Once we received county approval to put up the winery building, it was full steam ahead. Winter comes early to the prairies so it was a bit of a race to get it roof tight before the snow.

The Foundation Is Prepared

A local contractor was hired to help get the plot ready. Peter and Collin put in a gravel bed, followed by the installation of a cement pad.

The Building Goes Up

Time to start the building. Peter assembled the ribs, bolt by bolt, before they were erected. Peter’s son, Ben, flew in from British Columbia to help Peter, Collin and Margie with the installation.

Moving the Work Inside

Winter came shortly after the building doors were installed so work moved inside. Insulation was put in the ceiling and walls and then interior walls were erected. Rooms will include a lab, storage area on the upper floor, a locked storage facility on the bottom floor and a disability accessible bathroom.

Moving the Work Back Outside

Saskatchewan Power installed a new transformer for the winery, which has higher power needs than the house and barn, with a separate meter too. Peter and Collin then did the trenching required for the electrical power line.

It was a very busy spring getting the winery building ready for final inspections. We were able to use lumber already on our property for the outside siding. We purchased an outdoor freezer to store the fruit before it is made into wine. We dug another trench, this time for the power to the freezer. A few more finishing touches and we’re almost there.

To make the freezer run more efficiently, we installed walls and a roof around it. The sun in Saskatchewan can be very strong in the summer. This should help.

Back Inside

Work continues inside the winery. Stair treads are installed and flooring for the upper level is completed. The safety railing upstairs and the stair rail are in. The downstairs floors are epoxied and left to cure. The lab sink was the first piece of equipment to be installed, followed by the glycol chiller for chilling tanks, the bottle capper, fire extinguisher and reverse osmosis system. We are extremely pleased with the progress so far.

Update April, 2020: We completed the inside of the winery and had an SLGA inspection. Approvals from both SLGA and Canada Revenue Agency received.

Heating Options

We will be heating the winery in two different ways - electric and coal. We have started the process of getting our coal burner set up. First step is to clear land for the coal burner building. We were surprised to find a raven’s nest and were careful to relocate it to the treeline behind its original location. The wood itself will be used for the house wood stove.

A local contractor pulled all the stumps and then leveled the area. It only took him an hour, so definitely money well spent. By local ordinance, coal burners need to be 50’ from any trees.

Fall of 2020, installation of the coal burner begins.

Winery Growth

In April, 2020, we purchased two 2000 litre tanks to augment the three 1000 litre tanks already set up in the winery. This immediately doubled our production capabilities.