VANCOUVER — Bill Harkley went from drawing vapour trails through the sky to harvesting pinot noir grapes in his vineyard.
He had spent his working life as a pilot for Air Canada, but it was always his dream to grow grapes and run a winery one day. He and his wife, Janice, a chartered accountant who ran a B&B out of their home in Ladner, B.C., bought five acres of land on Salt Spring Island in the late 1990s to make that retirement dream a reality.
When it was launched in 2003, their Salt Spring Vineyards was the island's first winery. They paved the way for other winemakers, and soon a second winery followed (a fourth Salt Spring winery is on the horizon).
The pioneering Harkleys helped establish the Gulf Islands wine industry — not bad for a self-taught couple who could have been lounging in the sun and drinking Mai Tais all these years.
‘As much as we like each other and we have a nice relationship, we asked ourselves, “Do we want to have a waterfront piece of property and sit and look at each other every day?”’ Janice Harkley says. (Diana Nethercott for The Globe and Mail)
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They exemplify those who seek a more active retirement than golfing in the summer months and turning into snowbirds in winter. Instead, they chose to pursue an unfulfilled passion — and make another income — while escaping the city and enjoying the clean ocean air and laidback Gulf Island life.
"I retired from Air Canada in 2000," says Mr. Harkley, 68, who still travels the world, training pilots part-time. "I always had a bit of a green thumb and I always enjoyed gardening and outdoor activities, so when we moved to the island, the idea was to get into the agricultural side of things, and Janice always was interested in tourism.
"With our love of grapes and wine, it seemed natural."
Ms. Harkley, 54, says it was a matter of preserving a healthy marriage, too. "As much as we like each other and we have a nice relationship, we asked ourselves, 'Do we want to have a waterfront piece of property and sit and look at each other every day? Or do we want to be active and involved in business?' "The decision was be involved in business," she says.
Real estate mogul Rudy Nielsen, 67, understands how they feel.
"If I retired I would go stark raving mad," says Mr. Nielsen, laughing. "A lot of retirees from Alberta and Toronto are looking for a little place to retire to, and everybody wants to do something. Sometimes they want to garden, but some do wineries. I think we've got the climate for it."
As developer, consultant and owner of Niho Land & Cattle Co., Mr. Nielsen is the largest independent landowner of recreational property in British Columbia. He acts as a consultant for wealthy people looking to buy trophy properties, such as big ranch lands. In his marketing guide, The Secrets to Investing: 15 Steps for Making a Smart Investment You Can Enjoy, he says recreational property can be a low-risk, high-return investment.
With the trend of urban baby boomers heading to greener pastures in the country, Mr. Nielsen, whose company Landcor Data Corp. compiles real estate data, has seen recreational properties in a desirable area such as the Thompson Okanagan region increase in value by as much as 43 per cent.
For retirees who have worked all their lives, a front-porch rocking chair existence is too daunting a prospect, so a new market has arisen. "Let's say the boomer guy goes to work and mom raises the kids, or they both work. Then the guy comes home after 30 years working and he's at home. He goes, 'Ah, what do I do tomorrow morning?' He's really in shock stage," says Mr. Nielsen.
"So he can go golfing or fishing or hunting, do those things, but if he can putter around on five acres and grow grapes and garden there, I think that is a great thing for the boomer to do. And he makes some income too."
Mr. Nielsen says it's not difficult to start a vineyard or ranch, either as a new full-time job or semi-retirement sideline. He is one of the province's top producers of alfalfa, having started his first ranch in 1972 on 2,000 hectares near Smithers.
"You have ups and downs," he says of ranch life. "I bought 450 cows and then piled my hay wrong and it fell down and killed six of them. Then one day they broke through the fence and took off through the hills. "I only got half of them back — the grizzly bears got fat that winter. So I learned the hard way."
Mr. Nielsen sees a vineyard as a nice investment because it doesn't take a lot of startup cash other than the expense of the vines and the labour involved in planting them. However, starting a winery, he says, requires "deep pockets" and know-how.
Ms. Harkley can only recall one moment when she stopped and wondered what she and her husband had got themselves into.
"Two days before we opened in 2003, we were ready to sell our first vintage, and I thought, 'Have I blown whatever money we had? Have I tossed it away?' "I remember thinking, 'Well I can work till I'm 95. It won't be an issue. I'll make it up to Bill,'|" she says.
But the couple didn't launch their business blindly.
Before they began Salt Spring Vineyards, they spent three years preparing the land and researching the business in B.C.'s Okanagan region and Cowichan Valley and in California's Napa Valley.
They also took courses in winemaking and vineyard growing at the University of California, Davis. Recognizing the need for outside expertise, they found a skilled winemaker to oversee the operation.
In the spring of 2000, the year Mr. Harkley was forced to retire at 60, they planted their first grapes. Two years later, they bottled their first vintage. Today they employ a half-dozen seasonal staff and produce 2,500 crates of wine, which is sold throughout the region.
They are also key members of Salt Spring's thriving culinary industry, promoting their wines as the ideal pairing with the island's artisan cheeses and homegrown lamb.
"One of the most rewarding things about having the vineyard and the property is the tremendous support we get from the islanders themselves," says Mr. Harkley.
Now approaching 70, hauling wine crates isn't as easy for Mr. Harkley as it was and he has his sights on other projects, so he and his wife recently put the property on the market for nearly $2-million. They plan to buy a smaller property on the island and grow grapes for their own use.
"I have other irons in the fire that I'm interested in developing, things that nobody else is doing," says Mr. Harkley. "I don't want to say what, because I haven't nailed things down."
The notion of retirement, it seems, is lost on him.
Special to The Globe and Mail
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