'Symbiotic relationship with nature': Vernon's 'first' winery quietly opens
Perched on top of the hillside with expansive views over Swan Lake, Vernon's only winery quietly opened its doors last week.
The Perch Winery is a small family-run business featuring a "cozy" tasting room and plenty of outdoor space to quaff wine in the sunshine.
The 10-acre site with four acres of grapes is the brainchild of Michael Durant and Mary Cuk who spent the last six years transforming the land into a working vineyard.
"In 2019 we planted our first small plot of grapes, just as a test to see how... the grapes would grow," Cuk said. "From there there was a lot of research that was done in determining which grapevines or grape varieties made sense for this climate and the land."
The couple searched hard for grapes that would produce great wine but also withstand the cold and be naturally disease resistant.
"That was a driving force for our choice of grapes," Durant said. "We specifically chose these grapes to have natural disease resistance, it just means fewer sprays."
The principal winemaker say it's all about the "symbiotic relationship with nature."
After several years of hard work, the winery has four whites for sale: a La Crescent, a Germanic off-dry style sometimes compared to a Riesling; a L'Acadie Blanc which is dry and similar to Sauvignon Blanc and two others.
Reds, including a Pinot Noir and the rare German variety Regent, aren't ready because of last winter's weather.
"The last two winters they took hits from the cold," Durant said.
Luckily most of the vines survived but it put the red wine production back. It highlights the amount of work that goes into it all before the doors even open.
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While the winery may have only been open mere days, the wine behind it is years in the making.
On top of making wine, the couple converted the garage into a tasting room and landscaped the property to have multiple picnic areas where people can enjoy their wine while surrounded by vineyards. As the couple have an 11-year-old daughter, they made the place family-friendly.
Durant grew up on a farm in the Lytton/Lillooet area where he "looked after a few million dollars of crops" before having a career in engineering which he quit to start the winery. On top of the winery, Cuk says she's more than happy with her own career and will continue working as an architect.
While they now run Vernon's only winery, the question remains about why there hasn't been one before.
READ MORE: Why Vernon doesn't have any wineries... yet
With plenty of options south of Vernon in Lake Country and a smattering of wineries north towards the Shuswap, Durant's theory is that weather data for the area comes from Coldstream which isn't good grape-growing land.
Tech entrepreneur Markus Frind bought vast tracts of land north of Bella Vista several years ago and planted vineyards but as yet no winery exists.
Whether the Perch Winery is Vernon's "first" winery isn't clear. Vineyards have been growing in Vernon since the 60s and a Vernon Morning Star article from 1993 calls Bella Vista Winery Vernon's "first." It's unclear what happened to it but it went into foreclosure in 2004.
Regardless, the situation leaves Durant and Cuk in the unique position of having the only winery in the area.
While they are taking it one day at a time, Durant does have big plans and would like to open a gourmet restaurant on the site in the future.
For now, guests will have to settle just for wine, as no food is yet available although the couple hopes to have charcuterie and cheese on offer in the not-too-distant future.
The Perch Winery is open Thursday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment.
For more information go here.
— This story was corrected at 11 a.m. June 26, 2024, to clarify that Durant "looked after a few million dollars of crops" while working on the family farm in the Lytton/Lillooet area, not while working as an engineer.
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