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Lucas Hogler, winemaker.

Photo courtesy countryvines.ca

Great wines via Country Vines

By Joe Leary

Published 11:16 PDT, Fri April 26, 2024

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It’s been a fixture on Steveston Highway for more than sixty years. You may know it as a quaint wine shop or the adjoining country market, which opened in 1978. Either way, Country Vines has a great story to tell.

While one may initially have thought of the Okanagan when discussion turns to BC wine-growing regions, there are small-lot, hand-crafted wines being produced, right here in Richmond. It’s a working family farm and winery that continues to cultivate over 300 acres of mixed crops.

“Country Vines started working on its first vineyard in 2009, right beside the George Massey Tunnel,” says winemaker, Lucas Hogler. “The main focus was drainage as Richmond's high water table was our main concern.

We planted our first vineyard in 2011 under the guidance of the late Harry Mcwatters, who was an estate winery pioneer in the Okanagan.

He helped choose the grapes he thought would best suit Richmond's unique climate: Pinot Gris, Schonburger and Pearl de Saba; all early ripening and aromatic white varietals. Pearl de Saba is his secret weapon, a varietal used in small amounts in white blends to bump the aromatics and freshness of the wine”.

In the wine game, patience is a virtue and the first crop of their young vineyard came to be in 2013. “We didn't have a manufacturing license at the time so we had to get the grapes processed by a custom crush company in the Okanagan,” he says.

“It was a huge disconnect for us as we did not get to see or experience the process, nor get accustomed to our own grapes. We felt the only way we would learn was to be in control of the process with the guidance of some winemaking consultants to ensure we didn't derail the quality of our wine by some silly error.”

Clearly, the process was successful. “We occasionally screwed up LOL, but that's what allowed us to learn, understand, adjust and get better”.

By 2015, Country Vines secured a manufacturing facility of their own and they were off and running. “There was no fancy book learning here as we took a lot of bumps and bruises by figuring it out the hard way,” adds

“However, it was then that we saw the concentration of our Richmond Grown Grapes started to improve drastically, which made the winemaking process a lot easier.”

The list of varietals is vast as they truly want to offer something for everyone. This includes everything from Richmond Estate Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Schonburger, Pearl de Saba, Okanagan Rose, Viognier, Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon among numerous red and white blends.

As the business matures and customer demand subsequently increases, the planned winemaking capacity was designed to never exceed 5000 cases per year. Between the Richmond Estate grown and their Okanagan vineyard, Hogler says they found Country Vines happy spot.

“Currently, we are a 3000 case-a-year winery”, he says. “With our vineyards in the Okanagan fully mature, we plan on staying around that size and potentially selling grapes to other wineries to offset the increase in production”.

Country Vines Winery and their adjoining roadside farm market, Richmond Country Farms is a great space for the wine enthusiast and fresh produce consumer alike. With a working farm, replete with rescue livestock; it makes for a full family experience.

“Our Tasting Room and the patio are located in the heart of our farm, just East of Richmond Country Farms Market—look for our signs in the parking lot,” he says. “We sell our wine almost entirely out of our Wine Shop with a few restaurants and liquor stores, so staying small and focused is important to us”.

Open Sunday to Thursday from 12 to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 12 to 8 p.m.

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