6 B.C. wineries that art lovers can't miss
Fine art and fine wine make a perfect pairing at these Okanagan destinations
Contemporary Chinese sculptor Wu Ching Ju’s monumental sculpture Pro Terra et Natura (For the Earth and Nature) greets visitors to Phantom Creek Estates in the South Okanagan. Photo courtesy Phantom Creek Estates
WITH CLOSE TO 370 wineries from Vancouver Island to the Kootenays, B.C. rivals any global destination for wine touring. The province’s natural beauty only augments a stop in for a tasting, with vineyards set against postcard-worthy backdrops like rolling hills, towering mountains, or deep blue lakes.
A few wineries consider the arts an integral part of the experience. Some house interior galleries showcase the works of local and international artists; others feature installations in the vineyards and on the grounds.
Here are six wineries to check out if you appreciate fine wine as much as fine art, or even better, the two served together.
Ex Nihilo Vineyards
On display at Ex Nihilo Vineyards’ Creatio Gallery is Kelowna artist Debra Martin’s acrylic floral painting The Garden Grows Busy.
Lake Country’s Ex Nihilo Vineyards is named after a Frederick Elliott Hart sculpture of figures rising out of chaos that rests at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. (Ex Nihilo translates from the Latin phrase for “out of nothing”). Since day one, art has played a vital role at the winery, with the on-site Creatio Gallery prominently featuring Canadian art.
Earlier this year, Kelowna-based Gallery 421, which focuses on contemporary figurative and conceptual abstract art, took over as curator. Works on display change every two to three months; there are currently nearly 40 paintings and two sculptures by 11 Canadian artists, seven of whom are from B.C.
Liquidity Wines
Liquidity Wines commissioned Jeff Burgess’s Feast of the Fields. Photo courtesy Liquidity Wines
Known for its small-batch premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Liquidity Wines is a boutique Okanagan Falls winery that looks out to Vaseux Lake. Winemaking is as much an art as it is a science here: “You can’t succeed with one and not the other,” winemaker Alison Moyes tells Stir. “There are a lot of technical decisions, but there’s still a bit of magic to it.
“You can’t quantify everything,” she says. “Sometimes it’s just a feeling you go with. The part that requires the most artistry is the stage where you’re crafting the final blends. It’s all about your senses, your taste, your smell, what you’re going to combine together, like starting with a palette of paints and putting it all together.”
From the moment it opened in 2008, Liquidity has prioritized the arts, with founder Ian MacDonald being a collector and artist himself. He designed and built the Rebar Trees installation, which sits at the entrance to the winery.
Outside the winery (which is now owned by Anthony von Mandl’s Iconic Wineries of British Columbia) are sculptures such as Martha Sturdy’s steel People and Brent Comber’s The Shattered Sphere, which the North Vancouver artist made out of pieces of old-growth trees that fell during a fierce 2006 storm that ravaged Stanley Park. Wine tastings—which are, of course, physically distanced as per COVID-19 regulations—take place within the gallery itself, making for a total sensory experience. You can sip library wines or current releases while surrounded by works such as Jeff Burgess’s Feast of the Fields (which the winery commissioned), Ian Sheldon’s Storm on Canola Fields, Chanel by Kazakhstan-born Canadian illustrator Ola Volo, limited edition prints by Jack Shadbolt, and more.
Mission Hill Family Estate
Henry Moore’s 1922 sculpture Mother and Child was placed at Mission Hill Family Estate Winery in 2016. Photo courtesy Mission Hill Family Estate.
Seattle-based architect Tom Kundig designed Mission Hill Family Estate, simply one of the most stunning wineries anywhere, never mind in B.C. alone. Its distinguishing features include a keystone entrance (hand-chiselled out of a five-tonne block of limestone), an amphitheatre overlooking Okanagan Lake where the likes of Sheryl Crow and the Gipsy Kings have performed, and a 12-storey bell tower with four bronze bells that were hand-crafted in France.
Owner Anthony von Mandl, a self-made billionaire who was born in Vancouver to European immigrants, grew up with an appreciation for the arts. He searches out and selects all of the works that can be found throughout the property, indoors and out, such as Icelandic sculptor Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir’s silent conversations and Animal Tales, a rare tapestry by Russian-born painter Marc Chagall.
Nk’Mip Cellars
Self-taught artist Linda Anderson, a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, has several pieces on display at Nk’Mip Winery, which also has images of her paintings on some of its labels. Pictured here is a male calliope hummingbird that visited her yard last summer. Photo courtesy Linda Anderson.
Owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band, Nk’Mip Cellars is North America’s first Indigenous-run winery. It takes its name (pronounced “in-ka-meep”) from the Syilx word for “bottomland”, referring to its location at the southern end of the Osoyoos reservation.
The winery is adjacent to the OIB’s Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre. Greeting you as you make your way up Rancher Creek Road, which leads to both, is The Chief, a striking steel sculpture depicting a leader astride his horse by sn̓ ʕay̓ckstx (Arrow Lake Nation) artist "Smoker" Virgil Marchand.
Whether it’s jewellery, drums, masks, carvings, or paintings, Nk’Mip continually supports local Indigenous artists by showcasing new works within the winery. Linda Anderson is a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band and a self-taught artist whose medium is acrylic paint on feathers, petrified wood, stone slabs, sliced rock, natural hide drums, and canvas. Her Knowledge Keeper and Flicker Dreams paintings appear on the winery’s Mer’r’yim Meritage blends.
Phantom Creek Estates
British stone sculptor Emily Young carved Helios, which is on display at Phantom Creek Estates, out of Giallo de Sienna marble. Her grandmother was Kathleen Scott, a colleague of Auguste Rodin. Photo courtesy Phantom Creek Estates.
Producing predominantly Bordeaux-style reds and Syrah, Oliver’s Phantom Creek Estates recently underwent a three-year renovation designed by John Taft, principal at California’s Backen Gillam & Kroeger Architects. Framing the view from the main tasting room of the vineyards and the Okanagan Valley are two limestone towers and sliding glass walls that whoosh the outdoors in. Just as captivating is Pro Terra et Natura (For Earth and Nature), contemporary Chinese sculptor Wu Ching Ju’s monumental work of two 15-metre-tall winged bronze figures. Imperial Topaz, a custom-made piece in amber and golden hues by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, illuminates a private glass jewel box that acts as tasting room in the underground Founder’s Cellar.
Tantalus Vineyards
Tahltan Tlingit master carver Dempsey Bob started carving in 1969. Some of his animated masks are on view at Kelowna’s Tantalus Vineyards. Photo courtesy Tantalus Vineyards
Adorning wine-bottle labels from Kelowna’s Tantalus Vineyards are images of original mask carvings by Tahltan Tlingit master carver Dempsey Bob. Bob has been carving for more than 50 years, having studied at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art. The Officer of the Order of Canada’s works are in gallery and museum collections worldwide, including MOA (Museum of Anthropology), the Audain Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan, among others.
Originally known as Pioneer Vineyards, Tantalus has roots that go back to 1927, when table grapes were first planted on-site, making it B.C.’s oldest continuously producing vineyard. With its flagship Riesling, the recently redesigned winery was the first in the province to be LEED-certified. Tantalus owner Eric Savics, an arts lover who’s especially fond of Canadian art, is a friend of Bob’s and collector of his work.
In addition to emblazoning labels, Bob’s pieces appear in the winery’s gallery-style tasting room alongside those of other esteemed artists such as Takao Tanabe, Ross Penhall, and Edward Burtynsky. Tantalus also hosts rotating exhibits by local artists, such as Kelowna-based photographers Katie Nugent and Jane Everett.
Related Articles
