JoieFarm Winery

About JoieFarm Winery

JoieFarm is a small, independently owned winery on the Naramata Bench in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Named for the French word meaning “joy,” Joie expresses the pleasure that wine and food bring to life.
Over the past 20+ years, we’ve built our reputation on crafting expressive, food-friendly wines rooted in a sense of place. Our focus has always been on aromatic whites, mouth-watering rosé, and cool-climate Burgundian varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We’re proud to be part of a new Canadian wine culture—one that values thoughtful farming, minimal intervention, and a deep connection between wine and cuisine.

Today, we continue to evolve, embracing innovation and sustainability while staying true to the values that shaped us: balance, brightness, and joy in every bottle.

Representative Biography

Richard Charnock, Executive Winemaker

Richard Charnock began his winemaking journey in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario—one of Canada’s most compelling and challenging cool-climate regions. Working with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and aromatic whites in such a marginal environment sparked a deep fascination with the craft, leading him to explore cellar work around the world, including harvests in New Zealand, South Africa, and Tasmania.

These years in the cellar shaped his precision-driven, low-intervention winemaking style—but over time, his curiosity led him closer to the vines. In 2015, he relocated to the Okanagan Valley, enrolled in the viticulture program at Okanagan College, and immersed himself in the day-to-day work of farming.

Richard joined JoieFarm in 2022, where he now stewards both our vineyards and cellar. His approach is rooted in thoughtful viticulture, intentional fermentation choices, and a belief that balance begins in the vineyard. With each vintage, he continues to refine a style that is both deliberate and expressive of place.
“Cool Climate Chardonnay offers this amazing balance between tension and generosity,” says Richard. “You get these long, drawn-out ripening windows where the acidity stays sharp and the fruit just builds in depth—it’s a winemaker’s dream.”
Richard Charnock, Executive Winemaker

Why We're Cool

JoieFarm’s Chardonnay program is rooted in the unique terroir of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley—a high-latitude, lake-moderated desert with a growing season that stretches well into fall. We work with several vineyard sites across the region, including the Naramata Bench and Skaha Bluff, each offering distinctive microclimates that allow us to highlight different facets of this noble variety.

At 49.5° N, our vineyards benefit from long daylight hours and cool nights that preserve acidity while promoting slow, even ripening. The moderating effect of Okanagan Lake delays bud break in spring and extends hang time in the fall, which gives us the rare opportunity to make multiple picks from the same site—one for freshness, one for flavour, and one for phenolic ripeness. This staggered harvest approach allows us to build structure and complexity from the ground up.

Our winemaking style is low-intervention but deliberate. We ferment using a combination of selected and ambient yeasts in a mix of neutral and new Burgundian oak, depending on the desired style. We lean into full malolactic fermentation for our most prized chardonnay’s, alongside extended lees contact, to create texture and depth. Whether we’re making sparkling, un-oaked, or barrel-aged styles, the goal is always balance—between fruit and acid, freshness and richness, subtlety and power.