5094 Mt. Lehman Rd.
Abbotsford, BC
Vern Siemens is a successful developer of condominiums and commercial buildings in British Columbia and Alberta with a passion for wine, particularly pinot noir. He began grape-growing trials in 1989 on his farm, just outside Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley. After testing perhaps 60 varieties, he narrowed his selection down to a handful, dominated by pinot noir and pinot gris.
“I drink a lot of pinot noir,” Siemens says. “I know where I want to go with that variety.” A machine shed on the farm serves as the winery, and a former dairy barn cellars some tanks and barrels. Siemens has a long-term plan for a more impressive facility on a nearby knoll. This will take full advantage of the property’s photogenic views of the Fraser Valley and the mountains, majestically dominated by Mount Baker.