Val Tait
Val Tait, General Manager & Winemaker at Gold Hill Winery.
Gold Hill Winery in Oliver may not be a household name in BC, but it’s very highly regarded by those who really know Okanagan wines.
Gold Hill has won the Lieutenant Governor’s wine award three times, a feat few can match, and the winery also supplies grapes for other award-winning wines throughout the region.
The mind behind the wine belongs to Val Tait, who has been a hands-on viticulturist and winemaker in the Okanagan wine industry for almost three decades. We thought, it’s way past time we featured Val in our Winemaker Profile!
O&V: How did you get started in the wine industry?
Val Tait: I was working as a researcher at the Agricultural Research Center in Summerland after graduating with a molecular genetics/ biochemistry degree. I was studying plant viruses at the time with a focus on vitis vinifera (wine grape viruses).
At that time I met Alex Nichol, who was the founder of Nichol Vineyards. He introduced me to a killer Riesling from Alsace region, and my love of wine was born.
At the same time I began working closely with winegrowers who thought the vines had viral infections, but instead had nutrient deficiency disorders. I much preferred interacting with wine growers than working alone in the lab with mice, rabbits and chickens (as virus amplifiers). I also really started to enjoy wine. Both factors brought me to the wine industry.
O&V: Where did you go to school or apprentice, and what did you get out of that?
Val Tait: Once I decided I wanted to work in wine production I returned to school, studying Oenology and Viticulture at UC Davis, near Napa, California. When I returned, I had more technical knowledge than most of the industry and I got a ton of work.
O&V: Have you worked or studied in any other countries, and what was that like?
Val Tait: I have worked in a few other countries doing harvest mostly in the Southern Hemisphere: New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Washington State.
O&V: What is your favourite varietal to work with and why?
Val Tait: Hands down Cabernet franc is my favourite. This varietal does exceptionally well in the South Okanagan, yielding a medium bodied, elegant red wine with balance and ripe lush tannins. This varietal could be a signature varietal for the South Okanagan and it performs very well when compared with premium single varietal Cabernet francs from around the world.
O&V: What is the best thing about your job?
Val Tait: The best thing about my job is that wine production is wholly dependent on natural processes that depend for the most part on a varying microclimate that changes every year, resulting in many changing variables in which I can apply many decisions, both in the vineyard and in the cellar. The authenticity of the expression of the vintage in the wines produced from each harvest is very exciting and can be easily experienced just by tasting through the wines produced from each harvest.
O&V: Is there a particular wine or vintage that you have made that you are most proud of?
Val Tait: I feel very proud of a Cabernet franc block that is found at our Estate vineyard. I have made a Cabernet franc wine from that block every year that it has produced since 2009. I strongly believe that this is one of the best vineyard blocks in Canada.