Two men stand in a winery, each holding a glass of red wine. They are smiling and appear relaxed, with one man wearing a green shirt and the other in a light blue shirt. Behind them are wooden wine barrels and stainless steel equipment against a concrete wall.

our winemaking

A man wearing a short-sleeved shirt and jeans walks through a vineyard during the day. The vineyard features rows of grapevines with newly sprouted leaves, and the landscape in the background includes rolling hills under a cloudy sky.

Meet our winemaker

Our winegrowing team is led by Ross Wise, one of only ten Masters of Wine in Canada. A winemaker and viticulturist, Ross draws on over 20 years of experience throughout British Columbia, Ontario, and New Zealand, with an extensive background in organic and regenerative viticulture.  

A vineyard with rows of grapevines stretching into the distance. The vines are lush and green, supported by wooden stakes. Behind the vineyard, a mountainous landscape rises under a partly cloudy sky, creating a serene and picturesque scene.

It begins in the vineyard

Since 2020, we have practiced organic farming. But that’s just the starting point. We incorporate regenerative viticulture practices, striving to give more to the land than we take. Our vineyard team obsesses over every vine as well as the surrounding native flora and fauna. By working with nature and promoting biodiversity, we strive towards a self-sustaining ecosystem. Farming with precision and using leading technology allows us to get the most from our exceptional terroir.

A close-up view of numerous dark grapes spread out on a table, with two people sorting through them in the background. Some of the grapes are still attached to their stems.

Meticulously crafted

We patiently nurture the potential of our fruit in the cellar, waiting for the right moment to take action based on taste alone. Our approach is based on traditional, time-honoured winemaking techniques that favour patience over efficiency. Picking decisions are made after relentlessly walking vineyard rows through harvest, tasting berry after berry. The fruit is then hand-harvested and slowly fermented using native yeasts to build complexity and best express our vineyards.

Close-up of two wooden wine barrels with metal bands, each marked with "Black Hills Estate Winery." The ambient light casts shadows, adding depth to the texture of the barrels. A person's arm rests on the top of one of the barrels on the left.

Rewarding patience

From there, it’s all about time. Each wine has its own tailored maturation process to ensure the fruit is the focal point. Our preference is large-format vessels like concrete and foudres alongside nuanced, lightly-toasted oak barrels. We then spend months working on blends – tasting, trialing, and iterating – to capture the best from each individual barrel.