As of Tuesday, Aug. 24, the beloved C.C. Jentsch winery has permanently closed, after the recent passing of owner Chris Jentsch.
“We would like to thank all those who took the time to visit us over the years and those who have enjoyed our wines from afar. Your enthusiasm and support is greatly appreciated,” said their post on Facebook announcing the closure.
Betty and Chris Jentsch had been longtime locals in the Okanagan Valley, growing up in orchards. The two initially started farming by entering the cherry market in the late 1980’s. Then in the early 2000’s they switched gear to grapes.
Though the couple wanted to open a winery eventually, they decided to grow grapes for existing wineries to start off. They planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Syrah, as well as a smaller amount of Viognier and Gewürztraminer.
It was only in 2012, when there was an overproduction of grapes causing the demand to drop, that they decided to take the leap to open a winery to make use of their grape crop as the market was lacking buyers.
Since then, the winery has become well-established and respected in the valley, and managed to rack up an impressively long list of accolades over the years, including national and international awards for their vintage wines.
Unfortunately, Chris suddenly passed away earlier this year in spring at age 58, leaving behind his winery and family. It was clear that this loss directly affected the decision to close.
Currently, all of the vintages of The Chase, The Quest, Viognier, Chardonnay and Blanc de Noir are sold out at the winery. However, many wines are still available at the winery wine shop and the C.C. Jentsch website online store.
