Life is just a bowl of cherries, when spending time at Cherry Point Estate Wines.
One of the first vineyards on Vancouver Island is Cobble Hill's Cherry Point Estate Wines, located at 840 Cherry Point Rd., which was named for its geographical location. This year, the beloved community staple celebrates 35 years in the valley, and 15 years under the ownership, and leadership of Xavier and Maria Bonilla.
"The important thing is to try to push the bar every day, and to try to search for better wines permanently," said Xavier. "I don't believe in being number one because then you are competing, instead I believe in the search for excellence, and that is daily."
Cherry Point's grape adventure first started when Austrian agricultural engineer Wayne Ulridge left Alberta and bought the Cowichan Valley farm to pursue vineyard dreams in 1990.
"There were no wineries here, at that time Wayne was the agricultural extension officer for the island so he knew all the farms well," said Xavier. "He chose this farm, which used to be a mink farm, because of its location, it's inclination for drainage, and the proximity to the ocean for the wind flows and felt this would be the ideal spot for a winery."
"Cherry Point is one of the first vineyards on the island, so people are really proud of that," said Maria.
Ulridge ran the winery for 12 years, then the torch, or bottle rather, was passed on to Cowichan Tribes, who were the owners and operators of Cherry Point Wine Estates from 2002 to 2009. The history and culture of the Cowichan Tribes is still very present at the winery today with its outdoor art, and the label for Cherry Point's blackberry dessert wine, which was designed by Salish carver Herb Rice.
"It's the Cowichan Sun, and has an eagle with the extended wings inside," said Maria. "We are very close with the Cowichan Tribes and many of them come on to help us with our harvest. They take a lot of pride in that they once owned this winery, and that it is still going strong."
Xavier and Maria came to Canada in 2000 where they first set down roots in West Vancouver. Maria, who has an extensive background in administration work and brings those skills to the winery, is actually a translator by trade and translates both English and French into Spanish. Before seizing the intoxicating opportunity at Cherry Point they tried their hands at many things including running a garden maintenance business, a coffee shop, and a restaurant called Cello. It was music to Bonilla's ears when he first heard that Cherry Point Winery was up for sale, which led to the couple embarking on their new adventure when they took over the winery in 2010.
Bonilla said he has always had a love for the land and saw an opportunity when it went on the market.
"This has always been a dream of ours. We love wine and food and have always travelled around it," said Maria. "When we first came to the island, Xavier fell in love with the property and the industry. He is like a lighthouse, he knows where he wants the farm to go and we all follow him. I was terrified in the beginning but it has been quite a journey, we have learned a lot and it has been a very positive experience, as well as very good example for our kids I think. When you follow your dream, and work hard for it, you can accomplish things."
Xavier has many accomplishments under his belt which made getting into the wine business a perfect fit including earning three university degrees in the fields of agriculture and its economics, working with financial institutions and teaching. He was also involved with agricultural development programs in other counties, not to mention the years he spent working as a dairy farmer in South America. He also attended the naval academy once upon a time, and has always enjoyed sailing but now devotes most of his time to the love of his land.
"I have been in agriculture all my life. I wasn't growing plants but worked in the agricultural sector, so I wanted to continue on that path when we moved to Canada," said Xavier. "First you're a farmer, you have to have beautiful grapes to make beautiful wine."
The beautiful award-winning wines of Cherry Point are crafted following traditional European wine making processes which honours the spiritual connection between the earth, rain and sun that nourishes the vineyard. The farm is 35 acres, two-thirds of which is used for planting their 12 varieties which include their crisp fruit forward whites such as Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Ortega, Siegerrebe. Their red varieties known to be medium bodied and full of fruit character include Zweigelt, Cabernet Libre, Agria, Castel, and Pinot Noir, which is Xavier's personal favourite, plus their rosé which is always a summertime favourite. All the vineyard's varieties are planted according to different soil types as to what is the best for each varietal. The vineyard's gravely soils ensure that the vines will be well drained during the valley's heavy rainy seasons.
"I love the idea of tending to the vineyards, doing the whole cycle and then the harvest, while imagining how these beautiful grapes are going to transform into this amazing liquid that people are going to love," said Maria.
"To me they are all our wines equal, it really depends on the occasion," said Xavier. "We have beautiful wines for seafood and ones perfect pf pairing up with steaks, as well as after-dinner dessert wines and ports, each with their own character and personality."
Renowned winemaker Liam Kidner, who has spent a lot of time working in the Okanagan, and has some of his vintages in Chile, has been in the business for many years and celebrates his fourth with Cherry Point this year. Aside from the Bonillas their only other permanent employee is their field manager, but they bring on plenty of helping hands come harvest time.
"We have a great team, and winemaker," said Maria.
There is always much to be done at the winery, said Xavier, and many of his duties include preparing tractors, fertilizing, tending to field work, and trouble shooting if necessary.
"We are always on top of everything, and keep in close communication with our winemaker, the state of the grapes and their quality and so on," said Xavier. "It's more than knowing how to solve problems, but to avoid them."
Maria also wears many hats. On top of handling the administration work, she organizes the winery's bistro, which has become known for its relaxing atmosphere and casual lunches with a Mediterranean menu much like their former restaurant Cello, with some west coast inspired dishes as well. With dishes made by a chef form Germany, satisfying one's appetite in the ambience of grape vines, cedar trees, complimented with the scent of the sea air makes that social function, business or friendly lunch one won't soon forget.
Cherry Point's bistro is open four days a week, Thursday though Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The beautiful backdrop of Cherry Point Wine Estates has become a hot spot for weddings with one already booked for the summer, as well as the perfect venue to celebrate other milestones such as the 70th anniversary of the Cowichan Symphony Society, and their commitment to bring sensational symphonic and classical music to to the valley.
"We love the Cowichan Symphony Society and go to many of their amazing concerts. We have always have a soft spot for them," said Bonilla. "They often do events here, and the farm presents itself beautifully for such concerts. We are very happy to have them here for their 70th year which is a very important date for them, and for us because we are very community oriented."
In addition to being a desired venue for special occasions, they also pour wine for several local events such as the seafood fundraiser dinner for and hosted at the Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre last month. Xavier poured both their rosé, and their Pinot Blanc, which he noted is a perfect pairing for crab, prawns and other seafood dishes. You can sip and see all the wines that Cherry Point Wine Estates creates inside their tasting room which is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and also showcases some of the creative works of local artists.
"When people are in our tasting room you can always tell whether they like it or not," said Maria.
"I love to see the expressions on our customers' faces when they visit, because their expressions are very honest yet sometimes words aren't always are," said Xavier.
Xavier said there have been so many joys of this journey. One, was seeing his son and daughter grow up on the property. Both were in high school when Xavier and Maria first took over Cherry Point. Since they have both started new career paths and families of their own in London, England.
All walks of life have also travelled to Cherry Point Wine Estates and it's become a South Cowichan hot spot to host car clubs, artists and other local groups and events. The couple feels much gratitude to the community for being so accepting and welcoming of them over the years, so in keeping up with their fine tradition for the past 14 consecutive years they will once again host the Cherry Point Wine and Culinary Festival. This annual free event, which will be held during the last weekend of August or possibly the first weekend of September this year, is their way of giving back to the community.
"It's great tradition that is part of the farm, and people have now come to expect it," said Xavier. "We offer the classic Spanish dish paella and sangria for free for up to 500 people. We are a community winery, the community supports us so we feel we owe them a lot. In life you take, but you also have to give."
Xavier says one must welcome change, not resist it as it will come either way., and while it is important to take the advice of others, one must always do what they feel is best. While the couple feels that eventually the farm may need younger people to bring it more into the 21st century, the couple plans to still give it there all with no near end in sight.
To see everything Cherry Point Wine Estates has to offer from their event space to award-winning wines, and their mouth watering menu visit cherrypointestatewines.com.
"I hope our guests leave feeling they had an amazing time surrounded by generosity and good vibrations," said Xavier. "Wine is a catalyst that brings together good music, good food, and festivities and life just like in Spain. Wine is not just wine to us, it something that enhances one's life, and that is important to us. We are so happy when our clients make wine a part of their life. To me it is like when you put oil in an engine, it makes everything beautiful, that is what wine is."
