Kismet Estate is a family-owned and operated winery located in Canada’s wine capital of Oliver, BC. After 2024’s devastatingly cold temperatures and frost, Kismet recently celebrated a bountiful harvest. I spoke with Neelam Dhaliwal, General Manager of Kismet Estate Winery, to learn more about her family’s legacy in Oliver, her sister’s role as head winemaker, and Kismet’s plans for the future.
Kismet’s Deep Roots in Oliver
In 1991, Neelam’s father, Sukhi Dhaliwal, moved to Canada from the Punjab region in India and settled in Oliver, BC. A year later, his brother, Balwinder followed. Punjab, also known as the Land of Five Rivers, is renowned for its rich and fertile land and substantial agricultural output. So, in many ways, Oliver felt like home to the Dhaliwal brothers.
In the 90s, there was some grape growing in the region, but it was mostly orchards and ground crop, until government subsidies supported the planting of more grape vines. The Dhaliwal brothers personally planted many of these new vineyards.
“We’re ground up, our roots are buried deep in this industry,” explains Neelam with pride. “A lot of these other bigger wineries, the ones located on Black Sage Bench, they started planting in the 90s, so my family is actually one of the key families that helped plant BOV (Burrowing Owl Vineyards) and Phantom Creek.”
Neelam and her sister Manpreet literally grew up among the vines.
“There was no such thing as babysitting back then,” laughs Neelam. “You know from an immigrant family, if there’s work, I’m going to work with them.”
At Burrowing Owl in particular, but across the whole region, the Dhaliwal family touched the vines of many renowned vineyards.
Growing Award-Winning Grapes
Neelam’s father first started as a vineyard labourer, became foreman, and then manager. Eventually, the Dhaliwals purchased their own property and start growing grapes and selling them to different wineries. Soon, they were able to quit their full time jobs and manage their own property, growing their own grapes.
The grapes sold by the Dhaliwals started to win awards like the Lieutenant Governor General Award. Year after year, Judith Guichon, the Lieutenant Governor General, would come into town to present the awards to each winning winery.
The awards are accepted by the growers, the winemaker, and the owners of the winery. So, the Dhaliwals found themselves going from winery to winery, as the growers, accepting awards.
Neelam recalls Lieutenant Governor General Guichon saying to them, “I have shaken your guys’ hand at so many of these wineries today, where is your winery?”
From Burrowing to Bottling
For their grapes to be so consistently awarded was the validation that the Dhaliwals needed to prompt them to try wine-making for the first time. 2009 was when the Dhaliwal family first bottled a blend, as an experiment. They slapped masking tape onto label the bottles and shared them with various friends and family, people they knew who would be honest about it.
It was a hit.
The positive feedback on this first vintage was further validation. And the Dhaliwals still have a few of those 2009 bottles tucked away.
In a beautiful full circle moment, Kismet’s 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of their first official vintages, won a Lieutenant Governor General’s Award for Excellence. You can still hear the emotion in Neelam’s voice as she describes what it felt like to finally host Lieutenant Governor General Guichon at their own winery. “It was a truly incredible experience,” she recalls.
The name Kismet has powerful meaning for the family. The word comes from a Punjabi word that means destiny or fate. Neelam explains: “Kismet is literally about us being in the right place at the right time, surrounded by the right people.”
The Dhaliwals have been able to weave their cultural background into the branding of Kismet, which is just one of the ways that Kismet stands out from other wineries in the region.
Innovation and Representation
Another way that Kismet stands out is that it is entirely female-run, which is exciting to Neelam, who serves as Operations Manager. “It’s truly about opening doors for ourselves that weren’t opened for us, taking up space where it doesn’t seem like we belong” she states.
The Head Winemaker at Kismet is also female, and Neelam’s sister, Manpreet. In fact, she is the only female South Asian Head Winemaker in Canada.
While Manpreet also grew up in the vineyards of some of the Okanagan’s best wineries, she initially pursued a career in nursing. However, she always spent her summers at Kismet working in the tasting room. She couldn’t help but feel drawn back to the family business.
Then, when she moved from the tasting room to the cellar and her talents as a Head Winemaker were immediately evident: three of her first four wines received awards including her 2023 Pinot Grigio, which won double gold at the All Canadian Wine Championships.
Manpreet has continued to win awards. Most recently, she earned Double Gold for the 2024 Phulkari Rosé, alongside Platinum for her 2022 Cabernet Franc Reserve. The 2024 win must be particularly meaningful because it was such a challenging year.
Now, the 2025 bounty means Manpreet will be able to experiment and play with different blends. So, over the next couple of years, Kismet may have some exciting new varietals and styles.
Visiting the Vineyard
In addition, Kismet will soon be expanding their on-site offerings. Currently, they have Manzil, their regional Indian restaurant. Manzil gives a fresh take on wine pairings, and is a well-needed and much-appreciated oasis of India food in a desert of fairly conventional winery restaurant fare.
Coming in the summer of 2026, Kismet will open on-site accommodations as well. The new development includes ten guest suites and a private house nestled among the vines. Guests will be able to walk to Manzil each morning to enjoy breakfast on the vineyard patio. In the meantime, you can visit Kismet’s tasting room or dine at Manzil. You can also buy Kismet wines online (including holiday Advent Calendars) if you want to taste Manpreet’s award-winning work for yourself.
