Photo: Vanessa winemaker Howard Soon
Vanessa Vineyard has just released an exceptional red wine, the Goltz Legacy, as a tribute to the renowned Okanagan viticulturist, Robert Goltz, and his family.
Robert, who died at age 62 in 2019, was in charge of planting the Vanessa vineyard in the Similkameen valley in 2006 (along with the equally renowned Richard Cleave). Howard Soon began making wine from this fruit when he was the winemaker at Sandhill Wines and, after retiring, has continued making the wines for Vanessa. That winery’s first vintage was 2012.
“Robert had a long career as a farmer and entrepreneur,” his obituary reported. “He was a long-time member of the Grape Growers Association. Robert was awarded Farmer of the Year and received an Award of Distinction from the BC Wine Institute.”
Here is how Sandhill Wines described him several years ago: “One of the premier growers in the valley, Robert practices innovative techniques such as planting vines at a higher density per acre to limit the yield per plant without affecting the overall yield or the exceptional quality of the grapes. He is known for his numerous innovations and the continual improvements of vineyard management techniques. Robert is currently experimenting with Rhone style grapes, a first in the Okanagan.”
Goltz and Cleave were partners in R&R Management Services, which managed key vineyards for producers such as Andrew Peller Ltd. Both received the BC Wine Institute’s Award of Distinction in 2019.
On presenting the award, Miles Prodan, president of the Wine Institute (now known as Wine BC) said the two men were key in developing many of the premium vineyard sites in the Okanagan following the vine pull-out of 1989 that reshaped the industry. They introduced cutting edge vineyard management techniques.
Robert’s son, Nathan, has taken over the family’s vineyards and those, such as Vanessa, that the family manages.
The 75-acre rock-strewn Vanessa vineyard, which unfortunately suffered serious vine damage last winter, was the most challenging vineyard project of Robert’s career.
“This was the most difficult site that Robert Cleave and Robert Goltz ever planted,” Vanessa’s co-owner, Suki Sekhon, told me several years ago. “We went through a lot of issues to plant this site – such as bringing in a rock crusher to plant it. The rocks originally were as big as cars, some of them. I don’t how they broke them up but they did. They drove a D-8 Cat over the vineyard to contour the slopes.”
“When we first started planting, we were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of rocks on the property, which covered the majority of our arable land,” Suki added. "This has however, proven to be a phenomenal and unique attribute in the Valley with the vineyard transcending our expectations on its ability to produce quality fruit and wine.”
The vineyard was planted primarily with Bordeaux varietals and Syrah, along with Viognier. Howard was able to make premium wines both for Sandhill and for Vanessa.
The Goltz Legacy 2019, which is being released to the Vanessa wine club, is a blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon.
($59.99 for 130 cases). Each varietal was fermented and barrel-aged separately for eight months before being blended. The wine was then aged another 12 months in American and French oak (40% new). Dark in hue, the wine begins with dramatic aromas of dark cherry and blackberry mingled with cassis, vanilla and oak. The palate is bold with flavours of dark fruits, chocolate and spice with some minerality. The finish is long. 93.
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