About us
Rathjen Cellars is a farm-based winery established on the Saanich Peninsula in 2016. We are passionate about bringing under-utilized farmland back to health and into production. Drawing inspiration from Old World traditions, we use minimal intervention in the cellar to create wines that truly reflect our coastal climate and pair beautifully with our local foods.
Meet Mike Rathjen, Winegrower
Mike moved to Vancouver Island in 2011 with a passion for wine, farming and food culture. Over the next five years he honed his winemaking skills in his basement (AKA the 'Wine Bunker') while building relationships in the local farming community. Together with his friend and business partner Colin Mann, Mike founded Rathjen Cellars in 2016 with a business model based off leased farmland and a focus on supporting the local food system. Mike prefers the title 'winegrower'—dialing back the variable of winemaking to allow further exploration and expression of our vineyards in this emerging wine region.
100% Vancouver Island Wine
We source all of our fruit from nine vineyards on the Saanich Peninsula and two vineyards in the Cowichan Valley.