Quails’ Gate

About Quails’ Gate

Nestled in the breathtaking Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Quails’ Gate Winery is situated on the slopes of Mount Boucherie, an ancient volcano. Our lakefront estate is renowned for producing premium, award-winning wines and providing memorable guest experiences.
A visit to Quails’ Gate is both an exploration of the senses and an experience to be savoured. There’s a reason it’s known as one of the must-see wineries in the region. Our passion for making great wines is matched only by our dedication to ensuring every visit is a unique and memorable one.
We are an industry leader in viticulture and place significant emphasis on the development of exceptional wines through extensive research of new varietal clones, canopy management techniques and crop control, which is used to significantly reduce yields and concentrate fruit flavours. We produce ultra-premium BC VQA (Vintner’s Quality Alliance) and internationally recognizable wines with a focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The Quails’ Gate estate was established in 1956, but our love affair with the soil dates back to 1908, when Richard Stewart Sr. settled in the area. From working the land, he would go on to establish one of the valley’s most successful nurseries. Six decades later, his son, Dick, switched over to growing grapes. With the help of Dick’s eldest son Ben, Quails’ Gate Winery was founded in 1989. Over the next three decades, the entire family became involved in making the company one of the leading producers of premium BC VQA wines.

Representative Biography

Kailee Frasch, Winemaker

A Kelowna native, Kailee graduated from UBC Okanagan with a Microbiology degree and after experiencing harvest as a Cellar Hand, travelled east to study Oenology and Viticulture at Brock University. Starting as a lab technician at Quails’ Gate, she was quickly promoted to Oenologist, Assistant and Associate Winemaker, honing her skills with a stint making cool-climate Pinot Noir in Central Otago.

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.

VINEYARDS AND SUSTAINABILITY
As a fourth-generation Okanagan farming family and third-generation family farming wine business, we’ve been able to research the best selection of vines for the Okanagan Valley and the best techniques to grow them. This has given the winery some of the most mature vinifera plantings in Canada along with the most extensive selection of mature Dijon Pinot Noir clones.
As industry leaders in sustainability and environmental stewardship, we take seriously our commitment to responsible farming. We have a tradition of using low-impact viticulture practices and our philosophy is to do more with less, employing a holistic ecosystem management approach to grape growing. In 2022, our vineyards were certified by Sustainable Winegrowing BC, a made-in-BC program that leads the way in sustainable winegrowing practices setting a standard for the province and the rest of the country.

Latitude = 49.8° N
Elevation = 440 m
Year Oldest Clone Planted = 1987
First Clones Planted = UC Davis
Recent replanting of 100 acres as part of long-term vineyard strategy.
Introduction of new Pinot Noir clones (165, 943, 1185, 521) and Chardonnay clones (1067, 1068).
“Thousand series” clones isolated late 2000s–mid 2010s — cutting-edge plant material, with plans to be one of the first in Canada to plant them.
FPS Chardonnay clones (100 FPS, 37 FPS) isolated in Saanich; potential for cold hardiness and strong sparkling attributes.
Continued replanting of proven Dijon clones (Pinot Noir 828, 115, 777; Chardonnay 76, 95, 548).
Total Plantings = 50 acres
% of Overall Production = 15%