A winning combination
Between the Vines
brings honour for Sandhill
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By Judie Steeves
I
t’s all about pride and passion and
the special relationship between a
grow the grapes.
winemaker and the farmers who
you’ll ever taste.
The result is some of the best wines
in Canada this fall in the annual
Sandhill was named the top winery
Access magazine Canadian Wine
Wine
Awards, an honour based on the
number of gold, silver and bronze
medals its wines receive in a
professionally-judged blind tasting.
This year there were nearly 1,000
wines in the competition from 156
wineries from across the country.
JUDIE STEEVES
Grape grower Richard Cleave, left, owns the 10-acre Phantom Creek
grape vines are rooted in the sandy
Sandhill, so named because the vineyard, and master vintner Howard Soon, whose Sandhill winery was
hills of the Black Sage bench, (east and
named best in Canada in this year’s Wine Access magazine competition.
at the northern tip of Osoyoos Lake) is
winemaker Howard Soon’s baby, one
replant to vinifera grapes and produce
he’s been nurturing since 1997.
top quality wines.
production of those top wines.
skills he’s been developing since he
But, it’s the product of winemaking in a very short time, and some of the
From that, a new industry has grown comments Goltz. “Howard comes and
“We’ve got a fantastic team,”
began in the lab at Calona Vineyards,
Okanagan’s wines are now standouts
talks about the flavours he likes and
fresh from UBC, in 1980. He moved on
on the world stage.
doesn’t like in the grapes and we try to
address that in the vineyard.
to become assistant winemaker the
next year and he’s never looked back.
Lots Syrah Phantom Creek was
This fall, the Sandhill 2007 Small
selected as the top red wine in the
something substantial to work with.
“We try to grow the grapes so he has
produce premium wines, and he didn’t
In those days, he wasn’t expected to country in those awards, while the
Quality is the goal. But, he gives us the
have the grapes with which to achieve
2008 Small Lots Viognier Osprey
leeway to try something different.”
that, even if it was his goal.
Ridge Vineyard was judged the top
white.
are inspired to manipulate the vines in
With that encouragement, growers
order to grow grapes that have
real premium class wines produced in
In fact, there probably weren’t any achieved the flavours the winemaker is
B.C., partly for lack of the grapes.
growers Richard Cleave, who owns the
The wins are rewarding for grape
10-acre Phantom Creek and Robert
striving for.
Agreement of 1989, the Vintners
That all changed with the Free Trade Goltz, who owns the 12-acre Osprey
Quality Alliance (VQA) program that
Ridge and manages Sandhill’s 156-acre
fruit to him that we can. Then, he takes
“It’s all about delivering the best
it to another level. I’m happy Howard
was rolled out in 1990 and the
vineyard nearby. is getting the recognition he deserves.”
24
determination of B.C.’s winemakers to is the teamwork that resulted in
What’s also satisfying for both men
where the same fruit was delivered to
Goltz says he has had plots of grapes
British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2009-10
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