The Stewart Family

STEWART FAMILY HISTORY

Having arrived in the Okanagan Valley in 1908 from County Kildare, Ireland, Richard Stewart Sr., affectionately known as Poppa, was the first to begin the Stewart's Family career in growing fruit in Canada. Having worked for the greenhouses of Lord Guinness in Ireland, Richard was drawn towards a series of greenhouses on Gellatly Bay prior to starting Stewart Brothers Nurseries Ltd. in 1911 with his brother Bill. As a pioneering horticulturist, Poppa was instrumental in establishing the family passion for agriculture as well as a strong dedication and commitment to the Valley.

Inspired by Poppa, our father Dick ventured out on his own in 1956 and purchased the site on the slopes of Mt. Boucherie, which is now the home of Quails' Gate Estate Winery. Dick planted the first vines on this site in 1961 and later built the family home to share with his wife Rosemary and their four children; Ben, Cynthia, Andrea and Tony. Initially, the site was dominated by orchards of cherries, peaches, apples, pears as well as table grapes, but as the years went by Dick realized that these lands were destined to become some of the most sought after Vinifera vineyards in North America.

As Dick neared retirement, he called on his eldest son Ben to come home to the family farm. Together over the next decade Ben and Dick would transform the family estate from its diverse crop to almost exclusive high density premium wine Vinifera that currently make up the Quails' Gate vineyards. This move made it possible for both Dick and Ben to transform the family business from grape grower to wine producer. From the early 1990's to today Ben and his brother Tony have transformed Quails' Gate from a farm gate winery to one of the countries leading Estate Wineries. The history of Quails' Gate is still young, but Ben with Tony and their sisters all continue to carry forward the pursuit of excellence, product service and hard work that their family has been committed to for over a century.

MEET THE PROPRIETORS:

BEN STEWART

Ben, with the support of his wife Ruth, co-founded Quails' Gate Estate Winery in 1989. Ben devoted much of this time in pioneering the development of Pinot Noir in Canada. His passion was to see Pinot Noir developed in the Okanagan and to see it become the most critically acclaimed varietal in the region. As a result, Quails' Gate is one of the worlds leading producers of Pinot Noir and has the greatest and one of the oldest selection of Pinot Noir clones in Canada. Ben currently serves as Chairman and directs much of his energy towards work in the community.

TONY STEWART

Tony returned to the family business in 1992. As CEO of Quails' Gate Estate Winery, he directs much of his energy to creating an environment that will enable Quails' Gate to succeed as one of the worlds best wine houses. Tony is passionate about ensuring that Quails' Gate visitors receive exceptional product and service. He and his team are confident and excited about leading the way in winery culinary tourism. In addition, Tony devotes much of this time to local, industry, provincial and national associations.