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Anthony Gismondi on Wine
Sunday, June 7 2020

Phantom Creek Estates To Open Friday

By: Anthony Gismondi
A spectacular new winery opens on the cusp of the BC South Okanagan Valley's 30 anniversary of planting red varietals.

Oliver, British Columbia, June 6, 2020.

Phantom Creek Estates, an exciting new winery in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, is pleased to announce that it will begin welcoming guests to the estate by appointment only beginning Friday, June 12, at 3:30 pm.  The 78,000 square-foot destination winery showcases estate-grown, limited production premium wines crafted by an influential international winemaking team – Olivier Humbrecht MW, Philippe Melka and Francis Hutt – and offers visitors an experience that highlights the best of the Okanagan Valley’s hospitality.  After three and a half years of construction, the winery’s opening represents a major milestone for Phantom Creek Estates, which was originally slated to host a grand opening celebration earlier this year in April but was unable to do so due to COVID-19 restrictions.

While we have had to pivot our grand opening plans several times, we are beyond thrilled to finally be able to open our doors and share our beautiful estate with the public,” said CEO of Phantom Creek Estates, Santiago Cilley.  “Debuting Phantom Creek is an incredible accomplishment for our entire team, and we are ready to share our hard work with the Okanagan community and beyond."

In lieu of a grand opening, Phantom Creek Estates recently launched an immersive, educational and transportive video series that has been broadcasting on the winery’s digital channels and social media platforms since May 28.  The docuseries takes viewers on a visual journey of Phantom Creek Estates, from its historic beginnings in the Okanagan Valley to present day, showcasing ten “episodes” of the winery’s lifespan, from its roots to the winemaking team’s meticulous processes, to the incredible architectural minds that came together to build this trailblazing winery for the region.  The immersive series airs a new episode twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and offers viewers an unprecedented peek inside the life of a new winery, as well as the opportunity to meet the team that brings this incredible project to life. As a part of Phantom Creek Estates’ enhanced safety measures, staff will be vigorously cleaning and sanitizing all common and high traffic areas, while providing an unmatched level of customer service.  Guests can explore the winery’s expansive outdoor area, such as designated picnic spots and a 500-seat amphitheatre the team plans to utilize for safe, open-air experiences.  Inside the hospitality facility, there is a spacious tasting room with seating areas that will adhere to strict social distancing and sanitation protocols.

Phantom Creek Estates’ safety enhancements include:

All visits are by reservation only

No-touch sanitation stations at all entrances and high traffic areas

Enhanced hand washing and personal care protocols

Visiting groups will be restricted to a maximum of six people

All public spaces will be cleaned and sanitized after each guest

Phantom Creek Estates will offer a seated tasting experience by reservation only as well as a guided 90-minute private Tour and tasting for groups of six. All experiences are available for on-line booking through www.phantomcreekestates.com/visit

Located at 4315 Black Sage Road in Oliver, British Columbia, Phantom Creek Estates is open for appointments only.  To make a reservation or for more information, please call (250) 498-8367,

Written By: ag
Anthony Gismondi
Anthony Gismondi

Anthony Gismondi is a Canadian wine journalist and one of North America's most influential voices in wine. For over 30 years, he has been the wine columnist for The Vancouver Sun. The twice-weekly column is distributed across Canada through the Postmedia Network to millions of readers. In addition, Anthony hosts the BC Food & Wine Radio Show, broadcast in 25 markets across B.C. and available as a podcast on major platforms. He launched Gismondionwine.com in 1997, attracting one million monthly users from 114 countries. It continues to be a valuable resource full of tasting notes, intelligent wine stories and videos for the trade and consumers. Conversations with wine personalities are available on his  YouTube Channel.