extended family to do everything except harvesting,” Gillian said. This year the Stohlers hired two fulltime employees.


Under the auspices of Employment BC, one male employee was hired through the wage subsidy placement incentive.


“The program pays half of his wages for 24 weeks and we have to guarantee that he has work for a full year. He works in the vineyard and as a cellar hand,” Gillian explained. The other fulltime employee, a


woman, is in charge of the wine shop and does most of the paper work. “This means I can focus on making wine and also have more time with our children.” The Stohlers continue to rely on volunteers for harvesting and bottling.


The volunteers, often customers, enjoy the opportunity to see how wine is made and be part of the process starting with picking. “It’s about creating a wine community,” said Gillian.


SUSAN MCIVER


Gillian Stohler, who owns Summer Gate Winery with her husband Mike, is in charge of wine making.


production and operate a large packing line.


She hires approximately 100 people to maintain a crew of 80.


“Twenty years or so ago our picking crew was mainly adult Indo- Canadians. Now there are more university students, especially from Guelph because of its agricultural college. We’re also seeing more women both as pickers and packers,” Carlson said.


Picking fruit continues to be a rite of passage for many Quebec youth. A particular challenge is finding workers to help extended family members prune.


“It’s cold, physically hard work so I mainly hire twenty-something males,” she said.


Most prospective employees contact her by email, a few by phone or they simply walk in.


“I try to judge attitude, reliability and attention to detail from the emails. It can be difficult, especially when English is the second language.” Like other small producers, Mike and Gillian Stohler, owners of Summer Gate Winery in Summerland, use a variety of approaches to meet their labour challenge.


The couple own and manage a total of 11 acres.


“Until now we’ve relied on WWOOFers (World Wide


Opportunities on Organic Farms) and 12


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2015


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