Justin Hall

Cellar Supervisor, Nk'Mip Cellars

A proud member of the Osoyoos Indian band, Justin Hall works under the guidance of winemaker Randy Picton to craft the award wining wines of Nk'Mip Cellars.

Though some members of Hall's family work at the local Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate winery, Hall was not a wine drinker before he began his work at Nk'Mip Cellars.

Having grown up in Oliver, BC and Montreal QC, Hall finished off his high school years at South Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver, while working a part time job at the Nk'Mip Desert Canyon Golf Course. After graduating high school Hall stayed on with the golf course and in the winter months when the course all but closed, a new job was in order.

During his job search, Hall thought he'd like to work at the winery and in his words, Hall "bugged Randy once a week" for three months until Picton finally told Hall there was a job for him. And so, in January 2004 Hall joined Nk'Mip, and was rewarded for his persistence with the glamorous tasks of cleaning equipment and hoses. It didn't matter - within a month, Hall was hooked, and knew this was the job for him. He loves the atmosphere of working as a team in the cellar, and he is now a bona fide wine lover.

While working full time at the winery, Hall went on to grow his position and formalize his expertise with night classes at the Okanagan University College, eventually earning his certificates for the winery assistant and viticulture programs.

To further his learning, of how a larger winery operation works and the many roles and responsibilities that go into the process, in 2005 Hall visited Australia to work the crush at Goundrey in West Australia.

Back at Nk'Mip, Hall does his best for Nk'Mip Cellars. One of the proudest moments to date is the winery's 2007 win of Best in Show at the Vancouver magazine Wine Awards for the winemaking team's 2005 Pinot Noir.

"This is the job I was born to do," says Hall. "I love it!" One day Hall hopes to further his learning on cool climate viticulture & oenology in New Zealand, and dreams to become a chief winemaker one day.

When he is not working, Hall enjoys tasting wines from different areas and tries to golf as often as possible.