The owners Pavel and Michaela Horak are relying on more than horseshoes to succeed with their micro-winery located in Cawston. Of Czech descent, they bought the land in 2006 and started from scratch, planting and tending by hand, and farming by organic principles. They opened the winery in 2020. The winery is to small to have a tasting room If you wish to visit call ahead.

We arrived to Cawston from a non farming background, and like many other people who travelled here and fell in love with Similkameen Valley, we did so too. Both of us were born in Czechia where we grew up went to school, and then came to Canada, 40 and 30 years ago. After we settled in Vancouver, BC, Pavel worked in mechanical engineering and management roles and Michaela in accounting and administration roles. But we had a dream of having a business of our own and making wine.

 Horseshoe Found is the smallest (licensed) winery in the province. n the 2020 vintage, the winery made 4,500 litres of wine, the minimum allowed under a winery license. Don’t look for the winery to get much bigger. “No, we will not do that because we would like to stay small, and maintain production between 4,500 litres and 6,000 litres, so we can focus on the quality of what we would like to do,” Pavel says*

Home winemaking in New Westminster, where they had built a house, nourished Pavel’s ambitions. Once they realized that the Lower Mainland is less than ideal for viticulture, they began search for property in the interior. “We decided to get out of the city and go to the Okanagan, or somewhere where we can actually grow grapes and make wine,” Pavel recalls. In 2006, they found and purchased what was then a hay field near Cawston. Many years earlier, it had been a rodeo ground. That explained why, when he was digging holes for vineyard posts, Pavel turned up a number of rusty horseshoes, inspiring the winery’s name. The labels were designed with input from Pavel’s artistic father-in-law in Prague, Jarda Vsetecka. Pavel drew on his experience in the graphic arts industry to finish the design. There was one helpful suggestion from a neighbour who pointed out that the horseshoe was upside down on the original design. In equestrian circles, that is considered to be bad luck. Pavel turned the horseshoe the right way up – to keep the luck from falling out.*

The winery was awarded silver for Pinot n 2018, gold for Pinot 2020 and gold for Pinot 2021.at the 2023 All Canadian. A major accomplishment for a small winery. It shows you what hard work, passion and determination will equal success. Also a must try is their MuscGewurtz, a Gewurztraminer and Muscat Ottonel blend.

Name winemaker Pavel Horak
Winemaking Philosophy? natural wines, low intervention, growing  grapes organically, Pinot Noir is unfined and unfiltered.

Pavel and Michaela Horak -John Schriener photo credit

15 Lowe Drive, Cawston, BC

Similkameen Wineries

* John Schreiner's Blog

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