When it comes to the art of crafting wine, look no further than locally owned Squatter’s Creek Wines & Designs.
Owner Kelly Munday is knowledgeable about a wide variety of wines and had been making wines for herself for many years prior to purchasing Squatter’s Creek Wines in 2017.
“Wine is my focus,” says Kelly. “I am very passionate about my craft.”
Tapping into years of know-how, Kelly is able to customize wine for individual requirements, including adjusting the sweetness of the wine and making it vegan-friendly or sulfite-free.
For the past two years, Kelly and her husband Terry and their son Michael have run Squatter’s Creek Wines & Designs, which is tucked away in a convenient, central location with ample parking behind Quality Foods (103-4871 Joyce Avenue) in Crossroads Village Shopping Centre.
The well-lit shop has a welcoming, spacious design that is both inviting to customers and comfortable for bottling or having a sampling. Squatter’s Creek specializes in selling and making RJS Craft Winemaking kits. It is an Academy store with RJS. According to the company, the RJS Winemaking Academy is a community of Canada’s leading craft winemaking retailers who represent the best and most passionate winemakers in the industry.
“We are proud to be included in such an amazing group,” says Kelly. “I’ve spent the last two years perfecting my craft, making delicious wines.”
New in 2019, Squatter’s Creek Wines will be making blackberry wine for customers, using their fresh or frozen berries, she adds.
Kelly won a gold medal at an international winemaking competition in the spring and is entering more wines for this year's competition.
Squatter’s Creek Wines strives to provide its customers with consistently high standards for both the wines produced and also the level of service offered. Kelly says that if a customer is not satisfied with their wine, the shop will do what it takes to make it right.
“We understand that only by delivering on our promise of consistently high standards will craft winemaking customers return to make wine with us time and again,” she adds. “We guarantee that every time our customers craft wine with us, they will take home outstanding wines to enjoy and share with family and friends.”
RJS Craft Winemaking is a division of Arterra Wines Canada, Canada’s leading producer and marketer of award-winning Canadian and international wines, including Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin, Sawmill Creek, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Ruffino and Kim Crawford. RJS produces more than 100 varieties of high-quality red, white and rosé wines and come in a range of four- to eight-week kits.
Each year RJS also puts together its four Restricted Quantity (RQ) wine kits, which are released one per month in the winter and spring.
Last October, Squatter’s Creek Wines hosted a benchmark wine-tasting event to sample equivalents from the new RQ wines being released in 2019. Wine kits were pre-ordered at the event, but extras are available in the store, says Kelly. More than $500 was raised for local wildlife non-profits Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society and Wild Ocean Whale Society, she adds.
Squatter’s Creek Wines sells competitively priced winemaking supplies, from yeast and pectic enzyme to corks and bottles. Brew House beer kits are also sold in-store for homebrewers.
Squatters Creek Wines is open 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Friday. Kelly is available Saturday, Sunday and Monday by appointment.
For more information:
• 604.485.7775
• squatterscreekwines.com
• [email protected]
