Quick Conversations in Wine – Jennifer Molgat of The View Winery
The Vancouver International Wine Festival starts this week and we’ve interviewed a few of the attendees. Good Wine Gal’s Barb Wild and I choose some of the women in attendance for this year’s festival and have presented them with a few quick-fire questions to get to know them better. Here’s our Q + A with Jennifer Molgat, of The View Winery, who I went to high school with, in Kelowna. More on the Wine Festival here.
Proudest moment?
Proudest moments in my winery life are when I am sharing our family’s property and wine with guests. Whether it is a tour and tasting in the vineyard, a picnic under our old growth apple trees or a Winemakers dinner in the vines, the genuine positive response from our guests fills my heart with pride. When you get to experience something you love and treasure being appreciated and enjoyed by others it truly is magical.
Favorite grape variety?
Pinotage of course. 😊 As a silky red, crisp rosé, or mineral white, Pinotage is elegant and delicious. Grown in our cool climate region it is definitely in touch with its Pinot Noir roots but is somewhat more robust.
Favorite wine you make? Why?
See above 😊 BC Pinotage is quite unique and has put our winery on the map with multiple Gold and Double Gold Awards throughout the years. Sharing the Pinotage love is rewarding because consumers are either not familiar with the varietal or have preconceived notions of how it tastes based on their experiences with international brands. I am always thrilled at the positive response to our Pinotage grown and crafted here in BC.
Favorite food? Meal?
Perfectly prepared Halibut is divine!
Yoga? Meditation? What keeps you going?
My horse Lazaro. Other than my husband he is the love of my life.
Blundstones or Blahnik?
Both. That’s the life of a winery proprietor.
What are you looking forward to this year?
Spring and the release of the new vintage rosés!!!
Organic, biodynamic, vegan, low alcohol wines. What are your thoughts on these?
My thoughts are…. So much wine, so little time. Lol. Seriously though, there is a wine out there for everyone and that is a good thing. Wine choices are personal and need to align with one’s values and beliefs. In our case we are moderates. We love the Okanagan Valley and tend our land as sustainably as we can depending on the season. My daughter has opened our eyes to vegan values, and we produce vegan wines when the wines allow us to do so. But our highest priority is quality and the best possible expression of the grapes we grow. So sometimes our ideals of sustainability and veganism are compromised to reach those goals.
Advice for women in the industry?
Go get em!
Jennifer Molgat
Jennifer Molgat, President of The View Winery believes in seizing opportunities when they present themselves. And so, in 2006 when the opportunity to start an estate winery on her family’s fifth generation property presented itself, she gave up her teaching career, rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
With a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature and Women’s Studies and a second degree in Education, Jennifer seemed like an unlikely candidate to develop a business from the ground up. In the early years of The View Winery, she faced a steep learning curve. She became a certified sommelier and studied every aspect of the wine business including viticulture practises, winemaking and the art of food and wine pairing. Incredibly hands on in her style, Jennifer experienced every task there was from harvesting and crushing fruit to bottling wines, developing The View brand, and creating and taking care of sales and marketing. Jennifer met and aligned herself with veterans in the wine industry and learned as much as she could from them. She transformed a vintage apple packing house into a working cellar, wine shop and tasting room.
Overlooking Okanagan Lake and the City of Kelowna, The View Winery has become renowned for its crisp, terroir specific, single vineyard whites, rosés and sparkling as well as its elegant, Pinot Noir and Pinotage reds.
Jennifer believes that success comes from surrounding oneself with excellent people. She has been able to attract and retain the best possible staff by adhering to her core values: leading by example, staying positive and empowering employees.
Committed to giving back to the community, Jennifer developed The View Red Shoe Campaign which contributes thousands of dollars every year to local charities as well as arts, sports and academic organizations.
At home, Jennifer gets inspiration and encouragement from her incredibly supportive husband Kent and her two highly active daughters, Madeleine and Phoebe. In her limited spare time, she enjoys riding her horse, Lazaro.
The View Winery
The View Winery is located on a 5th generation family owned estate overlooking Okanagan Lake and the City of Kelowna. Historically, tree fruits were grown on the property. In the mid 1990’s a transition began and orchard rows were replaced with cool climate Vitis vinifera vines and heirloom cider apple trees.
In 2006, the family’s historical fruit packinghouse was converted into a winery. Today they bottle 15,000 cases of single vineyard, estate bottled wines and are known for crisp, aromatic whites and rosés, elegant sparkling, and vibrant, juicy Pinots.
