Our History: It’s Not Hush-Hush

For a modern winery, we go a long way back. Though our vineyards were established in the 1970s, our name dates to the 1800s and the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

At the time, the area around Okanagan Lake was bustling with Chinese men who had come to build the railway and start a new life. One industrious railway worker found that he could trade in hard labour and make more money if he opened a laundry business. Catering to his fellow railway workers, he operated mostly on weekends, and soon found that he needed some way to keep everyone entertained for a few hours while they waited for their clean shirts and trousers.

Informal games of cards quickly turned into a gambling den in the upper floor of the laundry building. The addition of a brothel soon followed, and the locals began to call the place the ‘Dirty Laundry’. A legend was born—And we’re keeping it going.

The winery currently owned by Bob Campbell, Neil MacGillivray, Hermann Teichtmeister and partners, who purchased the winery from the Scherzinger family in the early 2000s, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

“When I was in my early 20s, I used to visit the Okanagan Valley often with friends on weekend camping trips and summer vacations,” Bob recalls. “I remember agreeing with a friend that it would be a great thing to own a winery one day. About 35 years later, I called that same friend and asked him if he still felt the same as I did. We formed a partnership that very day.”

Dirty Laundry has grown faster than a grape vine in the Okanagan soil. In the last 13 years, we’ve gone from producing 1800 cases of wine to 35,000 cases per year. Our flagship wines, including Hush Rosé and the award-winning Pinot Noir are enjoyed coast-to-coast in Canada. Of course, the ultimate goal for our winery is fun. We have fun making it so you can have fun drinking it. We want to make wine accessible to everyone. We’re never snooty, but if you drop by for a tasting, you’ll learn a lot about how great wines are made.

Book a Tasting Experience today or check our Calendar of Events to get a taste of how we do things at Dirty Laundry.