I'm Blair Gillingham. I'm a wine consultant with international experience, living in the Okanagan Valley, BC.
I moved to the Okanagan from Victoria, BC before the harvest of 2001. After my first experience at Sumac Ridge Winery I knew wine was my future, and decided not to follow a career in teaching.
Scroll down to learn more about my experience and how I can help you.
Experience Around the World
Acquiring a fulltime cellar position was difficult in those years, so moving between Okanagan wineries and a vintage in NZ, all while self directed studying of wine was the only way to follow my dream. After a few years of fulltime cellar work at Jackson-Triggs, I travelled to Australia for back to back harvests, first to help my brother-in-law manage the harvest at Molly Morgan. A few months later I was in McLaren Vale working harvest with Joe DiFabio and learning big reds.
Harvest 2010 and 2011 were in Langenlois Austria at Weingut Jurtschitsch in the Kamptal region. The focus was on learning cold climate whites while managing the red program. These were two years of impactful culture and understanding of many styles and production methods of wines. Upon returning to Penticton two years were spent helping Fairview Cellars increase production size while learning valuable vineyard management. 2014 saw another quick NZ harvest at Giesen Winery in Marlborough managing white wine production.
Okanagan Winemaking
Once back in Penticton, a successful career ensued as winemaker and vineyard manager at Ruby Blues Winery for 8 years. During that time my wines received some of BC, and Canada's highest awards, most notably a Lieutenant Governors award for 2015 Viognier. 2018 Best Sparkling wine in Canada, 2020 Gewurztraminer and 2015 Pinot Gris Double Gold awarded at the All Canadian Wine Championships.
What can I do for you?
Having made wine for over 20 years at many different locations around the world, with many different winemaking techniques, I will help guide your vision and create that legacy wine for decades to come. No matter what style or colour, I've had experience making every kind of wine; sparkling, white, rosé, red and late harvest. From wines that age in tank, barrel or bottle, to wines that hit the market post bottling. Having confidence making decisions based on weather events and knowing the vision of the wine are skills I've learned over the years, and continue to improve every year. I love visiting vineyards, talking with growers, sampling grapes, and making a plan for picking logistics. Once I know what your final vision is for the wine, I can work back to before the grapes are growing and help you understand the process and make it blossom. Over time I have built honest relationships with all different trades and colleagues throughout the valley, and you will depend on them too, so let me help facilitate those interactions.
My Grüner Project
Falling in love with Grüner Veltliner in Austria was easy, and after moving home to Penticton I helped Fairview Cellars plant this variety at their Gallagher Lake site. For several years I've purchased and produced Grüner from different vineyards in the South Okanagan, predominantly with grapes from Pipe Dreams vineyard in Oliver, especially for my 2018 vintage wedding wine, and 2019 and 2020 at Ruby Blues. The next dream is to plant and create my vision of this variety in the Okanagan.