If you ask Jeanette, she will freely tell you she's never really cared about Spirits or Alcohol.

If you ask Pat, he will mention the history of Sternwheelers and the essential role they played to the settlement of the Kootenays and Creston Valley.

They will both say Saskatoon Berries are the common thread in their last 20+ years.

A Doctor and Career Nurse from South Africa, Pat and Jeanette Meerholz moved themselves and a couple of suitcases to Canada nearly 30 years ago. Pat set about requalifying as a Canadian Dr and they bought a farm in Saskatchewan which Jeanette ran while Pat Doctored.

One day Pat came home and said to Jeanette "Liefhe, we must plant Saskatoons". He had seen them by a Red Barn nearby, done some research and realised their potential.

The plants started arriving and Jeanette started planting. Two of her sisters and Pat came to help her. Then it started raining. Using only the spades they had, Pat and the triplets carried on planting. Pretty soon they were planting in acres of mud. Sinking, losing boot(s) trying to get free, then struggle to free boots and repeating. Eventually they ended up planting barefoot but they did it.

Pat was working away from home so Jeanette ran the farm. Somehow, visits from family always coincided with busy times. Many times as one left, another arrived.

Early 2013 and living in Cochrane, Alberta, Pat came across an ad for a 10 acre Saskatoon Farm at Duck Lake, Wynndel BC.

They both knew they could grow berries and had a market for them so when Jeanette said "if you buy it, I will work it", they were off on a new adventure.

Arriving in July to 9 acres of 20' Saskatoon "bushes" it was instantly obvious there could be no Berry harvest. The "bushes" were too tall to harvest. They pruned them all and purchased an adjoining 6 acres from a neighbor which Jeanette promptly planted in Saskatoons.

Pat's brother was running their -up for sale - Saskatchewan farm so as co-op members, their berries could be transported to the Co-op in Moose Jaw.

2014 and 2015, they did this but 2016, even with their own Reefer, the increased transport costs meant this was no longer financially viable.

2016, Duck Lake Saskatoon Berry Farm U-Pick opened. 2016 is also when Pat realised he could make fruit based Spirits from their Saskatoon berries.

One Masters Distilling Certificate and a lot of experimenting later, Wynndel Craft Distillery had products to make after the Distillery and Taste Room were built. Siblings arrived to help with the heavy work and in 2017, Wynndel Craft Distillery opened with it's now trademark Silver Sternwheeler at the top of the bottle labels.

Pat designed the bottle labels not knowing the Sternwheeler can't be easily replicated as a logo using regular printing means. When this was realised, the labels had to be changed and now carry the steering wheel of a Sternwheeler and our name.

2024, final label decisions were made with our printers. We're going back to the familiar 2017 label design but this time, you'll find our trademark Sternwheeler on the back.

Owned and Operated by Pat and Jeanette, family and a welcome for all are key to the style and atmosphere at Sternwheeler Craft Distillery.

Pat, as Master Distiller, creates and makes everything but our Liqueurs. For the past few years, semi-retired as a Dr, Pat has juggled his Dr commitments in Calgary with the Distillery here. Pat is retiring at the end of 2024 to focus on all things Sternwheeler and Spirits.

Whilst Pat produces the Spirits used, Jeanette is solely responsible for making our range of Liqueurs. Jeannette also works the farm and is responsible for all things warehouse and product inventory.

Right from the start, to get their products out to the public, Pat and Jeanette hit the roads and surrounding Farmers Markets which is something we still do.

With the liquor license only coming through in February, they were incredibly lucky to get stalls at the 2017 markets. It was a slow beginning but they persevered and slowly but surely their perseverance paid off.

In 2020, under the Wynndel name, we entered the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition for the first time and won Gold for Cape Brandy, Bronze for both Mixed Berry and Apple Liqueurs and Silver for our Floral Gin.

We have entered every year since and achieved a Gold Best in Class, a Silver Best in Class and a variety of Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. 2024 was the first year under the Sternwheeler label.

Farmers Markets in Grand Forks, Nelson, Cranbrook and Creston with the odd one in Trail continue to be an important part of our existence and we love meeting our regulars and developing new ones. Seeing others enjoying our products is why we do this.

Out at Channel Road, Wynndel, the Taste Room was beside the house, the Distillery behind it and the rows and rows, acre upon acre of Saskatoon Berries behind it all.

In town, we have everything in one big building, a large concrete parking lot and are situated in between 7-Eleven and Dairy Queen! Very different but the right fit for us.

In 2022 we purchased the "Old Sunset Seeds" building which was the "Old Home Hardware" building and set about transforming it into our building, influenced again, by Sternwheelers and their historic connection with this area.

Both of the buildings previous businesses held an integral part in the community and life in the Creston Valley and surrounds. It's our hope and aim that we too will become a central part of our community much as our name sakes were.

The addition of a Lounge bar to the distillery, taste room and store is finally nearly a reality and again, Sternwheeler is fittingly influential in style and décor. Speak Easies may also come to mind on occasion.

Mainly serving cocktails made using our products with a small selection of local wine and beer also available, you'll love the twist fruit based spirits bring to familiar cocktails and drinks.

We have plans to add a patio area as well, hopefully 2025 will see that happen.

There's more new products in the pipeline and with more time at the Distillery, there's little doubt that there will be more after that!

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