Milestones. Do they mark how far you have come on a journey? Or do they tell you how far you’ve left to go? Both, I guess, which gives them a (wine) glass half full / half empty quality that invites contemplation.

Canada and Canadian wine have reached important milestones recently and I think there is something to gain in contemplating them in tandem.

O Canada!

2017 is the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation — a significant milestone in its national history. The past 150 years have not always been easy. Canada has been rocked both by external events (world war, global depressions, financial crises) and domestic social and political conflicts, too.

Canada’s version of federalism gives even more autonomy to its provinces than U.S. federalism gives to its states. The balance between federal and provincial interests has not always been smooth and tensions among the provinces (and even within them) and their people and cultures have not always been easily reconciled.

Canada has somehow negotiated these challenges and emerged, on its 150th birthday, in an admirable state — prosperous, generous (especially regarding refugee immigrants) and widely respected. O Canada, indeed!

Indeed, Canada is even celebrated today on Broadway, where the Tony-winning musical “Come From Away” draws audiences to consider the remarkable response of one Canadian town the unexpected arrival of refugees, in a way, from the September 11 terrorist attacks. (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to New York to see the show — his special guest was someone named Ivanka Trump!)

150 years is an important milestone, but nobody thinks Canada’s story is over. The future is sure to be full of challenges as the road twists and turns, rises and falls. But Canada and Canadians can look forward to the journey with confidence.

O Howard Soon!

July 24, 2017 is another important milestone. It is the day Howard Soon retired as Master Winemaker for Sandhill Wine in Kelowna, British Columbia, after an amazing 37 vintages. Soon is the dean of Canadian winemakers and this milestone is reason enough to celebrate his amazing career and Canadian wine, too.

The grandson of Chinese immigrants, Soon initially took his biochemistry degree from the University of British Columbia into the brewing industry before making a fateful pivot to wine, working his way from quality control to assistant winemaker to winemaker for Colona Vineyards, one of Canada’s largest wine firms.

The Canadian wine industry has changed dramatically over Soon’s remarkable winemaking tenure as it faced market challenges that are both external (increased competition from the United States after the NAFTA treaty) and domestic (the lack of a true “Canadian” wine market because of strong provincial control over alcohol sales). Soon has played an important role in helping the industry to weather the storms by setting a course to higher and higher quality.

When Sue and I first visited Vancouver many years ago the sommeliers refused to serve Canadian wines — they simply wouldn’t do it. It was an over-reaction because there were some good wines even back then, but an indication of their poor reputation These days, however, there is obvious pride in the wines all around and they are proudly featured and served.

Soon and his winemaking colleagues have both changed Canadian wine for the better and they have done something even more difficult — they have changed the way Canadians think about their wines. Quite an achievement.

Soon’s most recent project, Sandhill Vineyards, is in the vanguard of the quality movement (Sandhill appears in my next book Around the World in Eighty Wines). It was founded twenty years ago with the idea to feature terroir through a series of small production single-vineyard wines.

Soon has received virtually every recognition that Canadian wine has to offer and he reaches the retirement milestone at the top of his game. His signature 2014 Howard Soon Sandhill red wine was recently named #1 red wine of the year in the All Canadian Wine Championships.

(Signature wine is right — the label bears Howard’s actual signature!)

The wine is special. Grapes from the Phantom Creek Vineyard were co-fermented in the proportions found in the vineyard — a field blend! — then aged in new French and American oak for 22 months. Critic John Schreiner calls is a “triumphal achievement.”

Howard Soon and Canadian wine have come a long way but they both seem to have arrived at this mile post with enthusiasm to move forward to reach new goals.   Sue and I had dinner recently with Howard and his wife Wendy. Howard told us he plans to spend more time with Wendy and their kids and grand kids.

But the same drive that has pushed him to this milestone seems likely to carry him ahead to new challenges and adventures. Great winemakers like Richard Peterson and John Duval, to name just two, seem to move from one mile-marker to the next, always looking forward. It will be interesting to see where the wine road takes Howard Soon!