Join Vanessa Vineyard at Hollyburn Country Club for a night of great food, wine, and company!

A living legend, for over three decades Howard Soon has been on the leading edge of winemaking innovation. Originally a brewmaster, a taste for more creativity saw him join the fledgling BC wine industry in 1980. Shortly thereafter, Howard began establishing milestones in BC wine, becoming the first to release a series of single vineyard designated wines, amongst innumerable other benchmarks. His collaborative relationships with growers led him to Vanessa Vineyard in 2006, where working with our viticulture team, he oversaw the planting of our vineyard. He subsequently purchased the vast majority of our grapes for his highly-acclaimed Sandhill Vanessa Vineyard wines. In 2017 Howard “retired” to “go back to the workbench” as he coins it, focusing on truly small lot winemaking as Master Winemaker for Vanessa Vineyard.

Howard Soon has been named a Member of the Order of Canada. He was named for his leading role in shaping, expanding, and elevating British Columbia’s wine industry. His 37 consecutive vintages make him the longest serving winemaker in Canada and he’s still at it as the Master Winemaker at Vanessa Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. Howard led the @alumniubc Travel Club’s trip to Portugal in 2018 and is the study leader for the March, 2020 Beaune and Rhone River Wine Cruise.

The Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation and recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. The Order was created in 1967 by Queen Elizabeth II.