01
The Ride
A nod to our shared love of cycling and triathlon — the chain ring is the engine of the bike, and the bike is how we got here.
— Our History —
A long road to the bench.
How a pair of Vancouver tech careers, a cycling habit, and one too many rainy commutes turned into a working vineyard on Naramata Road.
You start with the life you think you want — but if you're really fortunate, you end up with the life you were meant to have, through a chain reaction of events.
A few decades in the making.
From summer trips to the Okanagan in the early '90s to the first estate harvest in 2021 — the milestones that brought us to the bench.
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Early '90s
Where it began
We've vacationed in the Okanagan every summer since we met — camping in West Kelowna, cycling between wineries, and falling in love with BC wine somewhere along the way. We were happy advocates. Owning a winery wasn't on any list.
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2017
The tipping point
After several decades in Vancouver tech, one too many rainy commutes made it official: time for something else. We fell for a Naramata Bench property the moment we saw it — a block from the Kettle Valley Rail trail, right on Naramata Road, two of our favourite cycling routes. An old orchard with sweeping views of Okanagan Lake and the topography to become a vineyard.
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2018
Roots in the ground
We moved out in early 2018 to chase the dream. Joel enrolled in viticulture at Okanagan College, then started clearing the orchard and prepping the land. It was a steep learning curve — and a lot of trellis wire.
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2020
High Density block
We decided to plant a small block of Riesling in an area that was steep and un-tractorable. Vine spacing is 4 ft so everything is done by hand. A labor of love indeed!
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2020
High Density block
We decided to plant a small block of Riesling in an area that was steep and un-tractorable. Vine spacing is 4 ft so everything is done by hand. A labor of love indeed!
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2021
First estate harvest
Since we didn't have a crop due to the winter freeze, Joel decided to put our personal pizza oven to commercial use. When he decides to do something, he goes all in and has worked hard to create a world class pizza!
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2024
Pizza Oven
Since we didn't have a crop due to the winter freeze, Joel decided to put our personal pizza oven to commercial use. When he decides to do something, he goes all in and has worked hard to create a world class pizza!
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Today
Small by design
We're still a small, family-run operation — vineyard, winery, tasting room, marketing, label design, all of it. Production stays small because we want it hands-on. Our hope is that the lifestyle shows up in every glass.
Three reasons we landed on Chain Reaction.
The name had to do some heavy lifting — for the bikes, for the story, and for the wine itself.
02
The Story
One thing led to another — Vancouver, the Okanagan, a rainy commute, an old orchard. A literal chain reaction of events that put us on this bench.
03
The Wine
Winemaking is itself a chain reaction — grape to ferment, ferment to barrel, barrel to bottle, bottle to table.
We hope you'll come visit us, hear a few more stories, and taste what's in the bottle.
— Joel & Linda