TIM PAWSEY Tim Pawsey is a well-travelled food and wine writer at various publications, including WHERE Vancouver, Quench, SIP, Vitis, The Alchemist and others. Find him at hiredbelly.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @hiredbelly and Facebook @TheHiredBelly.
…[Nk'Mip Cellars] was the first Indigenous-owned winery in North America and, at the time, one of just a handful around the world.
Fifty years on, it’s suggested that around 12 percent of today’s entire BC VQA production is made from grapes grown on band-held lands leased to major wineries, totalling some 1,500 acres. A Dream Realized In 2021, band member Justin Hall was appointed NkˇMip Cellars’ first Indigenous winemaker. Hall had grown up watching his family work in the vineyards and winery. He originally trained as a mechanic and worked on the OIB-owned golf course. But, following a chat with Chief Louie, he decided what he really wanted was to work at the winery.
Groundbreaking When NkˇMip Cellars opened its doors in 2002, it was the first Indigenous- owned winery in North America and, at the time, one of just a handful around the world. That vision resulted from a long-standing collaboration between the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB), Andrés Wines and Vincor, which had its origins in the BC industry’s formative days. Early Beginnings In leading the initiative to establish NkˇMip Cellars, OIB Chief Clarence Louie understood full well the potential the winery might offer. In fact, he was building on several decades of the band’s viticultural experience. Inkameep Vineyard, north of Oliver, saw its first 55 acres planted in 1968 through a collaboration with Andrés. The idea behind its development was to provide local employment for the many band members who had to leave home every year to find work. Just finishing high school at the time, current vineyard general manager Sam Baptiste helped clear the land of rocks. In the mid-1970s, under Baptiste’s leadership, Inkameep became home to the first major planting of vinifera in the South Okanagan, representing a bold shift away from hybrids, which at the time made up the industry.
“After bugging the head winemaker (Randy Picton) for about three months, he hired me as a cellar hand. I knew within a week that it was something I wanted to do.” In time Hall enrolled in evening classes at Okanagan University College. After a few years of dragging around hoses, Picton suggested he should “take it to the next level,” so he went to work a vintage in Western Australia and then earned a graduate diploma in viticulture and oenology from Lincoln University in New Zealand.
NK'MIP MERLOT BC VQA $25.99 626416 Forward notes of red and dark berries with vanilla hints precede a structured, youthful palate of cassis, mocha and spice
supported by firm tannins.
Justin Hall Photo courtesy of Nk'Mip Cellars
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