Backhoes and Pinots:
An unusual pairing W
hen you think of excavating, a waft of blackberry and cassis doesn’t envelop your nose any more than the fresh aroma of sweet apple-pear topped with delicate floral notes do. A vision of aged vines and fermented grapes certainly don’t dance in your head. And the corners of your mouth probably don’t reach toward your ears when the word is mentioned on a Friday afternoon in the office. No, more than likely, when you think of excavating you think of rocks, soil, bulldozers, backhoes, and the crew you drove by on Wollaston, Grange, or Willis Point — with an aroma unique to a hard day’s worth of work. Or, perhaps, you’re more familiar with the trade and zero in on geodetic elevations, trench shoring, and rock bolting.... Layman or technical, the descriptive text and senses evoked by excavating and wine are, unsurprisingly, not the same. However, the business operations are not that dissimilar, beginning with the very essence of excavating: site preparation. If you want a pool built on your property, an addition to your home, or a vineyard planted on acreage, you must excavate. A strong foundation is integral for growth and if you don’t plough you can’t grow, right? Beyond the foundation, you need to establish yourself as a reliable service or product and market your brand as the go-to above all other competition. This rings as true for construction companies as it does for wineries, where loyalty is more than a fairy-tale marriage away. AND SO, THE GRAPE STORY BEGINS... Nearly half a decade ago Mike Rathjen and Colin Mann, president of Don Mann Excavating, met to discuss what would eventually be their next business endeavour. They shared a hobby and a history of
farming and possessed skills that would complement each other’s in the business world. “I was making apple cider for years with a group of friends, and then a mutual friend introduced me to Mike,” says Colin. “I always wanted to do a business venture in the food or drink industry, but I didn’t have the time to do it. Mike had the time, but he didn’t have some of the other resources needed to start a business. So, we moved forward from there to create Rathjen Cellars, which is still in its infancy.” Mike grew up in and amongst orchards and vineyards and it was that early exposure to farming and production that sparked a lifelong passion for cider- and wine-making. After university, he moved up Island where he once again had access to farmland. “My folks made a year supply of apple juice each fall, so we had this crazy production thing going on at the carport” says Mike. “It was just like what we do at the winery now.” Three years after breaking ground on a leased lot in Saanich, Colin and Mike have opened the doors of their tasting room to local libation lovers. But it didn’t come without growing pains, starting with access to producing vineyards. Rathjen wines are 100 per cent locally-sourced and according to the Wine BC website, Vancouver Island’s wine region is home to only four per cent of BC’s vineyards, with a total of 32 licensed wineries as of early 2019. “We represent the second generation taking over this vineyard and we’ve had five from the peninsula basically dropped in our laps since we planted this one,” explains Mike. It takes approximately seven years for newly-planted vines to establish permanent roots, with some winemakers suggesting that the optimum winemaking life of a vine is between 20 and 40 years. By accepting some hand-me-downs and connecting with owners
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