06/22/2023
It is with many mixed emotions that I announce Rathjen Cellars will be closing down operations later this summer. Another casualty of COVID you ask? It definitely factored in, but more like bad weather while trying to navigate a small winery through the start up phase. There were other storms too: small-business-owner-burnout, the steep and sometimes crushing learning curve of farming grapes organically in an unproven region, ever-increasing input costs, new-dad-sleep-deprivation… starting a farm-based winery is the long game and we just didn’t have the resources (financial or personal) to weather the storms we encountered along the way.
We may not have figured out how to navigate a small winery start-up through all that bad weather… but we did figure out how to make some tasty local wine! I had a hunch back before this all began that if we were to commit to using 100% Vancouver Island grapes and apply low intervention winemaking techniques (wild ferments, no chaptalization or de-acidification, longer cellar aging etc.) there would be an eager market/appetite waiting for us.
While I reflect on some of our successes, I must acknowledge the community that surrounded and supported Rathjen Cellars through thick and thin: our loyal customers, our harvest volunteers, current and former staff, apprentices, family, neighbours and industry partners. ❤️🙏 And to my business partner Colin Mann and general manager Nolan Campbell, thank you for all you’ve done to keep the lights on so the wine could be enjoyed for a little while longer.
Making and sharing wine is a beautiful thing, but in the end I had to choose my health and family life over continuing to pursue this dream.
Please stop by our tasting room this summer to enjoy a wine tasting flight and take home a few of our last bottles (at a friendly discount). We’re finishing strong with some beautiful wines made from the 2020 and 2021 vintages.
So long, and thanks for all the wine! 🍷
~Mike Rathjen
