Mission Possible

When asked how Mission Hill Family Estates has achieved its success, John Simes is understated.

“I guess we’ve figured out how to grow nice grapes and how to turn them into nice wine,” says Simes, who has served as Mission Hill’s winemaker since 1992.

The native New Zealander is no stranger to receiving awards and accolades. Under Simes’ leadership, Mission Hill was the Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards Winery of the Year in 2001 and 2007. This year, the winery finished in third — the highest-placed winery from British Columbia.

Simes attributes the winery’s long-term success to a desire to learn and evolve, and to make wines better than the year before.

“Winemaking never stands still,” he says.

Throughout the past 10 years, the Mission Hill team has implemented new technologies, invested in personnel with technical wine knowledge and experimented with the latest winemaking equipment in order to improve the quality of their grapes and wine.

Quick to acknowledge the talent of his team, Simes gives credit to the viticulturalists, who manage the crop and the irrigation techniques in order to get the most out of the Okanagan Valley terroir. They have developed their own compost system to build soil structure and employ detailed crop management practices, with a focus on producing low yields on all premium wines. Although Mission Hill owns a total of 364 hectares of vineyards, the wine growers take advantage of small vineyard blocks to closely monitor the vines.

“There are a kazillion things that we do in the vineyards with that team of people that helps us get consistency in the ripeness,” Simes says. “And I think that’s the start of what a wine is going to be.”

He and the Mission Hill team have made use of small oak vats, hand-sorting tables, small basket presses and climate-controlled bar cells to continuously improve the quality of the wines, and every year, they explore new technological innovations.

The Legacy Series stands as proof of their commitment to excellence. A series of blends that represent the best of their grapes, the Legacy Series brings home trophies, as well as industry and consumer recognition.

“They’re fun to make, but they’re hard to make,” Simes says. “They’re the best of the best from Mission Hill.”

A consummate perfectionist, Simes is already looking towards the future, and developing new plantings to ensure the continued success of Mission Hill.

But, he says, consumers must always able to access his creations.

“Whatever successes we’ve had,” Simes says, “the wines will be real wines that people will be able to go into their local wine store and buy.”