James & Joanna Schlosser
Winemaker James Schlosser and his wife and co-owner Joanna Schlosser.
“Small batch, big love.” That is the catchphrase for Niche Wine Company, a family-run estate on Kelowna’s west side that has been producing quality wine in small “micro-batches” since 2010. The phrase refers to the small-scale and deeply personal character of the wine-making process at Niche, and after speaking to winemaker James Schlosser and his wife and co-owner Joanna Schlosser about their passion for wine, it is clear that the slogan holds true to their philosophy regarding wine production in the Okanagan. “On the farm you get into a cycle of experiencing every season and of taking real appreciation of single moments,” James explains. “The work itself kind of forces you to stop and do that, and that is pretty rare in a job I think.”
James’s parents bought the property in West Kelowna forty-two years ago while working as lawyers in the valley, and James has fond memories growing up on the farm as a child, where his family variously raised sheep, goats, horses, and rabbits. The property is situated at the quiet top of Bartley Road at the base of the McDougal Rim trail, and James notes the splendour of the cliff-sides that tower over the vineyards, as well as the effect of the chill mountain breeze on the wines. “For me up on the cliff-sides, it is so beautiful,” he remarks. “In the morning there is this rush of cold air that comes down the valley, and then as the day warms it blows back up the mountain again, so you get these huge wind shifts going up and down all the time which is really great for things like grape disease prevention.”
After graduating with a degree in biology from the University of Victoria, James returned to his family’s farm to work the small vineyard his parents had planted for the summer, which motivated him to take his Masters in oenology and viticulture at Brock University in Niagara. There he met Joanna, and the two eventually returned to the Okanagan with the intention of developing James’ family farm into a working vineyard. “Farming is tough and it seemed like something you could make a living doing – I was wrong on that point but it does keep life interesting,” James laughs.
When James and Joanna arrived in the valley, they purchased a lot of crown land above the two-acre farm to expand the vineyard. “We knew it was a good spot but we didn’t know how good, so we tried some different varietals to see what we could grow there. And when we found out how good it actually was we quickly purchased a second piece of crown land, which went primarily to Pinot noir,” says James. James and Joanna are passionate about Pinot noir, a professional interest which is linked to the deep connection the family feels with the land. “Pinot noir has a unique way of reflecting what in the wine industry we call a ‘sense of place’,” Joanna explains. “When you drink a Pinot from say Oregon or Washington it reflects those regions, and especially in a valley like ours where from Osoyoos to Salmon Arm there is such a diversity of terroir and weather, it’s a good varietal to reflect those special characteristics.” For this reason, Pinot noir may be the wine which best reflects the unique material conditions of the Schlosser’s West Kelowna property, as well as the sense of history and memory connected to the land their family has worked for nearly half a century.
View of the vineyards
Interestingly, the property itself seems to have been shaped by the wine-production process as much as it shapes the wine that is produced upon it. When the family began planting grapes on the farm, they immediately noticed an interesting shift in the ecology of the farm’s landscape. “Once the grapes were planted the farm started to come to life in a different way,” Joanna recalls. “One year we got a massive infestation of dragon flies in the middle of August, and we started noticing quail families running around through the vines. Even though we had only planted grapes there, a kind of ecosystem was starting to form, and this has been a driving force for us as we continue to grow.”
Another driving force for James and Joanna has been the maintenance of small batches in their wine production, which they believe adds a unique and personal element to their wines. “At the end of the day when you’re making 40 000 litres of a certain wine it lacks a little bit of specialness,” James explains. “I’ve always wanted to play around in smaller scales, and doing it for yourself is very rewarding.”
Niche winery does not use the large and expensive equipment common at bigger wineries, so there is a hand-crafted character to their wines that comes from the fact that many of the stages of the wine-making process are done literally by hand.
“I hand-bucket everything myself, and we do most things using gravity. We actually have an old wheelchair elevator that we converted to take little 300-litre tanks up and down from the hole in what used to be our barn. We’ve done 200,000 kilograms since we started doing that, so my right arm is definitely a lot stronger than my left,” laughs James.
The small batches allow the Schlossers a degree of freedom and versatility which they feel they could not have if they were to expand their production size. The company normally produces batches from only about 50 to 200 cases, which enables them the freedom to innovate, take chances, and collaborate on a variety of small projects without large financial risk. All of this leads to a finished product which has been carefully selected and hand-crafted by James himself, and which reflects the individual care and innovation that goes into all of the company’s wines, as well as the deep connection the family feels to the land they work.
In the grapevines.
It is all about family at the Niche Winery.
In addition to their work producing wine, James and Joanna both hold full-time-jobs and care for their five-year-old son Hugh, which is one of the reasons that Niche remains a private winery. While things get busy in the lives of the Schlossers, Joanna notes how it is the wine culture itself which keeps them motivated. “One thing we love and which really motivates us is just the culture of the industry,” she explains. “For us that conflict of balancing work and life is more like work-life integration – our friends and our lives and our work are rooted in the wine industry, so this for us is a lifestyle.”
Since Niche’s conception as a winery, the wine industry in the Okanagan Valley has nearly tripled in size, expanding from about 100 wineries in 2010 to its current status of over 300. Asked about the difficulties of competing in such a rapidly expanding industry, particularly as a small private winery situated on far-flung Bartley Road on Kelowna’s west side, Joanna responded with a laugh. “That has actually been one of the loveliest parts of this whole experience, because the community of BC wine producers, growers, and supporters are such a great group of people. There’s so much more collaboration than competition that it has just become something really nice to be a part of, like an extended family.”
In the end, James’ and Joanna’s final word on starting their own wine industry was about passion for the craft. “You really have to love it. You just better be passionate, because it is an adventure.” Asked what advice (or warning) they would give to anyone thinking of trying to start up a winery themselves, the couple laughed. “Call us, you know? It probably needs a bottle of wine and some serious discussion.”
Since Niche’s inception as a winery, James and Joanna have collaborated with a number of local restaurants and producers, and their wines may be found at Raudz, the Curious Café, and Micro, as well as purchased at Save-on Foods and local VQA boutiques such as the Cask and Barrel.