Karnail and Narinder Sidhu
Karnail Singh Sidhu, BC Viticulturalist of the Year Award winner and Narinder Sidhu of Kalala Organic Estate Winery.
Emigrating from India as a young man was the start of a long journey in the wine grape industry for Karnail Singh Sidhu, viticulturist and owner of Kalala Organic Estate Winery in West Kelowna.
Karnail is careful to give credit to the many people who helped him with that journey, and that community mindedness in part is what makes him a top member of the grape growing industry. In June, Karnail was awarded the first BC Grapegrowers Association(BCGA) award for viticulturist of the year.
“What really stood out for the judges was Karnail's community engagement,” says John Bayley, president of the BCGA. “He is open to new ideas, cooperates with on-farm research, participates in industry events and shares with other growers.”
The viticulturist of the year award was drawn up to spotlight the best wine grape growers in BC, Bayley says. “To commend those in our industry who rarely get the public recognition, yet provide the grapes needed for the fantastic wines we produce.”
This is a peer judged award, Bayley points out, with a BCGA board member, an industry member and a government researcher conducting vineyard visits the previous August.
Bayley was full of praise for Karnail as a grower and member of the community, saying all of his colleagues in the industry “... had nothing but kind, supportive and encouraging words to say ...” about his positive attitude and vineyard practices, adding that many spoke about the “very high level of quality wine they produced” using his grapes.
Karnail came to Canada with his family in 1993 not as a viticulturist, but as an electrical engineer, but the Canadian government was reluctant to recognize his qualifications and he turned to labouring in the fruit industry to earn an income. His parents had been farmers in India and farming was part of the high school curriculum.
“We arrived in Surrey in July and we started picking blueberries,” Karnail recalls. That led to seasonal farm jobs in the Okanagan, including working at Le Comte Estate winery, now the site of Arterra brand’s See Ya Later Ranch.
That’s where he got the idea of opening a winery. “My brothers and I didn’t know what was involved, but selling fermented grape juice for 12 dollars a bottle (1994 prices) sounded pretty good,” Karnail chuckles. “We agreed that we should do it someday.”
His first full-time job in the industry was at Summerhill Winery, where Alan Marks was the winemaker. “I have always really appreciated Steven Cipes and Allan Marks. If they hadn’t given me a job, I would probably not be here today,” Karnail says. “My belief is whoever helps you, you don’t forget about those people.”
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The view from Kalala Organic Estate Winery.
Summerhill was an excellent fit, and over 10 years Karnail went on to become vineyard manager. The organic practices jibed with his family farming background and their views on chemicals. In India there was a time when the government would spray Karnail’s entire neighbourhood with DDT to control mosquitos. “They would demand to come and spray inside houses as well,” Karnail recalls. “But my father refused to let them in.”
From his first jobs pruning and picking grapes, Karnail went on to complete the viticulture technology course at Okanagan College, with a sponsorship from Summerhill. “Alan was always ready to help me,” he says. “Over the years we have become like brothers.”
Owning a winery might seem like a strange business choice for someone who does not drink alcohol. “I like wine, but wine doesn’t like me,” Karnail explains. “I taste all the wine, but I spit it out.” But he remembers the pact he made with his brothers to open a winery.
“We started by leasing a 10-acre vineyard here in West Kelowna in 2001, and we bought our first 10 acres in Oliver in 2004,” he recalls. The home property was bought in 2005 and they opened the winery in 2008. All told, they now own 70 acres of organic vineyards, the majority of which are in West Kelowna.
The winery bottles about 6,000 cases of wine per year. They also sell bulk wine and grapes, all organic. The vineyards are home to over a dozen varietals including the top Okanagan grapes as well as Blaufrankisch (for blending) and the hybrid Vidal Blanc (for late harvest and ice wine).
Not drinking the wine does not dull Karnail’s passion for farming the grapes. ‘I’m good at growing things and Alan always told me 90 to 95% of the quality of the wine is in the grapes.”
Organic methods are a key for the future, Karnail says. He recalls a saying from his birthplace in India. “The land is a gift to you from your next generation, so keep it good for them,” he says. “And if you want to live on a farm and raise your family there, it should be organic.”
The second point was brought home years ago when one of his daughters was playing in the vineyard and nibbling at the fruit. “I didn’t have to rush out and tell her to get out of the vineyard and stop eating the grapes.”
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Gazebo at Kalala Organic Estate Winery.
Karnail’s vine rows don’t stand on weed free soil, so he lets natural cover crops fill in the understory. Biodiversity in the field helps keep everything in balance, he says. “Some people think that our vineyards don’t look nice,” he notes. “But we did some research and we found out that with high vegetation between the rows, there are different fungi that live there that help to control mildew.”
Karnail’s vineyard management is focused on preventing problems rather than delivering a cure. He is a fan of early leaf removal to open the vineyard canopy to light and air. While organic practices may limit his yields to some extent, that may also be a blessing. “If you want good wine you don’t want large tonnage anyway,” he points out.
Tibor (Tibby) Erdelyi, who also came from Summerhill, has been the Kalala winemaker from the start, and Alan Marks consults on their top tier wines. The Dostana wines are made to recognize Alan’s input, explains Karnail. “Dostana means friendship. We don’t make it every vintage. If Alan doesn’t think it should be made, we don’t.”
Giving back to the community is also important for Karnail and his family. Along with local causes such as the Food Bank he regularly sends money back to his home village of Kalala to support the school there.
A village legend says that many years ago farmers came upon a wolf and a lamb sitting peacefully together. Inspired by that coexistence, they moved their village to that spot. Kalala means “miracle place” a fitting description for a successful vineyard and winery, at the end of a long journey.
