WEST KELOWNA – Mission Hill Family Estate Proprietor Anthony von Mandl has announced the appointment of Ian Morden as Managing Director.
Prior to taking the leadership role at Mission Hill Family Estate, Ian was the Estate Director of Cloudy Bay Vineyards, which is part of the LVMH Group. With his team there he delivered 8 consecutive years of creatively fueled growth for the iconic New Zealand winery.
As well as reinforcing a meticulous focus on wine quality and style evolution during his tenure, Ian led Cloudy Bay’s development as a next generation luxury wine brand, inspired by the simple pleasures and natural riches of its New Zealand provenance.
“Having seen the progression of Cloudy Bay globally under Ian’s leadership, I felt like he was the right person to take Mission Hill to the next level with me,” says Von Mandl. “I am a great believer in our distinctive and unique Okanagan Valley wines and I am personally looking forward to Ian bringing his experience in building a New World region and an iconic brand and taking them to the world stage.”
When asked about the motivations for his move to Mission Hill, Morden said: “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with the visionary Anthony von Mandl and the Mission Hill team. Anthony understands wine and his broader vision goes beyond that. The landscape, distinctive wines and people of the Okanagan have inspired me in a similarly primal way to when I first set foot in Marlborough. Canada fills the senses.
“The Okanagan climate delivers the kind of fresh, vibrant wine styles that resonate with modern palates and cuisine. This is the New New World of wine – operating at the avant-garde, working with a great group of like-minded people, which is personally where I want to be. I’m delighted to be in Canada, and with some major US markets on our doorstep and the Pacific Northwest’s natural pivot towards Northern Asia, I sense enormous potential ahead.”
Morden also assumes responsibility for the von Mandl Family’s extensive Sebastian Farms vineyard estates which grow up to 95% of Mission Hill’s grapes, are leaders in viticulture research in the Okanagan Valley, and are focused on “cultivating excellence.”