Menu

Our Story

Begins in 1955

Our family immigrated to the Okanagan Valley from Portugal with only a suitcase in hand.

Connected to the Land

From our humble beginnings in Canada, our family’s hard work and farming expertise gave us the opportunity to purchase our first family orchard on the Naramata Bench in 1959. With over 65 years of farming in the South Okanagan, we intrinsically understand the many unique and diverse aspects of our land. Our time working the land allowed us to understand its nuances – what makes it truly special – and this knowledge is reflected in how we craft our wine.

Looking Forward

We have one foot rooted in history and one foot moving toward the future. Today we continue our family’s tradition of a deep-rooted connect and respect for the land. We drew extensively from this heritage when creating our winery in 2006. The evolution of our journey and wines are a testament to our family lineage.

OUR VINEYARDS

HONOURING THE CHARACTER OF OUR VINEYARD

Our Terroir

Each of our 6 vineyards was selected for its distinct terroir with a focus on creating a portfolio of wines that reflect the diversity of microclimates in the South Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. We assess soil type, climate, aspect, and geography of each site. Just as important is the alignment in philosophy among growers – we are equally devoted to growing ultra-premium wines.  We are located in a semi-arid climate at the Northern tip of the Great Basin Desert. The valley lies in a rain shadow, between the Coastal and Monashee mountain ranges, resulting low annual rainfall and more than 2000 hours of sunlight per year. Our desert-like climate results in hot summer temperatures (daytime temperatures of 30-40 degrees Celsius in July and August). In late June, daybreak is as early as 5 am and nightfall as late as 10:30 pm. This Light intensity, due to our northern latitude, provides optimal conditions for grapes to ripen and develop flavour.  The lake and consistent winds help to moderate the hot summer daytime temperatures in the vineyard and provides disease resistance.

Vineyards

To underscore the importance of provenance, the names of the growers, the exact latitude and longitude of the source vineyards as well as the vinification are detailed on every bottle.

 

Outwash Vineyard, Oliver BC GROWER: Mr. & Mrs. Khair

 

Hidden Hollow Vineyard, Penticton, BC GROWER: Richard and Twylla da Silva

 

Blenheim Vineyard, Penticton, BC GROWER: Richard da Silva and Twylla da Silva

 

Lazy Dog Vineyard, Penticton, BC GROWER: Dean and Liz Marchand

 

Avila Family Vineyard, Oliver, BC GROWER: Jorge and Manuela Avila

 

CBR Vineyard, Penticton BC GROWER Paul and Kerrie Grewal

OUR WINES

CULTIVATING WINES TO AGE GRACEFULLY

Winemaking

We are steadfast in our belief that terroir is the most important factor in winemaking. Through our deep-rooted understanding of the South Okanagan, we are crafting wines that are a true reflection of place.  Each lot is harvested separately, allowing Richard to capture the expression of each vineyard in the cellar. We have opted to focus on small lot winemaking because it gives us the opportunity to develop quality. Each lot is harvested separately, allowing Richard to capture the expression of each vineyard in the cellar.

We simply guide the grapes from the vineyard to the bottle, approaching the process with restraint and patience. Each lot is fermented and aged separately with the use of oak to create structure and extended cellaring for both reds and whites to allow for full expression.

 

Oak cooperage is given a three-year cycle, requiring patience and devotion to the process. Due to this extended aging process, we lose up to two litres of wine per month through evaporation. This is a loss of up to 30 per cent of our wines due to the cooperage cycle. Throughout this time, we are constantly monitoring and tasting the wines, only bottling when they have reached their optimal structure and flavour profile.

Shop

Buy Our Wines

Buy Wines