Scott Robinson
Scott Robinson of Little Engine Wines.
Asked about his goal as winemaker of Little Engine Wines, Scott Robinson answers pointedly, “My winemaking style shows in the wines. The wines should speak for themselves. That is always my motto.”
His confidence and qualifications are well-suited to Little Engine’s high aspirations. Launched in 2016 by Steven and Nicole French, long-time wine enthusiasts who moved to Penticton from Calgary only five years ago, the property encompasses a six-acre vineyard beside the winery and a nearby eight-acre vineyard. The emphasis is on Chardonnay, which makes up 30 per cent of the winery’s initial 2,500 case production.
Given the mandate to stop at nothing to make incredible wines, Robinson is in his element. Trained as a kinesiologist, with a professional degree from Simon Fraser University, he developed a passion for wine after traveling to Margaret River in Australia with his wife Danielle and visiting many wineries. When they moved to the Okanagan from Vancouver in 2005, he divided his time between kinesiology, winery work and winery assistant courses at Okanagan College. The University of Adelaide beckoned and, in 2009, he graduated with a masters with distinction in oenology. He returned to the Okanagan to take a winemaking position at La Frenz Winery from 2009 to 2012. It was the 2015 collapse of Stable Door Cellars, which he joined as winemaking partner in 2013, that made it possible for Robinson to sign on with Little Engine.
Asked to share a few of the techniques and strategies in his toolbox, Robinson says, “With my background in microbiology, I am comfortable using natural ferments and malolactic ferments and encouraging mixed culture ferments. Temperature control is essential to all phases of winemaking. I employ small batch techniques to give myself plenty of blending components.”
