The Family
The Deol Family has been working with produce for many generations. In fact, they belong to a Sikh Punjabi cast known as Jhatts which literally means farmer! Surjit S. Deol brought his passion and his sons to Canada over 30 years ago to Duncan. They worked for local farms. They then moved to the Okanagan, where they purchased their own 10 acre orchard which they named Deol Orchards. They grew cherries, table grapes, apples, prunes, pears, vegetables and their infamous peaches which people from across Canada came down to enjoy! Surjit's two sons, Gurdip and Gurdish started their families and began working for local vineyards and wineries. They quickly picked up all they know about grapes from working along side the vineyard workers and soon became experts in wine grape harvesting.
In 1999, Surjit wanted to go back to Duncan so he decided to purchase a 32-acre dairy farm which he and his sons converted to a vineyard. They saw the wineries lacked local grape growers so decided to bring their passion and knowledge about grapes to the Cowichan Valley. Gurdish became a part of the business in 2004 and quickly took over the business alongside his father. Gurdip ran the orchard in the Okanagan Valley until 2009, and then joined his brother and father in the Cowichan Valley.
Surjit S. Deol- 'The Father' of the business. He is the oldest and wisest of the three owners and is the founder of the Deol produce businesses. Even at the age of 80 when most people his age have retired and are taking it easy, you will find him in the fields or his vegetable patches working away from 6 in the morning to late evening! His life has been dedicated to p
roduce, and as he jokingly says, working in the field has become a bit of an addiction for him. His hard work and dedication year after year is what inspired our logo!
Gurdip S. Deol- The oldest son. Gurdip manages the businesses and his kind and respectful approach along side his sense of humor to teaching and working along side the workers in the field has earned him a soft spot in all our workers hearts! Even in the Okanagan, where he worked and managed the staff of various vineyards, he has always gone above and beyond to teach the workers how to work with the grapes. He was in the Okanagan until 2009 running our orchard and then moved back to the warmland to work alongside his brother and father once more.
Gurdish S. Deol- Or 'Gary' has been at the heart of the vineyard since 2004. He is the backbone of production of the estate. In fact, it was his idea to start the winery in 2007 and he is the one that produces our quality local wines. You will see Gary most often hard at work in the field or in our winery producing and bottling wine.
Jennifer Deol- Is the daughter of Gurdip and is the latest edition to the business. Jennifer is currently attending university, however in the summer times you will see her in the wine shop or out doing marketing for the business. Jennifer has grown up in the Okanagan, which is the heart of B.C.'s wine industry. She has done multiple wine tastings and has found a new passion in wine. She hopes to do wine courses in the future to expand her knowledge in the ever growing Canadian wine industry.
The mothers of the family, Rajvinder and Mohinder, will be found tending our gardens and chasing after the boys! They are the ones who keep our family nourished and hearty. For anyone who comes from a big family household, it sure can get a bit crazy and it is the mother that keeps everyone in line and orderly. If you ever do come during the Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival, we always serve our traditional pakoras and Indian cuisine to our vistors. Well it is our mothers who hand make each and every pakora with a bit of indian spice and love, just like every meal they make for their family!
"The boys" of the family are a bit on the shy side so spotting them is tricky. However if you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of them working along side their fathers in the field or the winery. They are usually the ones operating the farm equipment, so if you see a tractor going faster than is should, it must be one of the boys operating it!
