Sandy Leier decided it was time for a change when she realized she was spending more time managing winemakers than making wine. So, in 2022, after 16 years at Sandhill Wines in Kelowna, she took her talents an hour south, to Laughing Stock Vineyards on Penticton’s winery-rich Naramata Bench.

“I wanted to be hands-on from the vineyard to the cellar, seeing the fruit, smelling it, touching it, doing everything and being closer to it,” said Leier, one of a growing number of female winemakers in the region. “Because that’s the reason why I got into winemaking, to make it with my hands.”

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