Gold Hill Winery (Winemaker and General Manager)

Winemaker and General Manager at Gold Hill Winery in Oliver and co-owner of 2house Winery, Valeria (Val) Tait is known for crafting a wide range of white and red wines. She completed her undergraduate degree in Molecular Genetics and Plant Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University, and went on to study Enology and Viticulture at the University of California, Davis in 1995. She learned early on that she did not like working in a lab and sought out vineyard and consulting work instead, as she “loves the challenges they invariably bring with them.”

Her spouse, also a winemaker, founded Poplar Grove Winery, in 1993, where she was a consulting viticulturist for many years. The winery was sold to another family in 2007, but Val continued as its consultant before moving to Bench 1775, in 2013, as its general manager and winemaker. In 2020, she accepted the lead winemaking position at Gold Hill Winery, where she was “attracted to the exceptional growers who are the owners and their focus on Cab Franc.”

2house, founded in 2020, is a collaborative venture for Val and her spouse, and a return to their first love of growing grapes and making small lots of wine distinctive of place, namely South Okanagan. The fruit is sourced from single vineyards that are part of Gold Hill Winery.

Among Val’s many awards and accolades is being named “the vine whisperer” for Poplar Grove’s 2008 Syrah, granted a gold medal by Decanter Magazine World Wine Awards.

Updated 06/23