Blasted Church Vineyards - History

History

The Origin of Our Name

On a cool spring morning in 1929, a small crew from Okanagan Falls set off to a deserted mining camp some 16 miles away from home. Their mission: to dismantle an old wooden church and bring it back to Okanagan Falls. The plan called for a controlled blast of four dynamite sticks inside the church in order to "loosen the nails". Odd as it may seem, the explosion spared the wood from damage during dismantling. Save for losing the steeple, the plan succeeded. Now, the 120+ year old wooden church stands proudly in its second home of Okanagan Falls and operates as a United Church with Sunday service every week. They proudly display a sign in their front yard proclaiming themselves to be the "blasted church". With our name we celebrate the ingenuity of this initiative, and honour these pioneers for their vision, steadfastness and craftsmanship.

The Labels

The fun, graphic labels are the brainchild of Bernie Hadley-Beauregard of Brandever. The original label series from 2002 was created by Monika Melnychuk ans was very well received, winning numerous international wine label awards. With the release of our 2009 whites and 2008 reds, we introduced our new Storytelling Series, created by Chris Sickels at Red Nose Studios in Greenfield, Indiana. The artwork was created by constructing and then photographing an actual clay model. After the image was captured, th emodel was broken down and the individual pieces re-used for other labels. These new labels have won some major international awards: Gold and Silver: 2010 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition Gold: 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition http://www.sfwinecomp.com/pdfs/LabelWinnersdivided10.pdf

The History

In 2002, Evelyn & Chris Campbell bought the 2 year old 17-hectare Prpich Hills Winery on the road between Okanagan Falls and Penticton. Perched high on a rolling hillside that cascades into Skaha Lake, this is undoubtedly one of the most majestic vineyards in the valley. Originally planted in the late 1980s, and now into its second decade of grape production, the 42 acre vineyard has long been a choice purveyor of premium quality grapes to many of British Columbia's leading wineries. Twelve varietals are planted here, from Chardonnay to spicy Gewürztraminer, and from the cool climate Lemberger to the heat seeking Cabernet Sauvignon. All of the estate harvest is dedicated to the production of fine Blasted Church wines. This is important to the proprietors as they believe that wines of exceptional character truly begin in the vineyard. To supplement the harvest and to keep up to the demand from our consumers, additional fruit is sourced from quality growers in the South Okanagan. Blasted Church wines can be purchased from the winery, government and private liquor stores, and it is also available in restaurants across BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Trendsetters in the Okanagan Valley

In 2004, Blasted Church became one of the first Okanagan wineries to produce all of their wines under the screwcap closure.

Blasted Church began using eco-friendly glass with their 2008/2009 vintages, challenging the popular notion that premium wines are always packaged in weighty bottles. Eco-bottles look the same as regular glass wine bottles, but offer significant benefits in terms of sustainability practices through efficiencies in transportation, handling and resource use.

Most recently in 2012, Blasted Church was one of the first wineries to offer their wines to restaurants in the stainless steel keg format. Wine on tap is a movement that is gaining momentum in the industry and our Hatfield's Fuse and Big Bang Theory can be found on taps in many restaurants in BC.

The Owners

Much like the old church, this winery has been a story of travel and transformation for both Evelyn and Chris. In 2002 they uprooted their family from the coast and settled in Okanagan Falls where they took ownership of both a well established vineyard and a newly built but yet unproven winery. The transformation into becoming Blasted Church happened surprisingly fast, and was immediately welcomed by wine lovers.

In what may already seem like a lifetime ago, the Campbell family lived an active life in the urban setting of Vancouver. "Chris saw a winery for sale advert in the Globe and Mail", states his wife Evelyn, "... and I made the mistake of laughing at the thought!" That event started the Campbell's on a three year long journey that culminated in the acquisition of the ideal property in the spring of 2002.

This is a hands-on operation for both Chris and Evelyn, who are aided by their son and daughter. Initially Chris spent long days of hard labour bringing the vineyard up to snuff; these days he's one of the hardest people to track down. On any given day he may be driving the forklift, managing the winery's warehouse, or starting a new construction project somewhere on the property. Evelyn, formerly a CGA, oversees the accounting and public relations side of the winery.

Perseverance, a disciplined work ethic, and vision are what distinguished the Campbell's from those who only dream of achieving their goals. From day one they had agreed to surround themselves with talented staff and give them full support, trust and resources required to perform their very best for the company. They emphasize how this philosophy has helped them thrive within the industry. Furthermore, the team is one of the most dedicated, empowered and customer-driven in the business.

The Winemaker

Blasted Church still celebrates our first winemaker, Frank Supernak, who died unexpectedly during the first harvest. Over the years, we've had a few different winemakers come and go, but in the late spring of 2011, Mark Wendenburg accepted the position as Winemaker for Blasted Church. Mark is a household name in the Canadian wine industry for the nearly two decade role he played as winemaker at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery. Mark's career in the wine industry actually began in 1980 when he and his father, Chris Wendenburg, planted their first vineyard on their Penticton property. Their Pinot Blanc vineyard is still a strong producer today, 30 years later. This first foray into the wine industry awoke Mark's passion for viticulture and oenology and we are delighted he is leading our cellar team to bigger and better things every vintage.