Kettle Valley Winery

It all started out as a hobby. Making wine in Tim and Janet’s apartment of all places!

One year we got to the point that we were hauling a ton of grapes up the elevator, renting an industrial crusher from Judy’s Deli, and every closet in the place was full of fermenting wine.

At that point we knew something had to change. For one thing – we needed more space!
In 1984, with grape atlas in hand, we went looking for more space not just to make the wine, but to grow some grapes as well.

Because wine-making in the apartment had taught us two very important lessons.

– No amount of shampoo will ever get the smell of fermenting grapes out of a rug.

– The quality of the grapes is the most important component in making good wine. We knew we had to grow our own.
As our winery has grown so has our philosophy of wine making, drawing from the experiences we’ve had right back to wine making in Tim’s apartment. We have come to understand that for us, the quality, individuality and fully ripe flavours of the grapes are the factors that are most important to us in our wine making‚ and our wines.

To that end we have been constantly learning, experimenting and pushing the envelope. And in our minds at least, we have been getting better and better. We hope you agree.

We started out wine making as a hobby. And twenty years after our first vintage it really still is, because if you think about it, a hobby is something you love to do – and for us that is making wine.