About Us
Celebrating 22 Years of Producing Quality Wines
Arrowleaf is a family-owned and operated winery founded in 2001 by the Zuppiger family. In 1986, Joe and Margrit Zuppiger and their five children immigrated to Canada from Switzerland (the Zurich area) where they had been operating an organic orchard and dairy farm. They continued dairy farming in Alberta, settling south of Edmonton. After 10 years in the dairy business they moved to the Okanagan and purchased Suncrest Vineyard and two years later, the Carter Farm, the current location of the winery. For the first five years they grew grapes for Gray Monk Winery with the eventual goal of establishing their own winery.
With this plan in mind, their eldest son Manuel returned to Switzerland to complete a three-year apprenticeship program in wine making. After his studies, Manuel gained additional industry experience by working as a cellar hand for three seasons; the first season in the Barossa Valley (Australia), and after that, in the Okanagan at Hillside Estate Winery under Eric von Krosigk and Tinhorn Creek under Sandra Oldfield. In the meantime, construction of the winery building began, and Arrowleaf Cellars officially opened its doors in 2003. Arrowleaf Cellars became the second winery in Lake Country (after Gray Monk) and started out modestly, initially producing six different wines (Auxerrois, Barrique, Pinot Gris, Bacchus, Merlot, Zweigelt) with a total of 3500 cases.
The business grew over time with the commitment of dedicated, local growers. Arrowleaf now has 16 acres at our estate vineyard and oversees another 30 acres in the area. The Arrowleaf wine portfolio has almost quadrupled since the beginning, now producing more than a dozen wines per year, with an annual production of approximately 16,000 cases.
Our Tasting Room, designed by award-winning architect Robert Mackenzie, opened in 2014.
Winery Highlights
2023 - New additions to our portfolio: Piquette Riesling 2022 and Piquette Pinot Noir 2022
2021 - Four new additions to our portfolio: Skin Fermented Pinot Gris, Skin Fermented Riesling, Petite Arvine and Chardonnay
2021 - Platinum Award for the 2019 Riesling at the 2021 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards
2020 - Platinum Award for the 2018 Pinot Noir at the 2020 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards
2019 - Named the Number 8 Winery in Canada by The National Wine Awards of Canada based on our medal standing at the 2019 competition
2018 - New addition to our portfolio: Summerstorm sparkling Rosé made with the Zweigelt grape
2018 - Release of our new wine labels and updated portfolio: Arrowleaf varietal wines, Field Collection blended wines and Archive limited production premium wines
2017 - Two Gold medals at the Mondial des Pinots held in Switzerland: 2016 Pinot Gris and 2015 Pinot Noir
2017 - Launch of our sparkling wine program with the introduction of Wildblume, a sparkling white made of Vidal grapes
2016 - Gold medal for 2014 Solstice Pinot Noir at the Mondial des Pinots held in Switzerland, a prestigious world-wide pinot-based competition
2016 - White Wine of the Year trophy award for 2015 Riesling at the All Canadian Wine Championships
2015 - Named the Number 2 Winery in Canada by The National Wine Awards of Canada based on our medal standing at the 2015 competition
2014 - Gold medal for 2012 Solstice Pinot Noir at the Mondial des Pinots held in Switzerland, a prestigious world-wide pinot-based competition
2014 - Grand opening of our new tasting room designed by architect Robert Mackenzie