Gavin Miller entered the wine business after his employer, a local sign company, went into receivership in the late 1990s. “One of my customers was Hillside Winery,” Miller told the Straight by phone. “I had to go tell them I couldn’t make their signs anymore because the company was closing down.”

The winery hired him as a novice carpenter, and later he studied viticulture at Okanagan University College, intending to become a wine salesman. But halfway through the course, the British immigrant decided that he wanted to make wine instead.

“I basically worked my way up through the vineyards, into the cellar, and eventually got an assistant winemaker position at Red Rooster and then an assistant winemaker position at Poplar Grove, which turned into a winemaker position,” he recalled. “Then I got snapped up by Painted Rock.”

He and his wife, Shana Miller, put in a bid on their winery in the wake of the collapse of Holman Lang Group in 2010. “We spent a very expensive year renovating and bringing the vineyard up to scratch,” Miller said.

They also built a cheese-making facility in the back of the building, and the whole operation opened its doors in 2012. Shana makes seven different types of cheeses, including two blue cheeses, a Brie, and three Gold cheeses, including one with sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and garlic.

“My wife has a passion for making cheese, and I have a passion for making wine,” Miller said. “It goes together rather well.”

He described his winemaking style as “minimalist”, meaning the better his grapes are, the easier it is to make wine. Miller insisted that good grapes result from paying attention to details in the vineyard to ensure that the balance of flavours and acidity are just right.

With the exception of two weeks over Christmas, Upper Bench is open seven days a week throughout the year. “If the doorbell goes, off we run and go serve wine and cheese,” Miller said. “I should mention that we’ll be up in Vancouver for the Naramata Spring Release at the end of April [at the EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival] if anyone wants to come and see us there.”

Signature wine: “I love making my Cabernet Sauvignon, but I think the Merlot from my site is probably what will stand out in the long run,” Miller said. “Merlot and Chardonnay. To be fair, the Cab is doing very well.”

Fun fact: Miller still has vivid memories of peering down the stairs of his childhood home in London and watching his father host wine-and-cheese parties. “I grew up with people who loved food,” he said. “So wine became just part of life.”

Address: Upper Bench Estate Winery & Creamery, 170 Upper Bench Road South, Penticton, B.C., 250-770-1733.