Hand work where it counts
Pruning, shoot thinning, and crop drops are done by hand on every block. Machines have their place; deciding what fruit stays on the vine isn’t one of them.
The vineyards
Fifty-six kilometres of valley, top to bottom
The run starts on clay bluffs above Okanagan Lake and ends in deep sand where the sagebrush takes over. Every site below is farmed by our family, and every one grows what its ground does best.
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Photo Naramata Bench — clay and silt bluffs over okanagan lake km 0 on the run · Naramata
Naramata Bench
The north end of our run and the coolest fruit we grow. Lake air keeps the afternoons honest, and the whites off this bench hold their acid deep into fall.
- Soils
- Clay and silt bluffs over Okanagan Lake
- Planted to
- Pinot Gris Chardonnay Pinot Noir
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Photo Skaha Bench — sandy loam over glacial till km 14 on the run · Kaleden
Skaha Bench
A steep, east-facing bench above Skaha Lake. First light hits these rows before anywhere else we farm — aromatic whites do their best work here.
- Soils
- Sandy loam over glacial till
- Planted to
- Riesling Gewürztraminer Pinot Noir
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Photo Okanagan Falls — stony benches, quick-draining km 24 on the run · Okanagan Falls
Okanagan Falls
Rock and wind. The narrows between the lakes funnel a breeze through here most evenings, so the fruit stays clean and the skins come in thick.
- Soils
- Stony benches, quick-draining
- Planted to
- Chardonnay Merlot Cabernet Franc
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Photo Golden Mile Bench — gravelly alluvial fans off the west hills km 52 on the run · Oliver
Golden Mile Bench
West side of the valley, morning sun, cool early evenings. Structured reds with the kind of tannin winemakers ask us about by name.
- Soils
- Gravelly alluvial fans off the west hills
- Planted to
- Cabernet Franc Merlot Sauvignon Blanc
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Photo Black Sage Bench — deep sand — some of the warmest dirt in canada km 56 on the run · Oliver
Black Sage Bench
The south end, where the desert really shows itself. Sagebrush at the row ends and heat units to spare. Big reds ripen here, fully and every year.
- Soils
- Deep sand — some of the warmest dirt in Canada
- Planted to
- Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah Merlot
Farming practices
How the fruit gets this good
Growing for winemakers means every decision in the field shows up in somebody’s bottle. These are the habits we keep on all five sites, every season.
Drip irrigation, measured twice
The South Okanagan gets less rain than some deserts. Every site runs on drip with soil-moisture probes, and we water to the vine’s need — not the calendar.
Living rows
Cover crops between the rows feed the soil and hold it on the slopes. Integrated pest management keeps spraying to what’s needed, when it’s needed.
Picked on flavour
Numbers get fruit close; taste gets it right. We walk rows with our winery partners in the weeks before harvest and pick each block on its own schedule.
Interested in fruit from a particular bench?
Contracts are arranged by block and by variety. The earlier in the season we talk, the more options you’ll have.