At Deep Roots you will always find a member of the family on-location. We invite you to stop by and say hello.
Bryan Hardman |
Bryan is the patriarch proprietor and the grower of grapes for Deep Roots. Bryan took over the family farm from his father in 1973, while in his early 20s, and grew cherries, pears, apricots and apples. Between 1974 and 1994 Bryan replanted the property twice, converting the orchard to different varieties, focusing on new apple trees and modern farming methods. Ever the innovator, Bryan purchased a new property on the Bench in 1998 to try his hand at growing grapes, which ultimately triggered another replant of the home farm to vineyard. Although he says that it takes a lot of beer to make good wine, Bryan has been known to enjoy coiffing our Sauvignon Blanc. |
Deb Hardman |
Deb forms the foundation of the family. She worked a very demanding day job before retiring in 2017 to run the tasting room full time. For many years, it was Deb’s dependable salary that provided the security for Bryan to live out his dreams of planting vineyards and eventually to open Deep Roots. In the true spirit of family business, Deb takes on different roles to make the winery a reality, mostly on weekends before her retirement, but has recently established some boundaries to make sure she has time to play bridge, visit with her grandchildren and tend her garden. Deb loves to sip Gamay slightly chilled on a hot summer day. |
Erika Hardman |
Erika works most of the year as a high school teacher, but on school holidays you can always find her pouring wine and chatting up guests in our tasting room. Erika and her husband, Bruce, love to travel and, in the name of research, of course, taste as many wines as possible along the way! Naturally, another of Erika's passions is food - her favourite wine, since our very first vintage, has been our Merlot, as it pairs perfectly with Italian cuisine. |
Marliss Yassin |
Marlis is an accountant by training, so has been a general business resource (nerd) to the winery; however, probably more importantly, she and her husband, Yasser, have contributed a fifth generation to the Hardman/Yassin crew. They have three beautiful children - Hanna, Amira, and Samer (who can often also be found “working” in the winery when visiting Naramata). Growing up on the orchard, Marlis’ favourite fruit was always cherries, so it’s fitting that our Merlot is also her go to varietal at the end of the day. |
Will Hardman |
Winemaker Will brings passion and vision to his work crafting exceptionally delicious wines. After working with Bryan in the vineyard for a few years, Will travelled in our off season to work crushes in New Zealand (2011) and South Africa (2012) and had unique experiences learning about the winemaking process. As a result of being very hands on in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Will returned home fired up about making wine of his own on our family farm. As his career in the wine business began with the farming, Will believes in being out in the vineyard as much as possible and then brings this experience and intimate knowledge of the grapes to his winemaking practice. Will and his partner Heather, who is the General Manager of the winery, welcomed George in 2021. He is the newest member of the family's fifth generation and lives on the farm! |
Smokey & Kenya |
Smokey and Kenya are the Deep Roots resident winery dogs. Both girls are friendly, full of personality and fiercely loyal to the family. Winery dogs may be the luckiest in the world, as the vineyard provides room to roam and critters to chase, while the winery provides a constant flow of people to provide ample attention. Smokey and Kenya love to greet our guests – often from their favourite flop zones in the middle of the driveway or middle of the tasting room floor. Visitors at Deep Roots always make time to give the girls some love and belly rubs before bellying up to the bar themselves to sample our newest vintage. |