Dan Walton
Aberdeen Publishing
Richard Baptiste still works at the winery where he was hired for $1.50 an hour.
That was when Nk’Mip Vineyards was founded back in 1968, when Baptiste was just 18. And he still works with Nk’Mip to this day.
As one of the first employees, Baptiste’s 50-year work anniversary coincides with that of his workplace. To mark the occasion, a celebration was held for the milestone on the afternoon of Nov. 8. Dozens attended to share memories, hear reminiscing speeches and sample some tasty wines, which were paired with indigenous inspired canapés.
As a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, Baptiste was recruited to be a part of Nk’Mip Vineyards’ founding days. His first job with the winery was picking rocks and installing the fence around the property’s boundary.
“It’s a lot nicer than it was before,” he said. “It’s beautiful here.”
During the earliest days of Nk’Mip Vineyards, Baptiste said the property that he helped shape into a prosperous vineyard was just the rocks and sage bushes of the Sonoran Desert.
His role shifted in 1980, taking him from the Vineyards in Oliver down to Osoyoos, where he’s been working as a bottler at Nk’Mip Cellars ever since.
“When the winery came in they asked my brother (Sam Baptiste) for two good workers, and he picked me as one of them.”
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Asked why he chose to spend so much of his career here, Baptiste said he feels like he belongs to a family at Nk’Mip; he loves the scenery and says the pay is much better now than it was in 1968. But after sticking with Nk’Mip for 50 years, Baptiste thinks he might be ready to retire next year.
