BC Wine Maker

Miranda and Del Halladay founded the winery at Elephant Island in 1999 in partnership with Miranda’s Grandmother, Catherine Chard Wisnicki who’s unconventional wisdom is at the heart of all things Elephant Island.

A passion for fine alcohols and the love of a good time, in good company, has inspired the Halladay’s journey into the world of winemaking and wine exploration. The foray into fruit wine was guided by the fascination of Miranda’s grandfather, Paul, whose recreational pursuit of fruit winemaking and distilling left a heritage rich in notes and memories. Paul had the foresight and vision to believe that there was a market for well-crafted fruit wines and that the fruit grown in the Okanagan Valley would provide the essential raw ingredients. His recipes, brought from the old-world, have laid the foundation for all of the wines at Elephant Island.

Recognizing that the Miranda and Del’s 20’s had been spent consuming large quantities of beer, they have spent the past 10 years learning all they can about great wine. Collaboration with classically trained winemaker Christine Leroux has been instrumental in their learning process. Training at L’Institut D’Oenologie de Bordeaux, in Bordeaux, France combined with work experience Chateau Petrus, Chateau Margaux and Cassegrain was good enough reason to give her the job!

“Del and Miranda Halladay have always paid close attention to the quality of their wines, but a recent tasting unveiled a number of superb efforts. If fruit wine deserves more respect Elephant Island is well on the way to guaranteeing it.” – Tim Pawsey, Vancouver Courier