Back Door Winery

The seed of raising a family in agriculture was planted by Jesse Gill’s great grandfather in the 1920s. During that decade, he owned a peach orchard in the Okanagan before moving to Vancouver Island, where Jesse grew up in Alberni Valley and his family continued to work in agriculture. Over time, Jesse picked up knowledge in the industry as his parents ran a berry operation since the early 80s in the Fraser Valley. His brother now operates the blueberry side. A long-time resident of Abbotsford, Jesse was recruited into the banking world after graduating from Simon Fraser University and became an agriculture banker, completing the financing for several wineries in the Okanagan.

He enjoyed that work, learning a lot and specializing in agriculture. “Over the years you find a niche. That’s the sector that you work in,” he says. “I went back from agriculture into general commercial banking and then a specialization in land development and construction.” As he worked with Okanagan wineries, he saw an opportunity in 2008 and bought land in Oliver. A vineyard was planted and slowly evolved into Okanagan Hills Estate Winery Corp. in 2014 where they have Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Viognier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Muscat, Merlot and Pinot Meunier grapes. In 2020, he purchased Backdoor Winery.

Jesse is making changes to the business with Okanagan Hills set to become the new reserve line and they release the Pinot Gris and Chardonnay in October. Among the changes is bringing in veteran winemaker Lee Holland, who has 27 years experience from Sumac Ridge, Dirty Laundry, Hillside and is the winemaker at Celista Estate Winery in the Shuswap. Other changes include renovations and upgrades, as well as the vineyard management at Backdoor Winery. 

We are happy to share our progress with you. Check out our new vintages, improvements to our wine shop and we’ve missed seeing you and can’t wait to host you again.