Foodies Under 40 Western Living

In their new issue, Western Living has named their 6th annual collection of the best and brightest foodies in the West, "From restaurateurs who used Kickstarter to fund a new space, to chefs who brought gluten-free to the discerning masses, to visionaries who are designing restaurants that change the way we look at food, these are Western Living’s Foodies of the Year". Our winemaker, Matt Mavety is humbled to be included among them.

Here are the twelve "Foodies" that made the list:

THE HOME TEAM: Ayden, Saskatoon

THE KICKSTARTERS: Darcy Scott—Whimsical Cake Studio & Edmonton and Dane Brown & Clinton McDougall—Bestie, Vancouver

THE ENTERTAINER: Cody Willis—Native Tounges, Calgary

THE LOCAL HEROES: Clark Deutscher & Francois Pilon—Hank's, Ucuelet and Victoria

THE VISIONARY: Mandel Hitzer—RAW:almond, Winnipeg

THE STATEMENT MAKER: Craig Stanghetta—STE. Marie Art & Design, Vancouver

THE PURISTS: Brett & Adam Yakimetz—Yakimetz Farm, Vegreville

THE WINEMAKER: Matt Mavety—Blue Mountain Winery, Okanagan Falls

"Here in Canada, oenophiles use the terms winemaker and vigneron almost interchangeably to describe a person who makes wine, But whereas a winemaker may buy grapes from all sorts of places, the vigneron is steadfastly connected to the land. They select the grapes, farm them, nurture them and practice tough love to draw out their true nature. And while the Okanagan has a nice complement of excellent winemakers, there aren’t many true vignerons like Matt Mavety. But it couldn’t be any other way at Blue Mountain, his home turf. Matt’s father, Ian, planted the first vines 1971, which may as well be in the Pleistocene, it’s so ancient by Okanagan standards. From the get-go the place was all about the land, and what grapes can and should grow in our climate. It was this ethos that Matt was raised on, and when he took over as head winemaker in 2002, there was scant danger of him producing a tempranillo or a cabernet with grapes from Osoyoos. It’s the difference between wanting to be a star or a steward."

THE LIBERATOR: Kerry Bennett—Care Bakery, Calgary

THE CRAFTSMEN: Everywhere, Vancouver

THE HEIR APPARENT: Matthew Stowe—Cactus Club, Vancouver

THE CONSERVATIONIST:Twyla Roscovich—Activist, Sointula

Congratulations to everyone who made the 2014 Foodies of the Year list! Click here to read the article.