There are changes with each season in the vineyard. In winter, vines are pruned. In spring, buds emerge. Come summer, grapes grow. With fall’s arrival, fruit is harvested and fermented into wine. However, at one local winery, a new season will also bring new vintners.
Since 2012, Lamont Brooks and Pat George, owners of Symphony Vineyard, have been successfully making delicious wine, and are now mentoring a young couple who will take over the winery next spring.
“Mic Silvestri and Jonny Bernard have been with us for a couple of years,” shares Lamont. “They are young and passionate about their work.”
Pat adds: “They have worked in wineries, are knowledgeable and very welcoming in the tasting room. We are delighted to be transitioning the winery to them.”
Located on Oldfield Road, Symphony Vineyard grows a variety of grapes which are made into crisp, dry, aromatic white wines and rosé, and lightly barrel aged, fruit forward red wines. Wine can be purchased onsite, savoured in the tasting room, and enjoyed on the outdoor patio.
The vineyard operation opened in 2012. The owners gave it the name “Symphony,” reflecting the family interest in music.
“Our family is quite musical. Both Lamont and his mom play piano, and our kids play piano and cello,” relates Pat. “Lamont felt the movements of the symphony are like the seasons of the vineyard. We thought it was a name that people could remember.”
Lamont was raised on the vineyard property which his parents purchased in the 1950s. They grew strawberries and then loganberries.
“Loganberries were an important part of the early wine history here,” says Pat. “Some of the harvest was sold as fruit, but a lot of it went to Growers Winery on Quadra and McKenzie which was B.C.’s first winery. Saanich farmers started the winery as they were not getting enough money for their fruit.”
After moving to the West Coast in 2003, Lamont and Pat were curious about the wine industry.
“We wanted to grow something and we were interested in wine and making wine. Our first planting was in 2004. We enjoyed the whole learning process,” shares Pat, adding with a laugh: “Even the attempts at crushing grapes with our feet!”
The winery, which currently produces about 10,000 litres of wine, has grown over time. The original two-car garage was transformed into a wine lab, storage area and barrel room. Also created were a new front entrance, a tasting bar and a self-serve deli where customers can fill up their picnic baskets with a variety of locally-sourced cheeses, crackers, fruits and charcuterie.
Pruning, daily vine and soil care, and final harvest all require attention to detail, experience and commitment.
“We are as environmentally sustainable as we can be,” says Lamont. “We keep vines and soil as healthy as possible. We monitor closely for soil moisture level and make sure that the vines get the light and air they need so that grapes can ripen.”
Tending the vines, harvesting, sorting and many other tasks from crushing to making the wine and marketing it all add up to mean time and hard work. Over the years, friends and family have all contributed. Soon-to-be operators Mic and Jonny have been an enthusiastic part of the winery over the last couple of years. They both have experience in the wine industry having worked at wineries in the Niagara Peninsula and Kelowna.
“We met while working at a winery in the Okanagan,” says Mic. “We have a strong passion for hospitality, and we have fallen in love with farming. It’s hard work, but it is special to dedicate your time to express yourself and the region in which you live.”
Having learned a great deal about wine making since their first planting in 2004, Lamont and Pat are eager to have the opportunity to pass this knowledge along to others.
“We are now in our mid-60s,” notes Pat. “We’re working hard on succession plans and making it affordable for this couple to take on the winery.”
The two of them have built a place that is very much a community hub for Peninsula residents.
“We are locally focused, and people appreciate that,” relates Lamont. “They love our setting, and they bring friends.”
Pat adds: “I love that our place shares this beautiful valley with others, and we’ve met and made so many good friends here.”
It’s a sentiment shared by both Mic and Jonny, who plan to open the winery next spring under the new name, Neighbourly Wine Co.
“We’re looking forward to creating a space where everybody feels welcome and can enjoy local wine in a beautiful setting,” shares Mic.
As the seasons change, fruit appears, ripens and ages into full flavour. Now while the “symphony” of activity is evolving in a new “neighbourly” direction, the heart and passion for wine continues.
L to R: Lamont Brooks, Pat George, Mic Silvestri and Jonny Bernard.
