Sheri Paynter of Off the Grid Organic Winery on Organic Wine and Sustainable Farming
The Vancouver International Wine Festival is underway, and we’re highlighting some of the people shaping the wine industry today. In this edition of Conversations in Wine, we spoke with Sheri Paynter of Off the Grid Organic Winery, one of the Okanagan’s most unique and sustainably focused wineries.
Located in West Kelowna, Off the Grid Organic Winery was built from the ground up with sustainability at its core. The family-run winery produces organic wines while also practicing permaculture farming, raising sheep and chickens among the vines, and welcoming guests to a wine shop built from straw. Sheri’s path into wine reflects a commitment not only to the craft, but to building a truly self-sufficient way of life.
When and how did you know the wine industry was where you belonged?
Perhaps my 4th vintage into being on my own making wine. When other people started to like my wine as much as I did.. Lol When the hard work paid off and turned to confidence. There was so much planning, work, stress, all the rest leading up to that point, getting the winery open, getting our permaculture farming plan with sheep and chicken working, getting out wine shop open for business, and so much more, seeing the plan work, seeing others enjoying what we built as a family..
We aren’t your average winery, we make organic wine, not just grow organic grapes, we raise animals and our wine shop is made of straw. Our winery is not posh and wasn’t built with any financials behind it, it was built on the shoulders of the real dream, hard work, lots of family lending money and time, and a dream of building something actually sustainable for us and our kids.
When people started to visit and buy the wine and get excited about what we were doing and that we were different. Strangers like what we are doing! Not just our parents… lol It wasn’t until then that I really felt like I belonged.
Who, or what, inspired you to be in wine? Do you have a mentor?
The Dream of a self sufficient business/ way of life was what inspired me. Wine was part of that, but wasn’t the driving factor in the beginning.
That being said, I have been inspired by a few different people along that road. I listened to Christine Coletta, Okanagan Crush talk about her babydoll sheep and their impact on the land and way of farming and on her, and I have sheep today in our vines because of that talk.
Scott Robinson, little engine wines, was one of my teachers at Okanagan College, he was so passionate about making wine in a minimal intervention way, that it changed my outlook on how to make organic wine, and still the first person I will call for advice.
Seeing members of the wine community lead by example, hearing their passions, has been a strong example. I feel like I am inspired now by the wine, we are on the road to becoming biodynamic as well as organic, and learning to be in tune with the land, and the wine, and seeing that really pay off, mother natures has lots to give, I feel like I am understanding that in small amounts each year, it gives me excitement to see where the future vintages will take us!
Where did you study or learn to make wine?
Outside or hands on learning, I took the winemaking program at Okanagan College.
Do you have a favourite style of wine?
Aromatic white wines.
What is your favourite food & wine pairing?
ITs always Cheese! The balance that cheese can add to an acidic white wine, is really dramatic, I really enjoy sharing this pairing and showing guests at the winery that food and wine is really a science! Not just delish 🙂
Do you have a favourite wine region aside from where you are working or living?
I am a big fan of the Willamette Valley, lots of organic wine makers, with amazing cool climate wines.
When you are not in the vineyard or winery, what are you doing?
I manage the winery as well as make the wine, so I work too much, but camping, ATVing and being in nature is my favorite way to spend any down time.
How are you reacting to climate change in your part of the world?
I have been making wine for 12 short years professionally and no 2 years have been the same. The devastation of 2022 and 2023 cold snaps in West Kelowna were hard to deal with we lost 60% of our crop both years, but then the full loss in 2024 really opened my eyes to the need to innovate, find new ways of doing things, and realize that there is no research to prepare us for what’s happening and what’s to come, we need to plan for losses, we need to try new things, and we need to hedge our bets in the vineyards, prune differently and diversify our grapes. It seems that farming might be the riskier than gambling!
Making organic wine is about working with the grape and what it has to give that year, being able to pivot on high or low acids or any number of hurdles that hot weather throws at us is perhaps easier with our small winery, we are not trying to make the same wine year after year, we are making the wine that is best for that grape for that year, so that gives me freedoms that some do not have.
What do you love about your current winery/role/job?
I love making something from the very beginning to the very end, to plant a vine, care for it, harvest it and then make and bottle the wine all on the same little piece of land. This gives great sastisfation that I had never experienced before. I love that I learn so much every day and that that seems infinite! What I thought about organic wine and what I have learned since actually making it are very different, the grapes have so much to give us, its very fulfilling to see what I have learned applied to the wine and then be able to share that with the customer.
If wine wasn’t your career, what would you be doing?
I would be writing a laid back cookbook on food and wine pairings. I was a restaurateur before becoming a wine maker, and bridging the love of wine with the love of food and how interesting it can be would be a dream. I came to the wine world as a second career, cooking being the first, I know that I would do something that involved wine! Now I’m in it I don’t ever want to leave!
Are you part of an organization for women in wine?
I am not, although I have joined tasting groups led by woman, nothing that is female only.
Any advice for women wanting to follow in your footsteps?
I think that being open to listen to anyone who shares the same passion and not be afraid to ask for advice. I started my career being afraid to ask or look as if I didn’t know something, then finally I had no choice but to ask, and was greeted with 70% really good experiences, with many winemakers willing to share what they know as soon as I was willing to ask.
