winemaker Michael Clark
Winemaker Michael Clark enjoys working with Cabernet Franc and Syrah, varieties well suited to the terroir of the Similkameen.
Michael Clark is the winemaker, general manager, and co-owner of Clos du Soleil Winery, located outside Keremeos in the Similkameen Valley. Michael was trained in theoretical physics, and then spent the first part of his career in investment management, working in the United States and Europe.
While living in Switzerland he decided to turn his life-long passion for wine into his career.
He has never looked back since.
O&V: How did you get started in the wine industry?
Michael Clark: When I was living and working in Geneva, Switzerland, working in finance, with my wife's support I decided to take the plunge and change careers. I started by taking winemaking courses at the Haute Ecole de Viticulture et Oenologie at Changins, just outside of Geneva, and working a harvest at a winery in the area.
Later, I had the opportunity to make wine and participate in a harvest in St. Emilion, Bordeaux, and by that point I was truly hooked, and knew that this was the right path for me.
O&V: Where did you go to school or apprentice?
MC: My graduate-level background in physics meant that I already had a significant foundation in chemistry, which is certainly useful as a winemaker. In addition to the hands-on experience I had gained in Switzerland and France, I also completed the distance program in winemaking from the University of California at Davis, which provided an excellent theoretical basis to underpin the day-to-day realities of winemaking.
O&V: Have you worked in any other countries?
MC: While I have harvest experience from both Switzerland and France, my full-time, year-round work in the wine industry has been in Canada. But I think that one of the more important skills I bring to my job is my palate. I have been tasting, drinking and collecting wine since I was a teenager, as I have always been fascinated by wine. Having travelled to wine regions around the world, and trained my palate for almost my whole life, I feel that my background in wine is one of the key things allowing me to do my job at Clos du Soleil.
O&V: What is your favourite varietal to work with?
MC: I don't have just one grape variety that is my favourite, whether we are referring to winemaking or drinking. What I love about wine is its almost infinite variety. That being said, in the Similkameen I have found both Cabernet Franc and Syrah, to be two varieties I really enjoy working with due to their suitability to our terroir. I think they have the potential to really shine in our valley.
Additionally, I get to work with a lot of Sauvignon Blanc from a lot of different sites at Clos du Soleil and I am always impressed by how that grape can be much more multi-faceted than many people think, and I find that fascinating.
O&V: What is the best thing about your job?
MC: The best thing about my job is that from one year to the next, it is never the same. Every vintage is different, and to be a good winemaker you need to be sensitive and responsive to the character of every vintage. And, of course, it is a discipline where we never stop learning. Every single year is an opportunity to continue to push ourselves to learn and to improve.
O&V: Is there a particular wine or vintage that you have made that you are most proud of?
MC: Honestly, no, because my interest is in showcasing the unique character of each vintage. I enjoy them all precisely because each vintage has its own story to tell. If anything, I'm most proud of the wines I have made in more challenging conditions, than in the so-called easy vintages. It is in the challenging vintages when one is stretched as a winemaker, to make something beautiful and worthy and still representative of the vintage.
