sold, to Five Vines Cellars, the private family owned business of Ron and Shelley Mayert as of July 1, 2020.


Harry McWatters considered a pioneer in the BC wine industry is back along with his friend and college Richard Cleave


Harry started at Casabello Wines in 1968 heading up their sales department. In 1978, he was promoted to Director of Marketing and transferred to the Okanagan Valley. He was founder of British Columbia's first estate winery, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in 1980 and founder of See Ya Later Ranch Estate Winery in 1995. In the spring of 2000, Sumac Ridge Estate Wine Group was sold to Vincor Canada and Harry continued as president of Sumac Ridge and See Ya Later Ranch as well as being a Vice-President of Vincor Canada.


 

Harry McWatters has revealed the plans for his eye-catching new Time Estate Winery on Black Sage Road . Designed by architect Nick Bevanda– whose previous credits include wineries for Black Hills and Terravista – will be a dramatic white structure, partially set in a vineyard gully but with elegantly curved upper stories overlooking vineyards and the south Okanagan Valley .
“It will be an iconic building that will be visible from Highway 97 [across the valley],” Harry says.

Construction will begin this year and the winery, with a capacity of at least 30,000 cases, will be ready for the 2014 crush

Another pioneer in the BC wine industry is Richard Dick Cleave

As an Agricultural Institute Graduate of England, Richard Cleave has been planting and managing vineyards in British Columbia for over 35 years.

Since the early 1990's, Richard and his partner have consulted for many wineries and have planted about half the vineyard acreage in all of the Okanagan. His single goal in mind is to grow the best grapes in British Columbia in order to make the best wine.

Richard has been caring for the Black Sage Vineyard, now known as the Sundial Vineyard, for almost 20 years. He excels at nurturing vines to produce fruit rich in aroma, strong tannin structure and full flavours. Through careful canopy management and light cropping, he reduces yields and produces grapes with full phenolic ripeness, suitably high sugar content, balanced with good acidity and full tannin development.

Christa-Lee McWatters Bond

 


Harry now will have two labels. His McWatters label, which began with a 2007 Red Meritage and later included a Chardonnay, will be produced at the Time winery

Time launchedwith three wines: a Chardonnay, a White Meritage and a Red Meritage.

In 2013 Mr McWatters was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Time Winery opened its new location late 2017 in downtown Penticton. TIME Winery is owned and operated by Encore Vineyards Ltd

Please see Harry McWatters

Please see Robert's Selections