Our story
A family, a creek, and a piece of land on the South Kelowna Wine Trail.
Priest Creek Family Estate Winery was founded through Darren and Jane’s wish to raise their children on a vineyard, bringing them back to their farming roots.
We are on the South Kelowna Wine Trail in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, with mountain views in every direction. Our aim is to provide a collection of quality wines which can be shared today or cellared for the future.
The name
Priest Creek was chosen to pay tribute to the heritage of the land. This estate was part of a parcel farmed by the Mission in the mid-1800s. The creek runs behind the property into Mission Creek, where Father Pandosy is said to have planted the first grapes in the valley for wine.
Our family
Darren and Jane Sawin purchased the estate vineyard in 2015, wanting to share their farming roots with their children. Different from farming in Saskatchewan, they learned as much as they could about viticulture and winemaking while putting the vision together, teaching the children about farming and business and making family memories that will last a lifetime. The children are hands-on with the vines and the business.
The vineyard features thirty-year-old Gewürztraminer vines and a combination of three clones of Pinot Noir, as well as Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. Great wine starts with the soil and the vines the fruit is grown on.
Our winemaker
Our vision for a boutique family winery became a reality on meeting winemaker Jason Parkes a few years back. From that meeting a friendship grew into much more: Darren began his winemaking journey working alongside the lead winemakers at Jason Parkes Customs, and through courses at Washington State University.
Using the methods learned from that team, the non-interventionist techniques behind our wines include marginal and mild pressing, specialised yeasts, frequent manual punching of the musts and 100% gravity flow. Darren is now our lead winemaker at Priest Creek.
We look forward to pouring for you soon.