Don Urquhart

Times-Chronicle

Oliver’s Stoneboat Vineyards has new owners in the form of the Verhoeff Group of Companies. Operated by the Martiniuk family since its launch in 1979, Stoneboat Vineyards located on the Black Sage Bench is known for its award-winning wines from a portfolio including Pinot Noir, Pinotage, Pinot Gris, Rosé, sparkling wine, and icewine.

Led by husband-wife duo Rudy Verhoeff and Kyla Richey, the new owners will keep the Stoneboat Vineyards name and are eager to build upon the legacy of the Martiniuks.

“We want to assure current customers and clients at Stoneboat that we’re not coming in to change everything. Stoneboat is a strong brand, it has great wines and a great atmosphere, we are going to do our small things where we see opportunities. We’re coming in as learners and a family group and will add our little touch but not mess with anything that isn’t broken,” Verhoeff says.

This continuity includes existing Stoneboat employees, including winemaker William (Bill) Adams, and general manager Levi Gogolinski. Industry veteran Pascal Madevon joins the team as consulting winemaker to work with Madevon in the cellar.

“Our family is thrilled to make its entrance into the B.C. wine industry by taking over from the Martiniuks, a family that has established their name as a top-quality grape grower and producer on the Black Sage Bench,” says Verhoeff. “Our intention is to continue their outstanding work and expand the brand’s presence in the Okanagan and beyond.”

Based on their existing businesses in the event and hospitality sectors, including Red Door Events and Trading Post Brewing, the couple says, “as for putting our own stamp on it, we definitely have ideas.”

This will involve a focus on guest experience, marketing, and the business side of the equation.

Stoneboat is actually not the family’s first foray into the wine industry. Returning to Canada just as the pandemic was ramping up, the couple – both former captains of Team Canada’s women’s and men’s volleyball teams respectively – took a leap, purchasing a small acreage in the Fraser Valley’s Fort Langley with the intent of putting in a vineyard.

“It was the catalyst for really jumping into the industry full speed without really knowing anything,” Richey laughs.
The plan was, as it continues to be, to get “the best people we possibly could to surround ourselves in order to make the best decisions possible,” she adds.

“We wanted to develop our own brand focused on the Fraser Valley, but to be a credible winery we needed land and also a presence here in the Okanagan,” Verhoeff says.

The Valley Commons winery has produced one vintage of about 1,000 cases through a custom crush. The idea of the winery is to bring more people into the winemaking experience.

“We are not going to produce much wine from there, nor top quality like Okanagan Valley wine, but we wanted to have that touchpoint there.”

Both brands will be featured in the upcoming District Wine Village north of Oliver.