“Wine unplugged.

It’s the unfiltered, untamed, unphotoshopped version of what we know wine to be. Hand picked, no additives, little or no sulphites”

It flies against the status quo. Challenges what people think is good wine”

Madeline Puckette /Wine Folly

It’s Part Two on the Barnyard Wine Fair.

Wines that are natural, biodynamic, organic.

It’s the most interesting trend in wine and cider making since 2018.

It’s the passion of Matt Cooke.

Matt Cooke

In 2016, Matt moved to Victoria and joined the management team at OLO Restaurant, where he quickly took over the bar and then wine programs. The food at OLO screamed natural, which inspired him to create a largely natural wine list, which over his nearly 5 years there, grew to become arguably the most natural list in Victoria.

Matt’s passion was really in finding new and exciting wines/regions/varietals to pair up with the food and encourage OLO guests to try. Then in fall 2021,he became the Food & Beverage General Manager at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

It was a major career shift, from a 40-seat farm-to-table high-end restaurant to a 7000-person arena, but I loved it. Over the course of several hockey seasons now, Matt has become confident in his role, but missed the aspect of educating people on wine, and missed his connection to the wine world. Which is where the idea for Barnyard came from.

In the Fall of 2022, Matt started reaching out to his contacts from his buying days at OLO and suggested this gathering. The response was immediate and highly supportive.

So here we are in 2025. There’s a lovely buzz in the room, and this is the “trade” portion of the fair. Lots of passionate conversations at the pouring tables.

The evening consumer event was like a party.

The guests in Part Two are