Zanatta Winery

The Cowichan Valley provides the ideal terroir for growing an impressive number of robust varietals, with the added bonus of providing Canada’s mildest climate and longest growing season. With its protected valleys and unique soils, Vancouver Island is the perfect venue for growing the cool-weather grapes that have made European wine the paradigm for centuries.

Dennis recognized the potential for growing fruit viable for viticulture and he decided to start some vines himself, gathering clipping from friends to experiment with and planting them around the family swimming pool, where they remain even today!

In the beginning, the grapes and the wine were simply a hobby, albeit an increasingly involved hobby. Dennis expanded his plot of grapevines in 1970, experimenting with varieties such as Leon Millot, a red French hybrid, that he obtained from the federal government’s Plant Health Centre in Saanich, BC.

A decade later, a chance encounter with the Provincial Grape Specialist led to our family’s role in pioneering the Island wine industry. Known as the Duncan Project or Becker Experiment, from 1981-1986, Dennis volunteered one acre of the Zanatta farm to the British Columbia provincial government as a test site for numerous varieties of grapes.

Although only about two dozen survived, some of the lesser known grapes, such as Cayuga, Ortega and Auxerrois, thrived, setting the stage for the unique viticulture industry that Vancouver Island and our surrounding Islands boast today.