Robert Bell's
Wines of Canada
Since 1992
Gary Oaks Estate Winery
One of the iconic views on Salt Spring Island is that of the hillside Garry Oaks vineyard under the distinctive peak of Mount Maxwell. Salt Spring Island is part of the Gulf Islands and is considered to be the largest and most populated island. It is located in the Strait of Georgia between the British Columbia Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Garry Oaks Winery was founded by Marcel Mercier and Elaine Kozak in 1999, the first of three wineries on the Island. They believed Austrian Zweigelt would be the ideal grape for the mountain-side Gulf Islands winery. Later they found Pinot Gris to be even more successful.
Today the winery is owned by Nalini Samuel. Nalini believes in sustainability and has taken steps to reduce energy, water, and waste on the vineyard. She also installed LED lights, improved recycling and composting systems, and installed faucet aerators and low flow toilets. The winery is committed to reducing their environmental impacts.
When asked how she became interested in wine, she responded,“I’ve had a passion for wine since I was 13 years old and went on a trip to France with my French teacher. She introduced us to wine and wine making. I still remember the smell of a wine cellar in Bordeaux - every time I have a glass it transports me back in time. I have since traveled the world tasting amazing wines - even tasted pineapple wine at a winery in Hawaii. I’m a certified sommelier and love everything about the wine making process.”
The winery grows all its grapes, bottling only Estate Wines. This includes Gewürztraminer, Zweigelt and Pinot Gris. Nalini branded the Garry Oaks estate blends under a new Labyrinth label, which was inspired by a stone labyrinth that is nestled among the heritage orchard on the property. Winery guests are welcome to walk the little labyrinth.
“We support and encourage our guests to be philanthropic and informed; we donate a portion of their tasting fees to a local charity of their choice. We train our employees about your environmental policies so that they are properly implementing them. We encourage them to volunteer for Earth Day and other organizations that help the environment. We make a point of buying things from local suppliers and deliberately choose things like recycled paper, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, low VOC-paint, and other low-impact products and services.“
In recognition of her winery’s namesake and the huge old Garry oaks growing behind the wine tasting room, Nalini has decided to contribute a dollar from every person who does a wine tasting at the winery to GOERT. She calls it “Put a cork in it.” Each person is given a cork after the wine tasting which she or he puts into a glass vase under a poster board that illustrates the attributes of Garry Oaks ecosystems and how GOERT is moving to protect them. Once a month, she will add up the corks and donate to GOERT.Donations are also made to other local charities.
1880 Fulford-Ganges Road
Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Canada V8K 2A5
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