byJoieFarm General Manager/August 24, 2025/inNews
From the Winemaker
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2825 Naramata Rd
Naramata, BC
Tel: 250-496-0093
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With harvest just around the corner, I’m excited to share what’s been happening across our vineyard sites this season.
Overall, our vines are looking fantastic! We’ve been blessed with exceptional growing conditions this year—long, hot days balanced with regular rainfall, plus those crucial windy periods that kept mildew pressure at bay. Our fruit looks very healthy and we’re seeing promises of an impressive vintage ahead.
Vineyard-by-Vineyard Update
Secrest Mountain Vineyard, Oliver
We’ve been busy with replanting projects here—the Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc were removed last year and have been replaced with Gewürztraminer to be used for making A Noble Blend. Our three-year-old Cabernet Franc block also required replanting, so we’ve doubled down with more Cabernet Franc in its place. The established Pinot Noir is looking particularly promising.
The Lumo valves we installed for our irrigation and our weather station have made it possible for us to farm this 42-acre vineyard more efficiently, which will allow us to grow premium fruit. Speaking of premium fruit, our highly-awarded 2022 Black Label Secrest Pinot Noir is still available for wine club members and visitors to our tasting room.
Isabella Vineyard, Willowbrook
This cooler site has made a strong comeback from the cold snap last year. We’re anticipating close to a regular harvest from this vineyard. The grapes from this vineyard will mainly used for A Noble Blend and Tiny Bubbles.
Whitfield Vineyard, Trout Creek
This 100% Riesling site was our shining star last year, and 2025 is shaping up to be equally impressive. The consistency here continues to amaze us. The small batch 2024 Whitfield Riesling will be released next year exclusively to our wine club.
Okanagan Falls Vineyard
Our 100% Riesling block here is facing some challenges as a result of the cold snap last year, but we’re monitoring closely and adapting our approach as needed.
Con Vida Vineyard, Skaha Bluffs
Like our other sites, we’ve completed re-trunking work here to rejuvenate the vineyard for years of quality production ahead. This season, we’ve also joined an innovative new program using GoPro cameras and drones for yield counting, giving us more precise data to guide our harvest decisions. Our Vit Tech, Tory, is also happy with this technology since it saves her from having to climb the steep heels of this beautiful vineyard!
JoieFarm Vineyard, Naramata Bench
We removed our Muscat vines and planted two premium Burgundian clones of Pinot Noir, positioning this site for exceptional red wine production by 2030. The Gewürztraminer is excelling this year and shows promise for a fantastic 2025 En Famille Gewürztraminer for our wine club next year.
Smethurst Vineyard, Naramata Bench
This premium site underwent a complete transformation—we removed all vines, irrigation, and posts at the end of 2024. This year, we’ve planted cover crops to nourish the soil and conducted comprehensive soil sampling to better understand this exceptional terroir. Wine lovers can look forward to our 2022 Smethurst Pinot Noir release coming soon, and our 2023 Smethurst Gamay is currently available.
For all the re-plantings, it will take five good farming years until we are able to make wine from these plants. We’ve strategically planted varietals that serve our long-term plan for our portfolio with a focus on growing exquisite Naramata Bench Pinot Noir.
Harvest Outlook
We anticipate beginning harvest in the last week of August, starting with Chardonnay for our sparkling wine program. These early-picked grapes will become our 2025 Un-oaked Chardonnay, 2025 Traditional Method Sparkling Wine, and 2025 Plein de Vie—three distinct expressions from what promises to be an outstanding vintage.
Gratitude
None of this would be possible without our dedicated farm team, whose hard work and expertise shine through in every vineyard decision and every cluster that will soon fill our harvest bins.
We’re looking forward to sharing the fruits of this exceptional season with you soon!
Stay tuned for harvest updates as we begin picking in the coming weeks!
