winemakers.
Jay Drysdale, of Bella Homestead Farm and Bella Wines on the Naramata Bench, completed a two-year diploma program in enology at Washington State University.
An accomplished chef and sommelier, Drysdale was working in business development at Le Vieux Pen in Oliver when he got his first hands-on experience.
“When crush time came, it was all hands on deck, including mine.” Drysdale made Bella Wines’ first vintage at Okanagan Crush Pad, a custom winemaking facility, sometimes called an incubator winery, in Summerland.
“Their experienced winemaker was in charge and I provided direction.” A former engineer and the
winemaker at Foxtrot Vineyards on the Naramata Bench, Gustav Allander completed the winery and viticulture program at Okanagan College. An unexpected side benefit of the program was meeting his wife, Nadine, who is now assistant winemaker at Poplar Gove.
“We made our wine at Lake Breeze Winery on a trial basis for three years,” said Allander.
Interestingly, in this small sample the owners opting to use a professional winemaker have backgrounds in business and sales.
“A good winemaker is simply part of the cost of doing business,” said Len Filek, who has a degree in commerce and is general manager of Sleeping Giant Fruit Winery and its parent company, Summerland Sweets. Filek was pleased to hire Ron Taylor to oversee the production of Sleeping Giant wines. In addition to a degree in microbiology, Taylor has decades of experience as a winemaker and consultant.
Recently, he has been involved with the start up of wineries that are reviving the art of making fruit wine produced from fruit and berries grown on the wineries’ farms, such as occurs at Sleeping Giant.
“Ron’s first words to us were ‘make what appeals to customers, not what you think you should make’,” said Filek. Taylor’s experience in marketing as well as in the cellar is paying dividends to Sleeping Giant.
Rick Thrussell, owner of Sage Hills Estate Winery, has a background in the design and construction of high-end homes in the Vancouver area and Jayne and Paul Graydon, owners of Saxon
14 British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2016-17
Estate Winery, have extensive experience in marketing and sales. Both Summerland wineries have always had professional winemakers.
“In business you’ve
got to do what you’re good at,” Paul said. He and Jayne
initially hired Danny Hattingh to be their winemaker.
A South African with degrees in enology and
viticulture, Hattingh eventually left to become the
winemaker at Fort Berens in Lillooet.
SUSAN MCIVER
Celebrated winemaker Tom DiBello is now making the wines for both Sage Hills and Saxon wineries in Summerland. His exceptional skills as a chemist contribute to his success.
A year ago, celebrated winemaker Tom DiBello agreed to make the wines for both Saxon and Sage Hills. Having the same winemaker makes sense for Thrussell and the Graydons, who have shared equipment and staff to reduce costs for several years. A graduate of the University of California at Davis in viticulture and enology, DiBello has close to three decades of experience.
His career began as director of cellar operations at a top Napa Valley winery, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.
In 2000, DiBello was recruited by CedarCreek Estate Winery, where he
stayed for a decade.
During his tenure as winemaker, CedarCreek won five Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence and was named Canada’s Winery of the Year.
DiBello’s exceptional skills as a chemist play a critical part in producing his internationally acclaimed wines. Then, there is that indefinable something a winemaker brings to the craft.
Napa Valley winery owner Robert Mondavi perhaps captured it best when he said, “Making good wine is a skill, making fine wine is an art.”
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