Okanagan Falls Winery, Vineyard, tasting room and wine shop, 4287 McLean Creek Drive, Okanagan Falls, BC
Naramata Vineyard, 967 Old Main Road, Naramata, BC
Now a Kelowna-based real estate investor, Calgary-born Jak Meyer developed a taste for good wine when he was a stockbroker. A decision to launch a winery dedicated just to premium wines was made after conversations between Meyer and Vancouver wine educator James Cluer. In 2006, Meyer bought a small Naramata vineyard planted exclusively to chardonnay. He arranged to have the first two vintages produced by Road 13 Vineyards’ Michael Bartier, a skilled chardonnay winemaker. Beginning with the 2008 vintage, the Meyer winemaker is Edmonton-born Christopher Carson, who in addition to almost a decade of New Zealand winemaking experience has also produced vintages in Montrachet and Napa Valley.
With Naramata exclusively a vineyard, in 2009 Jak and his wife Janice began developing a 16 acre site in Okanagan Falls with 4.5 acres planted to Pinot Noir. In addition to the existing small wine manufacturing facility, 2010 saw the opening of a new tasting room and wine shop. Both facilities are helping Jak and Janice realize their ambition of using the Okanagan’s ideal growing conditions for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to craft single vineyard wines of excellence.