Leandro Nosal is Tinhorn Creek’s new head winemaker. Supplied photo

Winemakers have a habit of getting around. But Leandro Nosal has already packed in a wealth of global experience. Nosal—who on July 19th took over as head winemaker at Tinhorn Creek—is originally from Mendoza, where he comes from a long line of winemakers.

No surprise, growing up in a culture of wine, it didn’t take long for him to be bitten by the bug.

“Wine has been part of my life, pretty much since day one,” says Nosal, whose family history spans four generations of growing vineyards and making wine.

“I remember spending time in the vineyards with my parents and grandparents and always felt it was a magical place to be,” he says. “When the time came to choose what to study, it was clear to me that I wanted to carry on my family history linked to that magic I experienced in my childhood. After graduating as an Agricultural Engineer and working in the wine industry in Mendoza, it only confirmed more and more, that what I wanted to do was to be a winemaker.”

Tinhorn Creek Winery. Supplied photo

Over the last few years Nosal has studied and made wine in both Old and New Worlds, from Bordeaux, Catalunya and Piedmont to California, Marlborough, Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe, Canada’s Niagara—and most recently the Okanagan. He moves to Tinhorn from assistant winemaker posts at Mission Hill, Cedar Creek and CheckMate.

Nosal heard about the Okanagan Valley from colleagues when working in California. “They told me about how incredible this valley was and how attractive it has become for many wine professionals in the world,” he recalls. “However, it was not until I met an amazing Canadian girl (who later would become my wife and mother of our two kids) that I decided to move to Canada.”

Nosal remembers the moment well when he visited the Okanagan for the first time, in 2011. “I fell in love with the valley immediately. It felt like home. It is the desert climate, the warm days and cool nights, the sun shining in the early morning, all that made me feel at home, even though I was thousands of miles away.”

When he’s not busy in the cellar or vineyard, Nosal loves to spend time with his family, as well as hiking and sailing. And—when his schedule allows—he really enjoys cooking and gets busy in the kitchen.

Tim Pawsey

Tim Pawsey writes and shoots at hiredbelly.com as well as for publications including Quench, TASTE and Montecristo. He’s a frequent wine judge and is a founding member of the B.C. Hospitality Foundation.