oCtoBer 2015 BCBusiness 109
The family farm may be in decline
elsewhere, but it's thriving in the
South Okanagan. Between Oliver and
Osoyoos, more than 80 per cent of win-
eries are family enterprises, including
the •ve newest ones. And like the wines
they produce, each has its own •avour.
Time esTaTe Winery
Harry McWatters and his family have
deep roots in the wine industry. Harry
founded B.C.'s •rst estate winery, Sumac
Ridge, in 1980. His daughter, Christa-
Lee, made wine when she was nine
years old from grapes she had planted
there three years earlier. In 2000 Harry
sold Sumac Ridge along with half of
Black Sage Vineyard, establishing Time
Estate Winery on the remaining 60
acres, now called Sundial Vineyard. It
produces two brands: Time ("Every-
body needs more time, and we're the
only winery to put time in a bottle,"
says Harry) and McWatters Collection,
a legacy brand for Christa-Lee and her
brother, Darren.
To say Christa-Lee is very involved
at Time would be an understatement,
says Harry. "She tells me what I'm doing
wrong. And sometimes she's right about
that." Darren, who Christa-Lee says is
one of the best production managers
in the business, is employed elsewhere
but works at Time on his days o" and
The Vines
That Bind
W
Courtesy of time estate winery
W i n e
Five new wineries have
cropped up in the South
Okanagan, and each one
is a distinctly family aair
by Felicity Stone
O C T O B E R 2 0 15
O
OU T OF OFFICE
INSIDE
A new option for high-end steak ... Donnelly goes to Toronto ... Horsing around at Deighton
"When you look at your wife and
you say, 'Let's be a winery' at
that point that's the cheapest
and easiest part of the whole
process"–p.109
AROUND THE TABLE
(From left) Richard Cleave,
Jean-Benoit Landry, Christa-Lee
McWatters-Bond and Harry
McWatters at Time Estate Winery
