Quails’ Gate

About Quails’ Gate

Nestled in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Quails’ Gate Winery has been producing award-winning wines for 30 years. Situated on the slopes of Mount Boucherie, an ancient volcano, our 125-acre (51 hectare) lakefront estate is renowned for producing premium wines and providing unsurpassed guest experiences.

We produce ultra-premium BC VQA and internationally-recognizable wines with a focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and our passion for making great wines is matched only by our dedication to ensuring every visit is a unique and memorable one.

Representative Biography

Rowan Stewart, Assistant Winemaker

Growing up in a winemaking family in British Columbia, Rowan Stewart started his career working in the Quails’ Gate vineyards in 2004. Deciding to pursue further studies, he travelled abroad to study Viticulture and Winemaking at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology in New Zealand. After nearly five years in Marlborough, he travelled to California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys. After learning some of the quirks of a hot climate, he returned to Canada spending three harvests on the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario. In 2020, he returned to the family business where he now lends his winemaking skills to Quails’ Gate Estate Winery as Assistant Winemaker.

Why We're Cool

Chardonnay is the Queen of their white varietals. While it is widely planted in many wine regions around the world, it takes the right terroir, viticultural and winemaking influences to capture the true essence of the varietal.

Chardonnay was first planted in the Quails’ Gate Estate vineyards in 1987. Additional planting of imported French clones occurred in 1996 and there are now more than seven clones in the Estate vineyard. Clonal diversity is very important to producing a quality Chardonnay as each one offers a new dimension to both the viticultural and winemaking process. Vine age is also becoming a key factor in producing consistent, outstanding vintages as with each passing year we see more flavours emerging that define their place of origin and the soils in which they were grown.