The North Okanagan’s latest vineyards have their roots in online dating.
Markus Frind, an entrepreneur best known for creating the match-making website Plenty of Fish, is spearheading a project to plant grapevines on hundreds of acres of land in the Vernon area.
He envisions the project attracting other investment and turning the community into another wine hub.
Work on the project is currently underway on hillsides overlooking Okanagan Lake, in the Bella Vista area of the city.
Frind estimates his West Kelowna winery, Frind Estate Winery, is spending tens of millions on the project which will create 300 to 400 acres of new vineyards in Vernon.
While Vernon has not been a major player in the Okanagan’s wine industry, after researching the climate, Frind sees potential.
“I see the entire area sort of blowing up and becoming a wine region with a lot of wineries. It is incredibly scenic up there,” Frind said.
Right now the plan is to use the grapes in wine production for his existing West Kelowna winery but Frind is not ruling out creating other wineries.