Jim Moody has been the winemaker at Zanatta in Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, B.C. since 1996. Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, he moved to Vancouver Island in 1991 to be part of the Zanatta family (married to Loretta Zanatta) and consequently play a role in the initiation of the first Vancouver Island winery.
Media Inquiries: jim@zanatta.ca | www.zanatta.ca
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
The winery began with Dennis (Dionysio) Zanatta, who immigrated from Italy’s Veneto region and purchased a 120-acre property in the Cowichan Valley in the 1950s. After running a dairy until the 1970s, he shifted to a marble and tile business—now housed in the building that serves as the winery. His winemaking vision took shape in the 1980s with an experimental vineyard, which expanded to over 25 acres and led to the first commercial vintage in 1990. Some varieties proved unsuitable (Merlot was too popular with local bears), and the vineyard has evolved through replanting over the years.
Dennis’s daughter, Loretta, studied winemaking in Piacenza, Italy, and trained in Valdobbiadene before returning to craft the winery’s first vintages. The focus is on traditional-method sparkling wines (Pinot Noir, Cayuga, and Cabernet Sauvignon) and cool-climate whites like Ortega, Auxerrois, and Muscat, with a small amount of Pinot Noir from south-facing gravel slopes. All wines are made from estate-grown fruit—true Island wines, rooted in the region. The third generation now carries the family legacy forward.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
Unconstrained financially, I would love a new winery with shiny equipment and caves for storage! But more practically, I think Loretta and I would enjoy a small winery in the Conegliano/Valdobbiadene region of Italy producing limited sparkling wines as an additional international brand for Zanatta.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
I enjoy a glass of Damasco almost every day after work. That, I think, says a lot. A cold glass of Damasco hits all the right buttons like having a cold beer after spitting firewood on a hot day!
Born out of a difficult vintage and requests from customers for a richer, more aromatic wine, we blended Muscat, Ortega, Auxerrois and Madeleine Sylvaner to create ‘Damasco’ a name Loretta came up with – a play on Damask (a woven fabric). Using grapes that are a pleasure to work with every year, there is always a thrill every spring when we get to create the next blend. Being a non-vintage I have the ability to use wine held back in reserve to maintain a quality and consistency that is not always possible with a vintage wine. Read my review of this white blend here.