Mayhem Wines

Mayhem Wines Tasting Room
Andrew Stone and Terry Meyer Stone

History

Founded by siblings Terry Meyer Stone and JAK Meyer, along with their respective spouses Andrew Stone and Janice Stevens, Mayhem Wines produces small-lot whites and reds from premium grapes grown in the Okanagan Valley. We have three long-term lease agreements on vineyards we manage including Anarchist Mountain Vineyard in Osoyoos, and two vineyards in Kaleden. We also have partnerships with devoted, quality-driven growers throughout the Okanagan Valley, including the Naramata Bench and Oliver. We aim to work with growers and vineyards that use organic and sustainable farming practices and give back to the land.

Born in Australia, raised in New Zealand, winemaker Ajay Chavan completed the Oenology program in
Christchurch, NZ. He brings a wealth of experience to the Mayhem team and with a low intervention
style in the cellar, yet hands on in the vineyard, Ajay’s passion is to create quality wines that tell the
story of the land, the vintage, and the people.

Mayhem Wines new tasting room is located on the same site as Meyer Family Vineyards, in Okanagan Falls.

Stag’s Hollow Winery

Views at Stags Hollow Winery

Background

Stag’s Hollow Winery has more than a few firsts to its credit. In 1995 it was the Okanagan’s first winery to install energy-saving geothermal technology for heating and cooling. In the 1999 vintage, it was one of the first wineries to sell Futures. In 2006, it was one of the first wineries in the Okanagan to plant Tempranillo, Spain’s major red varietal. Then in 2011, it was the first in the Okanagan to plant Dolcetto, a red wine grape from northwest Italy’s Piedmont region and Teroldego, a rarer grape from the Trentino region in Italy. These innovations flow from the pioneer spirit that brought Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger from professional city careers to Okanagan Falls early in this wine region’s development. Stag’s Hollow was just the third winery in the Okanagan Falls’ region.

Born in Winnipeg in 1952, Larry trained as an insurance actuary. He was an independent pension and benefits consultant in Calgary while Linda, a Calgary native, worked in banking and then in marketing with an oil company. Ready for a career change, Larry sought out career counselling. The test suggested he was better suited either to running a ski resort or operating a winery. When he began researching Okanagan vineyards in 1991, the industry veterans he consulted kept recommending Okanagan Falls. In 1992, he bought a four-hectare vineyard growing Chasselas and Vidal, under contract to Mission Hill. When the contract ended in 1994, Larry grafted most of the Vidal to Chardonnay and all of the Chasselas to Merlot and Pinot Noir. The vineyard was back in production the next year and Stag’s Hollow built its first winery in 1995, opening the following year under a name inspired by a chance fawn encounter in the vineyard and the significant and dramatic kettle hole (the “hollow”) in the centre of the property. The original winery was incorporated with Larry and Linda’s residence. The building was equipped with the first geothermal heating and cooling system among Okanagan wineries. The energy savings were so significant that the investment paid for itself in three years. Stag’s Hollow expanded in 2006, building a separate winery with about four times more production capacity. Once again, a geothermal system was installed that circulates liquid through underground lines using the earth’s constant temperature to heat or cool the winery as required. In the first year of operations in this new winery, Stag’s Hollow saved an estimated 100,000 kilowatt hours of electricity by using this geothermal technology in conjunction with high-efficiency lighting and windows. In 2020, the south-facing deck off the wine shop was covered with solar panels, to help offset the power requirements for the winery building. This also provides a shaded spot for outdoor tasting experiences, overlooking the “hollow”.

In 2011, Stag’s Hollow purchased 18 acres of land 2km north of the Estate property. The following year, planting commenced with Tempranillo, Dolcetto, Albariño, Pinot Noir and Muscat. Named the Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard for the creek bordering the east boundary, planting continued over the next few years, adding Teroldego and Syrah. A new adventure, Shuttleworth Creek vineyard created new excitement for the winery, adding new and interesting varietals to the Okanagan, that were being planted elsewhere in the World. As those vines mature, Stag’s Hollow is finding that more and more of its premium fruit is coming from the Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard. In April of 2019, Stag’s Hollow was purchased by Eric Liu. Eric prefers to stay in the background, and Larry and Linda stayed on for a couple of years to help transition the winery team for the future. Today, Stag’s Hollow is known for producing some of the regions most celebrated wines, including Merlot, Pinot Noir and red blends, along with more rare and interesting varietals like Albariño, Tempranillo, Dolcetto and Teroldego.

Blasted Church

History

Situated on a bench overlooking Skaha Lake, Black Market Wine Co. crafts distinctive small lot wines. In addition to our organically-farmed Conviction Ridge vineyard in picturesque Kaleden, other vineyards from which we source our grapes are responsibly and sustainably farmed by growers who care as much about quality as we do. Our journey began as Garagistes, producing just 100 cases of the 2012 vintage of our signature red blend The Syndicate. Working out of another winery has provided us the opportunity to grow and develop our craft. 2020 marks the start of a new chapter as we open our own winery and tasting room in Kaleden.The vines at Blasted Church grow on sloping plateau above the eastern shore of Skaha Lake. From the windswept hilltop where the wineshop is situated, there are picture postcard views across the lake to the village of Kaleden on the western shore. The vines grow on sandy loam; the good mix of sand and clay give the soils good water-holding capacity. The winery makes its own compost, adding it to give the vineyard more organic matter. Vines were first planted here in the 1970s by Croatian-born Dragan (Dan) Prpich who came to the Okanagan in 1973 after working as a millwright in a Hamilton steel mill. Having grown up in a winemaking culture, Prpich decided in 1995 to add a winery to the vineyard. He opened the winery in 2000 but, as a consequence of family tragedies, sold it in 2002. Evelyn Campbell, the new and current owner, was a certified general accountant who had an independent practice in Vancouver. Wanting to run a business of her own, Evelyn investigated seven wineries during two and a half years before buying Prpich Vineyards. Putting her own stamp on the winery, the name was ultimately changed in consultation with Brandever Strategy Inc., a Vancouver company specializing in branding wineries. The name, Blasted Church, was inspired by a colourful chapter in the history of Okanagan Falls. In 1929 an Okanagan Falls congregation sent a crew under foreman Harley Hatfield to dismantle and move a Presbyterian church from Fairview, the mining ghost town near modern-day Oliver. Hatfield used a small dynamite charge inside the building to loosen the nails. The steeple fell down but the rest of the church was dismantled successfully and rebuilt in Okanagan Falls. It came to be referred to as “the blasted church,” and served Presbyterian, Anglican and United congregations well into the current century. The stained glass windows in the church were a gift of Major Hugh Fraser, who owned the property that became See Ya Later Ranch Vineyards. The story of the church, along with other vignettes of Okanagan Falls history, has been memorialized through the colourful caricature figures that populate the Blasted Church labels. Original art was commissioned for the initial family of labels and again in 2010 when the labels were refreshed. The labels have won numerous international design awards. More to the point, the labels powered a more than 10-fold growth in the sales of Blasted Church wines over the first decade after the Campbells acquired the winery. In 2018, the winery introduced new labels where figures from classical paintings are plucked from their holy surroundings and placed into modern-day scenarios. Inspired by Renaissance era masterworks, these creative labels depict an artistic rebirth at a time of increased innovation in the Blasted Church wine program spearheaded by winemaker, Evan Saunders. In the last year Evan has expanded the wine offering with a new selection of revered wines called the Small Blessings series, named for their small lot production and made with minimal intervention in the cellar using techniques that are often labour intensive, but which allow the fruit to shine. The winery also introduced wines made in a clay amphora and a clay egg, and even bottled the 2016 Sacrosanct Cabernet Franc in handmade terracotta – all produced by the same craftsman using the same clay in the town of Impruneta, Italy. Blasted Church is the first winery in Canada and among the first in the world to source terracotta bottles.

Bonamici Cellars

bonamici branded bottles sitting in the sunshine on a red table cloth
Phil and Mario in vineyard working on the vines.

History

Founded in 2012, Bonamici Cellars is a collaboration between consulting winemaker, Philip Soo and good friend and business partner Mario Rodi. Phil and Mario met while working in the corporate world – Phil as a winemaker and Mario in sales and marketing. Sharing a passion for great Italian wines and a love for the Okanagan inspired them to create Bonamici Cellars.

Bonamici – Italian for “good friends” captures the essence of the brand. It’s about celebrating life with great wine and delicious food bringing family and friends together around the table to enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures.

In 2016, after searching extensively for a permanent home for Bonamici they found the ideal site – a picturesque 10-acre property in the Okanagan Falls area surrounded by world class award winning wineries. Since then, a 9-acre vineyard has been planted, a beautiful tasting room and picnic area overlooking stunning valley views opened and a new production facility completed in the Fall of 2020.

We invite you to visit and Discover BONAMICI – experience our hand-crafted, Italian inspired wines.

Black Market Wine Co.

Black Market Winery views

History

Situated on a bench overlooking Skaha Lake, Black Market Wine Co. crafts distinctive small lot wines. In addition to our organically-farmed Conviction Ridge vineyard in picturesque Kaleden, other vineyards from which we source our grapes are responsibly and sustainably farmed by growers who care as much about quality as we do.

Our journey began as Garagistes, producing just 100 cases of the 2012 vintage of our signature red blend The Syndicate. Working out of another winery has provided us the opportunity to grow and develop our craft. 2020 marks the start of a new chapter as we open our own winery and tasting room in Kaleden.