESNAKES, YOU GOTTA LOVE ‘EM”
massive rattler wedged in its entrance.
Annoyed but not angry, it uncoils into
the dark vacuity. As I maneuver for a
photo, a yellow-bellied racer shoots
across the broken rock. The delicate but
harmless constrictor’s presence demonstrates
how several snake species often
hibernate together, and how destruction
of den habitat could spell doom for all.
Later, as the sun dips over Lake
Okanagan, we sip a dazzling
Gewürztraminer Alsace Clone on the
terrace of Gray Monk Estate Winery.
“Rattlesnakes,” gurgled Scott, “you
gotta love ‘em.”
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RIESLING & RATTLESNAKES
JEFF BROWN CONDUCTS RATTLE SNAKE TELEMETRY
DAY 2
Nk’Mip Cellars is North America’s
first aboriginal owned-and-operated winery,
with a full list of celebrated vintages.
Situated on a bench overlooking Osoyoos
Lake, vineyards contrast an adjacent tract
of natural desert.
I PEER CLOSELY AT THE
STARK, ROCKY SUBSTRATE
FOR ANY CLUE AS TO WHY
THIS PARTICULAR CLUMP
OF MANGLED SAGE
IS A POPULAR ROADSIDE
ATTRACTION FOR
MIGRATING RATTLERS
Beside the winery sits an interpretive
and heritage centre, which describes the
Osoyoos Indian Band’s program to
restore habitat and reintroduce species at
risk. Interpretive signs pointing out plant
life and describing the history of the
Okanagan people offer an interesting
counterpoint to the typically dry (pun
intended) vintage-snogging of winery
tours. But the highlight for most is the
rattlesnake tracking program.
At Nk’Mip, I join Jeff Brown, a
Masters student in zoology at the
46 AirLines > january/february 2005
University of Guelph, on his last day of
tracking before heading back to Ontario.
Osoyoos Indian Band member Roger
Hall assists with the telemetry study.
Telemetry, which involves imbedding
micro-transmitters into snakes and then
tracking them, focuses on movement
patterns and identifying critical habitat
with a mind to management and issues
of human interaction.
“People around here are good compared
to other areas where rattlers occur,”
says Jeff, who has worked on rattlesnake
conservation in Ontario’s cottage country.
Indeed most local vintners, campground
and golf-course keepers are adept
at removing snakes themselves, ushering
them into a large garbage pail and
relocating them. At Tinhorn Creek
Winery, they’ve even built a pilot-project
fencing system with gates that remain
open while rattlers are migrating, then
shut during the prime growing season so
that vines can be attended worry-free.
Jeff powers up a steep incline at a
slow run, dodging sagebrush, kirting rock
piles and eliciting puffs of dust from the
scarified soil as he zigzags the slope,
sweeping the antenna ahead of him.
“It’s not here,” he announces, by
way of explaining the static emanating
from his transceiver. “The snake I’m
tracking stopped here yesterday, but it’s
gone now.”
“It’s funny,” smiles Roger, “but other
snakes have stopped in this same place on
their way up.”
RUBBER BOA IN KELOWNA
I peer closely at the stark, rocky
substrate for any clue as to why this
particular clump of mangled sage is a
popular roadside attraction for migrating
rattlers, and see nothing obvious. Such
blissful human ignorance offers a compelling
reason to gather basic biological
and ecological data.
As we approach the den, Jeff’s
transceiver clicks, and we peer under the
edge of every rock jutting from he slope.
“I don’t think it’s the one I’m
tracking,” says Jeff, pointing to a tight
space underneath a large flake, “but
there’s a snake here.”
Barely visible through the netherworld
of shadow and grasses at the edge
of the rock, I can just make out the coil of
a small rattler. Drawing its head from the
depths and flicking its tongue, it takes
one look at me and wedges itself further
into the shadows. Just who is afraid of
whom here?
NK’MIP WINERY IN OSOYOOS

HILLSIDE ESTATE WINERY
IF YOU GO
From Kelowna, drive 68 kilometres south on Hwy 97
to reach Penticton. From Penticton, Osoyoos is
another 58 kilometres south on Hwy 97
(126 kilometres from Kelowna).
Visit www.tourismkelowna.org, 1.800.663.4345;
www.penticton.org, 1.800.663.5052; and
www.destinationosoyoos.com, 1.888.676.9667 for
more information.
Places to Visit:
• Observatory B&B, a must-stay in Osoyoos;
www.jacknewton.com, 250.495.6745
•Okanagan Nature Centre; www.oknaturecentre.com,
250.763.2003
• Mission Hill Family Estate, Kelowna;
www.missionhillwinery.com, 250.768.6448
• Gray Monk Estate Winery, Okanagan Valley;
www.graymonk.com, 1.800.663.4205
• Nk’Mip Cellars and Desert Ecology Centre, Osoyoos;
www.nkmipcellars.com, 250.495.2985
• Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, Oliver (halfway between
Penticton and Osoyoos); www.tinhorn.com,
1.888.484.6467
• Hillside Estate Winery, Penticton;
www.hillsideestate.com, 1.888.923.9463
• Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, just south of Oliver;
www.bovwine.com, 1.877.498.0620
DAY 3
Ken Lauzon is uncorking another
bottle of Riesling at his Hillside Estate
Winery in Penticton, B.C., when
naturalist Mike Sarell tells him there is
a rubber boa den above his property.
Like many people, Ken has a
longstanding fear of snakes, and Mike
suggests that the impressively passive,
almost toy-like species might just be
Ken’s ticket out of his personal fear
factor.
Mike and I spent the afternoon in
search of a rattlesnake den, hiking and
climbing through a Dr. Seuss-like land
of rocks and cliffs above the Naramata
bench outside of Penticton, home to
half a dozen famed wineries. After
several false turns, he finally located it
at the 11th hour, high on a narrow
shelf of rock that fell away over a cliff.
We’d found a few snakes and teased
one into the light for a photo, so we
were, in a way, celebrating. This all
seemed very strange to someone like
Ken who kept his fear at bay while we
described our adventure with zeal.
Somehow — and it could have been
RIESLING & RATTLESNAKES
MIKE SARELL AT CLIFFSIDE DEN, PENTICTON
the Riesling — Ken seems to come
around at the description of the rubber
boas, and agrees to have Mike come
back and show him the den.
FOR PEOPLE WITH A
LONGSTANDING FEAR OF
SNAKES, THE INCREDIBLY
PASSIVE, ALMOST
TOY-LIKE SPECIES OF
RUBBER BOAS MIGHT BE
THE TICKET OUT OF THIS
FEAR FACTOR
“Wow, this has been quite a day
of discovery for all of us,” I remark of
Ken’s catharsis, also thinking back to
my own epiphany at the rattler den
teetering on the side of a cliff.
“Sure was,” agrees Mike. “That’s
the best Riesling I’ve ever had.”
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