Awards

  • Sip, Sip, Hooray! Howard Soon wins Winemaker of The Year

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    Howard Soon, Master Winemaker

    Sip, Sip, Hooray! 

    Our very own Howard Soon, Master Winemaker was the recipient of The Karl Kaiser Canadian Winemaker Award, presented by the Wine Growers British Columbia and Wine Growers Canada at the Wine Growers British Columbia Industry Recognition Awards’ virtual ceremony on July 21, 2021.
    The Karl Kaiser Canadian Winemaker Award was created in 2018 to celebrate great Canadian winemakers, in honour of the legacy of the late Karl Kaiser, a Canadian wine industry pioneer and viticultural visionary.
    Since joining the wine industry in 1980, Howard Soon has earned innumerable awards and accolades. In 2017 Vanessa Vineyard welcomed Howard to the team as Master Winemaker. In doing so, we’ve been able to produce some of the most profound reds in Canada. A true pioneer in the BC wine industry, Howard has been on the leading edge of winemaking innovation for over three decades, one of the first people to be named to the Order of Canada for everything he’s accomplished and contributed to the wine industry, and continues to create the most precise flavour profiles that reflect our unique vineyard.
    From the entire team at Vanessa Vineyard, Congratulations Howard!
    Read more about the award here.

  • Month Of Awards

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    As we move past Thanksgiving, our team continues to be thankful for the recent awards that our current vintages have received:

    Vanessa Vineyard Meritage 2013 and Syrah 2013 both won GOLD at the 2017 Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition. The 2017 Awards result page on their website states:

    “The wines of British Columbia found an appreciative audience with the judging panel, which awarded 16 gold medals to Canadian entries, four of those being unanimous double golds. Perhaps even more impressive was that 11 of those gold medals went to work with red wines, including six focused on Bordeaux varieties. Howard Soon, one of Canada’s most respected winemakers, heads up Vannessa Vineyard Estate Winery in the cooler Similkameen Valley west of the Okanagan Valley. His 2013 Meritage and 2013 Syrah each merited a gold medal.”

    In the wine industry, October is often referred to as  “The Month of Merlot”.  

    We are also honoured that our 2014 Merlot continues to receive some stellar reviews:

    beppi-crossariolBeppi Crosariol, lifestyle columnist for the Globe and Mail wrote: “The 2014 Merlot is a blend of 85 percent Merlot and 15 percent Cabernet Franc, with a smooth, luscious texture carrying flavours of ripe plum, currant jam, cocoa, tangy cedar and toasty oak.  Well structured.”  90 points.

     

     

    john-schreinerThe Merlot accolades continued with John Schreiner: “This is the first single variety Merlot from Vanessa.  The wine shows good concentration, with aromas of blackcurrant, black cherry and spice, all of which is echoed in the dried fruit flavours on the rich palate.” 92 points.

     

     

    To view more of our awards and accolades, please visit our website here.