We take wines seriously, but not ourselves.

Alistair Veen

Alistair’s first foray into hospitality at the age of 15 ended up as his lifelong calling. Great wine and amazing food have guided him around the world whether it is for work or for play. Alistair trained as a chef and achieved his Red Seal in 2006, opened his restaurant in 2007 and does his best to delight guests every chance he has to be in service. As a sommelier, Alistair ascended to the height of Best Sommelier in BC in 2016 and went as far as taking the Master Sommelier Exam in 2019. (He has to do that again BTW)

He joined the team at JoieFarm in August 2021 as a partner and looks forward to every chance he has to be in the vineyards. He is married to the love of his life, Aron, and has two amazing young children, Alex and Emily. His Siamese cat Montrachet would beg to differ over the children being amazing.

BJ Tumanut

BJ came to JoieFarm from an entrepreneurial background in the luxury chocolate retail business and has been active in the food and wine industry since 1999. She is spirited and energetic, while bringing a detail-oriented and highly organized approach to JoieFarm’s operations. As the General Manager, BJ’s job is to have an overall view of the many facets involved at JoieFarm, identify challenges that lie ahead, steer the company and team in a successful direction along with Alistair, and build a talented crew of hard-working, wine-loving colleagues.

BJ is naturally curious and has an insatiable appetite for learning. She rejuvenates her energy by spending quality time with her partner Sean and their Golden Doodle Hazel, reading, cooking, gardening, and instructing yoga classes on Sunday mornings. (She is far and away the most flexible person on the team!)

Richard Charnock

As a carpenter in Toronto, Richard knew he wanted to do something other than renovate old homes. In 2008, opportunity knocked when his cousin introduced him to an up-and-coming winery in Ontario’s Prince Edward County. Richard jumped at the opportunity to combine a passion for wine (developed through family dinners where wine played a leading role) with a career and has never looked back. Having spent the better part of a decade in cellars producing cool climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aromatics in Prince Edward County, New Zealand, South Africa and Tasmania, Richard wanted to round out his experience by getting closer to the grapes. In 2015 he moved to the Okanagan, took the viticulture course at Okanagan College and hopped on a tractor to live out his goal of combining cool climate viticulture and low intervention winemaking. Richard joined JoieFarm in 2022 and is now the custodian of our vineyards and winery.

Karl Duda

Karl is a lifelong resident of the Okanagan Valley with a deep respect for what the area has to offer. Growing up on a farm in Okanagan Falls afforded him plenty of opportunity to roam the hills and valleys of the region and he will never get tired of our pine forests, lakes, grasslands and mountains. In his youth he would often ride his bicycle out of necessity but that grew into a passion that turned into a career. He spent many years riding, racing, fixing and selling bicycles before a return to the wine industry.

Karl started at Joie in 2014 and has grown his skills over the years. We can thank him for maintaining our house style of fresh, juicy, yet complex wines. The logistics and on-the-spot problem solving combined with the creativity of working with what nature gives you each year is what he loves about this work. Plus he gets to ride his bike to work!

Kelvin Park

Kelvin has worked for JoieFarm Winery since he was a wee lad – in the vineyards, on the crush pad, and a few other places in between. He actually began with the 2013 & 2014 vintages as a labourer and came back to us in 2019 & 2020, before we finally put a ring on it and made him our Lead Cellar Hand. Kelvin has a multi-faceted role: working in the winery at harvest and throughout the production cycle, in the vineyards as required throughout the growing season, assisting in inventory movements and taking much of that awesome photography and drone footage you see. Kelvin is even known to assist with our summer-season hospitality. When he’s not rocking it here, he’s being an actual rockstar as the drummer in his band, Black of Hearts. (They’re huge in Japan.)

Tory Pearson

Tory was already a wine club member but officially joined the JoieFarm team in 2022 after completing a certification in Vineyard Management at Okanagan College. A bit of a ‘Jill of all trades’, Tory wears a few different hats here. She is an assistant vineyard manager during the growing season and come harvest time heads into the winery as a cellarhand to help the production team turn our lovingly farmed grapes into beautiful wines. You’ll even find her in the tasting room now and again, sharing her passion for farming and BC wine.

Tory also has a degree in political science and spent a number of years working in professional politics before moving into the tech sector. But then she fell in love with the Okanagan and decided to take the leap: pursuing her dream of farming grapes and making wine. It’s a decision that has made us both very happy!

Sean Roche

Sean oversees our Secrest Mountain Vineyard in Oliver which, at 43 acres, is by far our largest property. This makes him a pretty important guy! Sean grew up in South Africa around vineyards and wineries which is where his passion for farming and growing grapes started. His family moved to Ontario in 2008 where he started his career in farming by working for his father who has been in the wine industry for decades. Sean worked in the Ontario wine industry for close to 8 years before moving to the Okanagan for further schooling in 2018. He ended up falling in love with the Okanagan Valley and decided to move here permanently. His goal is to provide the winery with the best quality fruit so we can make top quality wines. Having been in the industry for over a decade he understands the challenges that can arise in the day-to-day operations of a vineyard and has a deep seeded drive to overcome those challenges and succeed.

Zach Wheeler

Zach is “Mr. Naramata” (he even has the sash to prove it). No one embodies the area – or relishes in it – as much as he does. Zach has crafted a life for himself that blends a love for the wine industry and refined tastes with adventure and outdoor exploration. When he’s not busy engaging with visitors in the tasting room or assisting in the production process at harvest, Zach immerses himself in the wilderness. One of his favourite pastimes is exploring new roads on his gravel bike. He finds solace in the simplicity of pedaling through scenic landscapes, discovering hidden gems, and uncovering the beauty of the Okanagan. This adventurous spirit also extends into the backcountry where Zach hunts big old mule deer and mature black bears, forging a deep connection with nature and an appreciation for the wildlife.

Halle Gagne

Halle can be a woman of few words – like when asked to provide a biography. We know she was born on Vancouver Island, has an adorable old dog, and a partner named Marty. Oh, and that she likes wine (really, really likes wine!). She visits tasting rooms the way others collect Pokemons. At present, there’s only three wineries left in the entire Valley she has yet to visit!

Apart from that, we can also say that Halle is a phenom of the BC wine industry. She came to us in Spring 2023 already gifted with an impressive natural skill set and varied experience from other wineries, and she’s learned everything else with lightning speed. As our Hospitality & Customer Service Coordinator, Halle is our frontline contact with wine club members and guests in our tasting room.

Jan Biega

Jan came to JoieFarm in February 2019 with over a decade of diverse food and beverage industry experience spanning sales, marketing, retail, catering, hospitality, event management, warehousing, as well as a bit of hands-on experience in vineyards and wineries. He has a Master’s Degree in Gastronomy in addition to certificates in marketing and winery management. His passion for wine, culture and travel has taken him to over 30 countries (only two of which banned him from ever coming back).

Jan currently oversees our direct-to-consumer sales, wine club, marketing, inventory and fulfilment efforts. His average day might include producing content, extending genuine customer service to our club members, supporting hospitality staff, drinking at least 10 glasses of water and boring his colleagues with so-called ‘fun’ facts. Jan has an impressive pocket square collection, a fascination with antique maps, and strong opinions about kitchen designs. The three words we’d use to describe him are “really not funny”.

Jen Carter

Jen has always been incredibly passionate about wine and has worked in this industry for nearly her entire career. She helped open our tasting room – like, for the first ever time – in 2015 and has been involved our winery, our vineyards, our hospitality, and sales on-and-off ever since. She now oversees all our licensee, BCLDB, and export sales, as well as manage a province wide team of sales agents, all from her home in beautiful Terrace, BC.

Outside of work, Jen loves hiking, trail running, reading, and cooking. She’s also a great forager (but don’t bother asking for her spots, she won’t tell you). She lives with her husband and best friend, Clayton. Together they are raising two unbelievably adorable young boys, two (nearly as adorable) dogs, a cat, and multiple houseplants.

Barney

Hazel

Astro

Stella