O PE N TH AT B OT TLE
...with
Chris Fodor BY LINDA GARSON
R
aised in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Chris Fodor started in hospitality at 10 years old. A classmate's father was catering a school event, and he was recruited to flip burgers. “I didn't do very well at burgers, so I was quickly moved to buns. We weren't toasting the buns, we were just opening the bags,” he laughs. As a minor he volunteered busing tables and washing dish for eight years, also working while studying business administration and human resource management at Camosun College. Fodor worked in Whistler at the Four Seasons, then returned to Victoria to the Marriott, where he met Peter and Jane Ellmann of Muse Winery. “I visited the winery in 2007 and was offered a job. It's an idyllic spot, and it’s where I met Karen, my wife. We were engaged in the vineyard.” He’d visited Yarra Valley in Australia in 2003, and fallen in love with wine and the vineyards, yet he never thought of it for a career. In 2013 they came to Calgary where Fodor worked in different hospitality jobs, including nearly five years at Nicole Gourmet. Moving to Okotoks forced a change, and they thought of starting a winery. “We knew we couldn't afford land in the Okanagan, and Karen told me (she's a rancher's daughter) that I’m not a farmer, and I’d never be able to grow grapes,” laughs Fodor. They knew of the urban winery concept from the US, and decided to buy grapes. “At Muse, we bought grapes from the Okanagan as we only had three acres, so we took the leap, starting as a virtual winery while we figured everything out learning about equipment and hands-on training in the Okanagan,” says Fodor. 42 Culinaire November 2023
They moved into their current location and opened February 1, 2020. “The first wine we made without supervision was a zinfandel rosé with Californian grapes, and it went effervescent in the bottle despite my best attempts,” he says. “I was doing so many things; building the winery, making wine, we just had our second child, and I forgot to remove the yeast. People loved it though, it was amazing how quickly it sold.” Now they’re better winemakers, and refocused to make fewer wines than in the early days, as well as custom labeling wine when people put on their own label for gifts and celebrations. “We do all kind of events to share our passion; Fondue Fridays are fun and our Autumn Tasting Festival is coming up on November 4. For Valentine's Day we’re releasing a sparkling and having a little party. We no longer charge a facility rental fee for people to hold their events with us.” “Right now, we're just focusing on the next three months and then next year we hope to be in more liquor stores and restaurants, and have more people come and enjoy the winery. We're only open two days a week, and I would love to be able to expand if business permits,”
he adds. “We'll see what the New Year brings.” What bottle is Fodor saving for a special occasion? He has a bottle of 2008 Grande Dame Rouge, a Bordeaux-style blend from Muse Winery. “When I first tried it, I had no idea that a red wine could be like this because I was still so junior in my years,” he says. “I just loved it; I loved the story of it, I loved the label, the gold embossing, the tall, broad-shouldered bottle. It was just everything, and it's under cork which gives it a shelf life. It’s those memories of being in Deep Cove and little flashes to the Okanagan and what my future held for me, so I'm really looking forward to opening it and enjoying it. I'm going keep the empty bottle, to keep holding on to the memories of being there.” “I’m not sure when I’ll open it, maybe over the holidays when, more than anything, I just want to be able to sit down and relax and enjoy it. I’ll probably try it in the middle of the afternoon and then make dinner and have some more, and maybe open another bottle after that. But most of all, enjoy the memories.”
