Justin Hall
Justin Hall is a proud member of the Osoyoos Indian Band and a winemaker at Nk’mip Winery, where he has worked with head winemaker Randy Picton since 2003. We spoke to Justin about how his persistence and determination allowed him to get ahead in the world of wine.
How did you get started in the wine industry?
When I was 22 years old I was going to school for auto mechanics and I worked at the golf course for a summer job, but it was only part time. So, in 2003 I went to our chief (Chief Clarence Louie of the Okanagan Indian Band) and I said, I have a son to support, do you know what else is out there for work?
And he said, yep, how about the new winery down the road? We just started up Nk’mip Cellars not long ago and they’ve got positions, so why not try there?
I phoned down there and the boss said, no, we’re fine right now, but keep calling back if you want, keep in touch. So I did. I went through October, November, January, February … it was about four months of calling once a week, once every two weeks, and just keeping in touch … and he finally said, yeah, come on down.
Where did you go to school or apprentice.
I signed up for Okanagan College when I started at Nk’mip, but they said you can’t start right now, it’s halfway through the term. But I said, I don’t want to start in September, I need to start right now, and that’s what I ended up doing. I jumped in midway, and it was very hard, but I rode the roller-coaster and I got it done.
Years later I also went to Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand. I took the post-graduate diploma, where they take 10 months of the hardest programs and they just jam pack it on you, throw you into the 200 and 300 level programs and say, get it done. That was really cool; probably one of the best experiences of my life was going into university and learning the book side of things.
I guess I already had a lot of experience in the wine industry (so) it wasn’t as hard at that point, but writing an essay was extremely hard! I can talk about sparkling wine all day long, but put an essay in front of me, that’s a different matter. Most of the students taking the wine course already had science degrees, biology degrees, they’d already done their three-four year program. So here’s me coming in, barely through high school, and 10 years later, saying, what do I do?
There were a lot of the other students who had already graduated from college or university but they hadn’t done any actual wine-making, and they would ask me thousands of questions, and in return, I would ask them, like, how do I reference a quote? And that worked out pretty good for all of us.
Have you worked in other countries?
Back in ’06, before I went to school, our winemaker approached me again, and asked me if I was interested in working abroad, and of course I said yes! I ended up working at Goundry Wines in Western Australia for three months, and learned how to make wine in a hotter area of the world, and also a very large facility. It gives you a little perspective how small BC is but also how special it is. There are wineries out there that produce the equivalent of all of BC’s annual production in 12 days, and that’s not even the biggest wineries.
Most people who work in the wineries or the wine shops in BC are from the area. There are 370’ish wineries that are mostly the mom and pop size of business, so you know they are pouring their heart and soul into every bottle, because it’s literally their name on the bottle.
What is your favourite varietal to work with?
It’s a very hard question but I would probably say Syrah. I think BC makes exceptional Syrah. We’re not quite in the California range of jamminess, or Australia, but also not as lean and acidic as the Syrah from the Rhone (Valley). We have a little more body and sweetness to the wines because we are from the Okanagan. I think it’s gorgeous.
If you’re talking a variety to work with the vineyard guys would probably laugh at me, because it’s unruly. It likes to grow like a maniac and it’s often big clusters and it can be temperamental with ripening, but I’m still going to stick with Syrah, for its peppery nature and it’s complexity.
What is the best thing about your job?
Every vintage is different and working with different varietals or different blocks. They’re like children. They each have their own temperament. They each have something you’re trying to coax out of them or suppress. Actual wine-making is about coaxing out the best of each grape … and then of course, the wine tasting is always nice too!
Is there a particular wine or vintage you have made you are most proud of?
I think the wines I’m most proud of are the ones that came in with issues, so maybe there was a little bit of botrytis out in the vineyard, or it wasn’t the greatest vintage. To make those wines, you really have to be a winemaker now.
Having trust in a winery is like a friendship. If I keep giving you a good product, you’re going to trust me and you’ll keep coming back. So, I guess the wines I’m most proud of, in a way, were the ones that were the most difficult to make.