Aiming high

Richard and Sherry enjoying the fruit of their labours.

Richard Karlo leaves a legacy of craft, preserved heritage and passion

Richard Karlo was raised with an appreciation for fine wine. His dad, Len, was raised in Estonia, but during WWII, the Russians moved in and all the young men where sent off to labour camps in northern Russia. Len was able to join the Polish army, which at that time was being formed to help the British 8th Army in the Middle East. He fought in the Italian Campaign against Germany. At war’s end, Len travelled to the Lake District in England where he met and fell in love with Freda.

Len and Freda immigrated to Canada with two trunks, two teak tables and about $100 in their pockets. They settled in Rexdale, a growing working class suburb west of Toronto. Both Freda and Len found work on the Avro Arrow project—he as a machinist and she as a stenographer in the publicity department.

They brought to their new home a tradition of producing fine wine. It was a passion that was fully and completely absorbed by Richard.

When he was old enough, Richard began to dabble in winemaking. Upon tasting one of Richard’s vintages, Len declared he was through making wine. He gave all his winemaking supplies and equipment to Richard. The student had become the master.

Last Wednesday evening, just before 9 p.m. Richard passed away, succumbing to cancer.

Richard was still in his 20s when his winemaking skills truly blossomed. He was awarded a silver medal in a national competition of the Amateur Winemakers of Canada, the first such competition he entered. He would go on to win awards in every competition he entered thereafter for over 25 years.

He studied civil engineering and found work with a manufacturer of conveyor systems. He began as a draughtsman and rose quickly to become president of the company. Richard was gifted at sales and marketing but he needed a creative outlet—he knew he would one day pursue his passion for winemaking.

Richard encountered Sherry Martin on an online dating site. Both had indicated an interest in wine.

“I winked at him first,” explained Sherry about signalling interest on the site. “I was a 416 girl, this was the only way I would have met someone, or hung out with someone from the 905 region.”

The ensuing courtship involved many trips to the County looking for vineyard land.

Richard was a member of the Pickering Wine Guild, along with Dan Sullivan of Rosehall Run, Dave Gillingham of Domain Darius and Battista Calvieri of Hubbs Creek.

After visiting Dan’s property and seeing the soil, Richard had begun looking for land in the County.

“He fell in love with the County’s bucolic beauty,” said Sherry. “I know that sounds like a cliché, but it wasn’t for Richard. He had a deep appreciation for natural beauty as well historic buildings and heritage architecture. He saw the County as genuine, grounded and real. The place just resonated with him.”

Richard and Sherry looked for land for more than 18 months. Sherry recalls many wonderful weekends staying in B&Bs and dining at great County restaurants. Richard had a clear idea what he was looking for—100 acres, south-facing slopes, a stream and a hip-roofed barn.

Noticing a for sale sign, they pulled into the Stevenson’s farm on Danforth Road one day in 2004. They decided they would call their agent to gather more information. But when backing out of the lane, they drove into a metal stake sticking out of the fence post—ripping open a tire. Stranded, CAA advised them they wouldn’t be there for at least an hour and a half.

“It gave us just enough time to knock on the Stevenson’s door, meet the neighbours and walk the land. When we saw the fields on the other side of the stream—we fell in love.”

Leaving behind the restful weekend retreats in the County, Richard and Sherry set about the hard work of building a vineyard and winery.

“We bought the land, he handed me a pitchfork and I have been here ever since,” says Sherry.

Richard’s business skills extended beyond the development of his own business. He became an important voice for the emerging County wine sector.

Soon after joining the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association, he took over the design and promotion of the Wine Tour map—because he felt it was the most important tool to drive traffic to the wineries.

He championed the fight against Cellared in Canada wines—produced from wine made offshore, yet sold in wine stores in Canada under wellknown brands. These lobbying efforts helped prod the LCBO into changing its shelf labelling policies.

Richard was a keen advocate of new-world varietals, including Frontenac and Marquette. He lobbied the Vintners Quality Alliance to drop some unused hybrid varietals to make room for these new, promising, cold-hardy vines. He produced the County’s first port-style wine combining the Frontenac Noir and Marquette, bottled as VanAlstine. It has gathered strong reviews and was named among the top ten cutting edge wines in the world, as was his Chardonnay CHOA. Richard’s winery was the only one to be put on that list twice.

Richard was exceptionally generous with his time and his resources. Karlo Estates has served as an inspiring and pastoral County setting for a wide variety of fundraising activities, including the nascent Slow Food movement, as well as efforts to keep the County free of industrial wind turbines.

Richard always aimed high. When it was time to sell his wine, he went to the Royal York Hotel in Toronto first.

“His strategy was to start at the top and work his way down,” said Sherry. “Now our wines are offered in more than 150 restaurants throughout southern Ontario. They are also in demand around the world, in Japan, Denmark and England.”

Richard was passionate about the restoration of the hip-roofed barn that he transformed into the winery. It inspired his engineering inclination. He lovingly restored the structure—altering only what was necessary to make it safe and function well. Always thinking beyond his own circumstancs, Richard initiated a dialogue with Michael Chan, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister for Ontario. Richard lobbied for a barn preservation grant program—to save these iconic emblems of Ontario’s history.

Sherry says Karlo Estates will go on—a living tribute to Richard.

“Our goal is to continue to realize everything we imagined in our 15- and 25-year plans,” said Sherry. “With the help of the County wine community, we’ll be able to do this. It’s so amazing here.”

Richard and Sherry found their dream together in Prince Edward County. They found their 100 acres of bucolic beauty with a hip-roofed barn. A stream traverses the land. On the path toward the Millennium Trail, they built a dry stone bridge, constructed piece by piece. It is an exceptional homage to Richard’s appreciation of heritage, tradition and fine engineering.

Karlo Estates, in cooperation with WineAlign, will create an annual Richard Karlo Innovation Award. This award will be granted for the most innovative winemaking in Canada. The judging panel of the annual National Wine Awards of Canada will select the recipient.