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November 2015 WINES&VINES 117 PRACTICAL WINERY & VINEYARD BUSINESS wine pairings. The winery focuses on quality local products, and the chef often picks his own veggies from local organic suppliers. Best thoughts "From a business perspective, immersing myself into all the vineyard and winery functions helped me achieve a good working knowledge of all areas of the busi- ness," says Tyabji. "Between the hands-on ex- perience beginning in 1984 and the subsequent business and wine education, these have helped me to make good business decisions overall." Biggest lessons "In 1984, when my family first started the Okanagan Vineyards winery, the Okanagan Valley was still a new, emerging wine region. We were establishing new brands with the new vineyards we had developed. Okanagan Vineyards grew very quickly and there was a quick and steep learning curve to understanding supply chain planning, inven- tory sourcing and business financing. "Building premium wine inventory is a long- term effort, and planning for growth is an es- sential part of proactively growing a business. We learned this the hard way when our limited supply played a role in halting growth in our sales channels in the early years. But like every experience, you learn how to do it better and better each year, and this history allows me to apply three decades of experience to my role with Nk'Mip Cellars." Quails' Gate Winery Quails' Gate, which planted vines in 1961, is one of the Okanagan Valley's quality-minded estates. The winery was founded in 1989. A gift shop with an attractive view of Okanagan Lake is located next to its Old Vines Restaurant. "My worst decision was getting into the res- taurant biz at the winery: serving lunch and dinner seven days per week plus brunch on Sundays with 120 seat capacity," says propri- etor Tony Stewart. "I underestimated what was involved in developing an all-year combination food and wine program at the winery. I was not focused enough in talking to people with greater restaurant experience." Comparing the differences between mak- ing wine (65,000 cases per year) and running a food-service operation, he adds that, "The life cycle of a vine defines the development of a wine. When we entered food service, you are being assessed every step and every day. One day might be great while another a disas- ter. Quality assessments here differ, and that is the nature of the wine business. "You are not going to score 90 points with everybody, so you need to have more controls in place, hire very well for a variety of positions rather than for the fewer parameters that winemaking demands. I am not standing in a block of vines every day, but the person run- ning your culinary program must be doing it right every day. The labor and time needed to develop your restaurant 'brand' is greater than that for wine. Do not under-budget for this!" Despite the hassles, Stewart is satisfied with the results. "I am happy we made the decision to do it, but the way I did it was not to my liking. My advice to others: Spend more time researching an unknown business venture before entering into it. "Our best decision was to focus on two varieties: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Our region has a variety of different wines being made, influenced by both Burgundy and Ger- many, with most producers making too large a portfolio. "Though we always saw Pinot Noir as our lead variety, in 2006 we decided to isolate one or two that we would be proud to place along- side other great examples from throughout the world. Pinot Noir had become the larger per- centage of our portfolio from 160 acres that we own, lease or manage, though it has not displaced the others we grew before and still produce— Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon—though we will cut back on some to concentrate on single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays." Tantalus Vineyard Vancouver stockbroker and financier Eric Savics had long been a wine fan, yet he had no experience in the wine industry until 2004, when he bought the Pioneer Vineyard, the oldest continuously producing vineyard in British Columbia, first planted in the Okana- gan Valley in 1927. Tantalus has enjoyed success due to the climate and soils being good for Riesling and Pinot Noir. "When we built our winery, we pursued the first LEED certification for a winery in British Columbia, which we achieved, but we do not have an electric car at the winery," Savics says. "However, winery guests are welcome to use the electric vehicle charging stations." The oldest plantings in the vineyard are 5.37 acres of Riesling planted in 1978. The Mosel clones were sourced from Ontario's Hermann Weis. In 2005, Tantalus planted 11 more acres of Riesling. The Pinot Noir, Char- donnay and a half-acre block of Pinot Muenier were planted in 1985. New plantings of these three varieties total 30 acres. All of the fruit that goes into Tantalus wines is grown at the estate in southeast Kelowna, B.C. Yields vary due to the normal vineyard variables such as weather, but winemaker David Paterson (who has experience in his native New Zealand, South Australia and Or- egon) affirms that current production is con- nected to the yield from the older vines "acting as a buffer, consistently yielding 2.8 tons per acre. Whereas younger vines with shallow roots are more vintage-susceptible." The cur- rent production of 6,000 to 7,000 cases per year will increase to 10,000 to 11,000 cases in the next few years as new plantings bear fruit. "The best decision we made was in plant- ing those varieties, which are so successful for the area overall and helped achieve rec- ognition from the likes of Jancis Robinson and others," Savics says. "Anyone interested in the wine business should look at the time- line of a farmer, something we did from the beginning." Tinhorn Creek Vineyards After 20 years of guiding Tinhorn Creek Winery and supplying grapes from estate vineyards, Sandra Oldfield is president. "We have hired Andrew Windsor as winemaker in 2014 that allows me to focus on the big picture," says Oldfield, "ensuring a well-run winery and vineyards that move forward with innovation, high quality and employee engagement. Our annual production is about 40,000 cases, al- most 50⁄ 50 between red and white wines. "We opened Miradoro restaurant on-site in spring 2011 with 130-seat capacity and offer A Tinhorn Creek vineyard on the Black Sage Bench looks south toward Osoyoos Lake. The Black Sage Bench is a grapegrowing area 35 miles south of the larger Lake Okanagan.