Our winery is owned and operated by John and Maria Ferreira; both born in Portugal, immigrated to Canada with their families at a young age. We purchased this estate in 1979 as an orchard where we grew cherries, peaches and apples. Coming from a Portuguese heritage our passion of wine led us to convert our orchard into a vineyard after 20 years in production and packaging of fruit. The conversion of fruit to wine was done over a three-year period with the first merlot and chardonnay grapes being planted in 1999, additional varietals followed. Our landscape and fabulous soil have allowed for us to have optimal growing conditions for grapes. The Black Sage Bench is well-known for producing excellent quality grapes due to desert climate temperatures and desert terrain. These conditions allow for us to produce fabulous wines. Today our vineyard is in full production featuring varietals including Merlot, Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier, Melbec and most recent Zinfandel and Petit Verdot. more... See more text