Quails' Gate Winery
Encyclopedia
Quails’ Gate Winery is a Canadian Winery
located on the shore of Okanagan Lake
in Westbank, British Columbia
. Situated in the heart of British Columbia's
Okanagan Valley, Quails’ Gate produces over 50,000 cases of wine per year. The entire portfolio of Quails’ Gate wines are best known for their Family Reserve Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Quails' Gate's Wineshop and Old Vines Restaurant are open daily, year round to the public.
Quails’ Gate was founded by the Stewarts, one of the Okanagan’s pioneer horticultural families. Richard John Stewart arrived in the Okanagan Valley from County Kildare, Ireland
in 1908. He and his 2 brothers purchased several parcels of land and established nurseries. In 1956, his son Richard Stewart acquired the Allison Ranch on which the winery now sits and started planting vines along with fruit orchards. His son Ben, a banker by trade started working at Quails’ Gate in the 1980s. In 1989, the family abandoned the orchards and focused the properties on producing wine, relaunching the business as Quails’ Gate Estate Winery. In 1992, Richards' other son, Tony, left his career as a stockbroker to return to the family business. Tony now runs the business still privately held by the Stewart family.
native Grant Stanley learned his winemaking skills in New Zealand
at Montana Wines
and Ata Rangi Wines before returning to North America in 2001. Over the next 2 years, he refined his skills in growing Pinot Noir
at several Oregon
wineries before taking the position of winemaker at Quails’ Gate in 2003. To date, his vintages have won over 50 medals in regional, national and international competitions.
Canadian wine
Canadian wine is produced in mainly southern British Columbia and southern Ontario. There is also a growing number of small scale producers of grapes and wine in southern Quebec and Nova Scotia. The two largest wine-producing regions in Canada are the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and the...
located on the shore of Okanagan Lake
Okanagan Lake
Okanagan Lake is a large, deep lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The lake is 135 km long, between 4 and 5 km wide, and has a surface area of 351 km². The lake's maximum depth is 232 meters near Grant Island...
in Westbank, British Columbia
Westbank, British Columbia
Westbank is one of the communities within the district municipality of West Kelowna in the province of British Columbia. It is 12 km to the west of Kelowna. Other communities in West Kelowna include Casa Loma, West Kelowna Estates, Shannon Lake, Smith Creek, Glenrosa, Rose Valley and Lakeview...
. Situated in the heart of British Columbia's
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Okanagan Valley, Quails’ Gate produces over 50,000 cases of wine per year. The entire portfolio of Quails’ Gate wines are best known for their Family Reserve Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Quails' Gate's Wineshop and Old Vines Restaurant are open daily, year round to the public.
History
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1908. He and his 2 brothers purchased several parcels of land and established nurseries. In 1956, his son Richard Stewart acquired the Allison Ranch on which the winery now sits and started planting vines along with fruit orchards. His son Ben, a banker by trade started working at Quails’ Gate in the 1980s. In 1989, the family abandoned the orchards and focused the properties on producing wine, relaunching the business as Quails’ Gate Estate Winery. In 1992, Richards' other son, Tony, left his career as a stockbroker to return to the family business. Tony now runs the business still privately held by the Stewart family.
Winemaker
VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
native Grant Stanley learned his winemaking skills in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
at Montana Wines
Montana Wines
Montana Wines is New Zealand's largest wine company, owning vineyards in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, and Waipara.- History :Montana was founded by a Croatian immigrant, Ivan Yukich , who planted his first vines in 1934 in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland. The first wine was sold in...
and Ata Rangi Wines before returning to North America in 2001. Over the next 2 years, he refined his skills in growing Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
at several Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
wineries before taking the position of winemaker at Quails’ Gate in 2003. To date, his vintages have won over 50 medals in regional, national and international competitions.