Kitsch Wines in East Kelowna is owned and operated by Trent and Ria Kitsch. The Kitsch family’s Okanagan roots stretch back to 1910 when Kelowna was still a small, lakefront pioneer settlement. Four generations later, this entrepreneurial family takes great pride in helping to shape the past and the future of the Okanagan Valley.
Trent and Ria launched SAXX Underwear Co. and expanded the business for several years before selling majority ownership in 2010 to an apparel distribution company. They have blended their passion for wine and creative entrepreneurship to produce premium, sustainably-grown wines.
With a little help from some friends, the young family transformed overgrown fields into lush vineyards. The winery is set on a historic apple orchard that originally served as the Kelowna Land and Orchards (KLO) headquarters.
Proceeds from the SAXX sale had enabled them to plant 13 acres of grapes in 2013 and 2014. The largest planting is Riesling, about five acres in two blocks. The other varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.
The grounds provide an eye-catching view over the city and Okanagan Lake. Their single-vineyard wines embody the region’s rich soil and sun-soaked valleys. The winery and the tasting room are housed in a former garage attached to Chateau style home of Trent’s father. Cultivated through generations of ambition and love, the Kitsch family has captured the Okanagan in a glass.
The WineMaker
Graham Pierce is their winemaker and general manager.
He’s a veteran of the Okanagan wine industry. Graham moved from Vancouver to join Summerhill Pyramid Winery as a culinary director nearly two decades ago and has been here ever since.
That’s where he discovered a passion for winemaking and viticulture. So he went to Okanagan University College to study the subject while working as an assistant winemaker at Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery.
It didn’t take him long to get a promotion to head winemaker, which was a position he held for five years.
In 2008 a unique opportunity came up to join the project at Black Hills Estate Winery in Oliver, BC where he worked for ten very successful years before joining Time Winery as Director of Wine.
The Kitsch Wines
Kitsch 11 Barrel Chardonnay 2018($39)
This wine was cultivated with care on the family estate before being hand-harvested, whole cluster pressed, fermented wild and aged for 10 months in 11 French oak barrels, 40% new oak.
Alcohol 13.5% / pH: 3.26 TA: 7.1 g/L RS: <2 g/L
A beautifully rich, creamy and luscious chardonnay. Aromas of baked apple, white peach and shortbread. Rich flavours of green apple, Meyer lemon, and a hint of vanilla and yeastiness adds to the complex texture. 91 points
Pairs beautifully with Pistachio Crusted Salmon.
A Gold medal winner at the 2021 National Wine Awards of Canada.
Kitsch Chardonnay 2021($25)
Not a fan of an oaked Chardonnay? Then you might just love this. It’s refreshing and true to our Chardonnay grapes. Only very lightly oaked, this Chardonnay has fruity tones with a crisp finish and is what we are affectionately calling The Gateway Chardonnay.
Kitsch Pinot Gris 2021 ($24)
This Pinot Gris is the ultimate summer smasher with aromas of apples and pears and floral hints and succulent cantaloupe, honeycomb and rose petals on the palate.
Kitsch Ether’s Block Riesling 2020 ($35)
Beautifully concentrated flavours remind your palate of salty limes and sea spray. Finished off with a gentle kiss of French oak, only a gold label would do for this unique stunner.
Grapes were sourced from the sustainably farmed southwest facing, clay-rich soils of the Kitsch family vineyard owned by matriarch Esther Kitsch.
You can buy these excellent BC Wines on the Kitsch Wine website.
Source: The photos and wine notes are courtesy of Kitsch Wines except for the 11 Barrel Chardonnay.