This is one of our rare interviews with a Kelowna resident who was born and raised here. Kara and I loved hearing so many stories of what life was like for a young girl growing up in the Okanagan in a rural setting!
Jennifer Turton-Molgat, President of The View Winery, believes in seizing opportunities when they present themselves. And so, in 2006 when the opportunity to start an estate winery on her family’s fifth generation property presented itself, she gave up her teaching career, rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
With a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature and Women’s Studies and a second degree in Education, Jennifer seemed like an unlikely candidate to develop a business from the ground up. In the early years of The View Winery she faced a steep learning curve. She became a certified sommelier and learned every aspect of the wine business including viticulture practises, winemaking and the art of food and wine pairing. Incredibly hands on in her style, Jennifer has experienced every winery task from harvesting and crushing fruit to bottling wines, developing The View brand and creating and taking care of sales and marketing. She also transformed a vintage apple packing house into a working cellar, wine shop and tasting room.
Today The View is known for its award winning cool climate wines, and its flirty red shoe branding. It also produces BLING and is home to Wards Apple Cider, which is named after the family’s patriarch who originally settled the land.
Jennifer believes that success comes from surrounding oneself with excellent people. She has been able to attract and retain the best possible staff by adhering to her core values: leading by example, staying positive and empowering employees.
Committed to giving back to the community, Jennifer developed The View Red Shoe Campaign which contributes thousands of dollars every year to local charities as well as arts, sports and academic organizations.
Towards the end, we get a surprise visit from Jennifer's husband Kent Molgat. We get to sample some of their amazing wines and ciders, and have a discussion with Kent about ciders.
If you're noticing the sound of machinery and ambient noise, that's because we recorded this right within the winery. This was an incredible experience!
If you enjoyed this episode, an iTunes review would be SO appreciated! It's super easy to do right within the Podcast app.
SHOW NOTES: IMPORTANT LINKS
Learn more about the amazing of The View Winery on their Facebook page and their website.
Jennifer nominates Anna Jacyszyn and Kent Molgat to come on the I Love Kelowna Podcast. Thank you so much to Sabrina Fedorak for nominating Jennifer!
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