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Okanagan wine and food writer adds B次元官网网址渨inemakerB次元官网网址� to list of achievements

Years of telling stories from the food and wine world has Jennifer Schell rooting local.

The Okanagan-based bestselling author and vintner wants people to know where their food comes from.

Buying local is central to her folklore-filled cookbook series: The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine and Cheese Maker. The first of the three books won a variety of international awards, including Best Local Cuisine cookbook in Canada at the Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards, referred to widely as the Oscars of food publishing.

She followed it up with two more installments under the same name B次元官网网址� By the Sea and In the Okanagan.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 fascinated by people and their passions. It really inspires me and ignites me. I get excited about what people are growing and making,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really contagious.B次元官网网址�

Jennifer encourages people to talk to farmers and winemakers, adding B次元官网网址渆verything I do revolves around that introduction.B次元官网网址�

When her first book was published in 2012, a renaissance of the farmersB次元官网网址� market was occurring.

She had written and edited magazine stories on food and wine for years, earning a knowledgeable reputation in the food world throughout the Okanagan and beyond.

The bookB次元官网网址檚 format featured recipes accompanied by profiles on people behind the recipes, such as the chef, farmer, baker or winemaker. Their passion for their craft is the thread that ties them together.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e all doing what they love and itB次元官网网址檚 all benefiting humanity, and helping to feed our community,B次元官网网址� she said.

The book featured 150 people. She insisted on big photos so people could see those behind the dish.

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The follow-up, By the Sea, was published in 2015 and featured Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Jennifer, who also takes her own photos, toured the shorelines and farms, learning about things like diving for geoduck and gathering sea urchins.

B次元官网网址淭he people who I feature are all [oriented towards] sustainable, mostly organic [practices] and sharing a philosophy of protecting our land and waters,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭he characters out there are amazing.B次元官网网址�

Jennifer has a personal connection to local food producers. She was born into a farming family, multi-generational on both sides. They grew tree fruits, raised chickens and made wine at her family orchard in southeast Kelowna.

Her parents still live there.

B次元官网网址淚 grew up at a time when the farmer was not being recognized, when people were not worried about where their food came from,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 watched my dad and my grandfather lovingly tend their land. ItB次元官网网址檚 a beautiful art.B次元官网网址�

The price of land has fast become prohibitive for new farmers. Yet people find creative ways to grow their food with less space by backyard farming and leasing space.

The third book, In The Okanagan, was published in 2016.

B次元官网网址淚 just love shining the spotlight on these people,B次元官网网址� she said.

Jennifer has been working on a new book called BC Wine LoversB次元官网网址� Cookbook and itB次元官网网址檚 being published by Random House.

The book is a tapestry of the incredible diversity in the BC wine industry, she said. And it has recipes from all over the world including Israel, Italy, Spain and France.

Jennifer said some of the recipes she included were from old-school recipe cards complete with B次元官网网址済randma writingB次元官网网址� on them.

B次元官网网址淭hese are family recipes. A lot of them have a wonderful tradition attached B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 the dish they make after harvest, or after the first crush at the winery,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a very international flavour in a very local book. It paints a unique picture in international diversity. ItB次元官网网址檚 an international melting pot of like-minded, passionate people.B次元官网网址�

The book will be out in spring 2020.

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Going above and beyond just writing about wine, Jennifer is now making it herself.

She and her brothers B次元官网网址� Jonathan and Jamie B次元官网网址� ventured into their own family wine business. They recruited minimal-intervention winemaker Rob Westbury and, in 2017, Schell Wines was launched.

Their first chardonnay used grapes grown down the road from their family farm. The second vintage used grapes from a friendB次元官网网址檚 farm in Naramata. They dubbed it Wren.

Even the logo design was kept in the family, with their niece, Hillary Schell, designing it.

They have also done a red blend, named Ruby, after an aunt who recently passed away.

B次元官网网址淲ine is a local celebration. I wanted to get that really immersive experience into that world. Now I truly understand the undertaking and the investment,B次元官网网址� Jennifer said.

Jennifer is passionate about small-batch wine. SheB次元官网网址檚 one of the organizers of the Garagiste North Wine Festival, which started in 2015. The inaugural festival was listed in the London Financial Times as one of the top wine festivals in the world.

B次元官网网址淭he world of wine is very interested in the small producers, the small lot, the boutique, the hard to find,B次元官网网址� she said, adding that itB次元官网网址檚 the winemakers or proprietors who are at the festival pouring their wines, not just company reps.

ItB次元官网网址檚 part of an international garagiste movement. (Garagiste is defined as: B次元官网网址渁 small-scale entrepreneurial winemaker B次元官网网址� especially one who does not adhere to the traditions of wine-making.B次元官网网址�) The cost of buying a vineyard is unachievable for most, so the way to break into the industry is to find a winemaker, source grapes and do custom crushes.

B次元官网网址淭he crowd that comes to this festival are the wine lovers. ItB次元官网网址檚 a passion-filled community. TheyB次元官网网址檙e wearing their heart on their sleeves, pouring their wine, building their dreams,B次元官网网址� Jennifer said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the future of the wine industry.B次元官网网址�

Asked about the most helpful tips sheB次元官网网址檚 gleaned from years of writing about wine, Jennifer said she has discovered that the highest quality wines definitely depend on sourcing the highest quality grapes.

B次元官网网址淭he good wine is grown in the vineyard,B次元官网网址� she said.

That means relationships with growers are important to develop.

B次元官网网址淚f you donB次元官网网址檛 have the relationships, you canB次元官网网址檛 buy the grapes and then you canB次元官网网址檛 make the good wine,B次元官网网址� she said.

She can be found online at .

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