Robert Bell's

Wines of Canada

Since 1992

The View Vineyard Winery and Wards Cider

They are located in south Kelowna with spectacular views of Kelowna and Okanagan Lake; the winery's name reflects. Jennifer Turton Molgat, and siblings are the owners,. Jennifer is the president and driving force behind the winery and cidery. The vineyards have a northern exposure; the sandy loam soils create their site-specific wines. Chris Turton, Jennifer's father started transforming his grandfather's packinghouse estate into a vineyard and winery when Jennifer was a child


They own 48 acres of vines planted consisting of Ehrefelser, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Optima, Pinotage and Baco Noir. The winery may have the largest planting of Pinotage in Canada .

The View Winery is on property that has been in the Turton/Ward family for five generations. Historically, apples were grown; in the mid 1990's a transition began and orchard rows were replaced with vines. In 2006, plans began to make premium wines and the beloved old packinghouse built by Great-Granddad Ward in 1922 was transformed into a winery and cidery. The winery currently is in the heritage packing house that also doubles as a cidery.

Ward's packing House
Wards Packing House

Signature wines are the Red Shoe Gewürztraminer, Red Shoe Pinotage, Red Shoe Distraction Rosé also a Select Late Harvest Optima and a cherry fortified fruit wine called ``stiletto``  2013 Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards (first place in the category of Tourism/Hospitality)...The View Winery.

The View is also home to Wards Ciders, which has a long and rich history. The ciders were sold at Costco in Washington before they were on the market in BC. The roots here can be traced back to Jennifer"s Great-Grandfather, Ted. Jennifer's father Chris Turton was a pioneer is growing apples on the farm along with introducing grapes.

Cassandra (pictured)is the shop manager at the winery. She is know to go all out on Halloween.

Perhaps the first face you will upon entering the winery is the cheerful smile of Dianne.

 

The tasting is located in a former (apple) packinghouse. Built by George Ward in 1922, the packinghouse is the last from its era in the Kelowna area.

 


Cody Latino, Assistant Wine Maker

Cody headed West from Ontario in 2014 to realize his dream of working in the wine industry. With a BSc in Chemistry from Trent University in his back pocket, he came to The View eager to dive in and learn every aspect of quality wine and cider making. His hard work paid off when, in August 2018, he was promoted to Assistant Winemaker.

Cody is a strong believer of the farm-to-table philosophy, enjoying fresh, local food, wine, craft ciders, and beer. Cody is an avid outdoors man, with a particular love of skiing, off-roading and back country camping.

 

The talented winemaker and mother of three is  Kristy French; the assistant winemaker is Cody Latino, consulting winemaker is Mike Anderson. Mike worked his first harvest in the lab at Jackson-Triggs Estate where he was introduced to the science of wine making.

The vineyard manager is Rodrigo Escobedo. He is from Chile where he earned a Masters Degree in Agricultural Engineering. He also brings years of cellar experience to the job having worked in different parts of the world with both wine and cider.

Mark Backman the production manager for Wards Cider is a born and bred British Columbian who began working in the alcohol and beverage industry back in 1996.

Jerry Drolet has been a vital member of the Wards Cider family for over 35 years. He knows every tree, branch, bud and apple that help craft Ward's delicious cider.

 

 Kristy French 

A graduate of Western Australia's Curtin University Wine Excellence Centre in Margaret River with a Bachelor's of Science in Viticulture and Oenology. Her winery career started with an historic winery on the Swan River in the heart of Swan Valley, Australia.  Since her move to Canada in 2006 Kristy has enjoyed working in both the wine and brewing industry.  The Okanagan is the perfect home for Kristy as she pursues her passions for wine, food and the outdoors including hiking, camping fishing and snowboarding.  She is also the ideal new winemaker come diva at The View Winery with her passion for all things fashion

" I love the way the winemakers in the Okanagan wine industry are so willing to help each other, with the common goal of making the best possible wine our region can make."

 

Jennifer Molgat - President

Since 2006 Jennifer Turton-Molgat has proudly led The View Winery to success, in her the role as president. Jennifer's vision and inspiration for the winery and its vineyards is drawn from her family's passion for the land as pioneering Kelowna Orchardist and agriculturists since 1922.

Under Jennifer's guidance The View Winery has become one of the Okanagan Valley's most tasted and visited boutique wineries – renowned for its exceptional aromatic whites, expertise in crafting quality Pinotage and its sexy red shoe label.

With her effervescent and creative style, Jennifer leads all aspects of The View Winery's operations and teams including vineyards, cellars, sales and marketing and guest services.

Jennifer enjoys hosting guests at The View's tasting room as well as providing her personal touch, often hand-delivering wines to customers across B.C. When she is not busy at the winery, Jennifer pursues her equally important passions including her family and equine friend Lazaro.

2013 Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards (first place in the category of Tourism/Hospitality)...The View Winery.

Kent Molgat Jennifer's husband is the man behind the front-lines working on graphic designs, social media and guidance for Jennifer. Kent is a well known journalist.

How does your business/organization impact the community?
The View Winery and all of the wineries in Kelowna (Lakeshore Wine Route and Kelowna FabFive Wineries) have put Kelowna on the map as a world class wine touring destination. We are an eclectic collection of wineries with something unique for every visitor. We are thrilled to offer a bit of fun and history and of course a great wine experience to our neighbours and friends and their guests to Kelowna. I think our great wine trails have increased local pride in our city.1*

The View produces over ten thousand cases each year. In 2013 they added Canada's first wine in a can, their popular BLING Sparkling Wine.

1* Kelowna Now

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