Aces Wine: A Poker Story

Wine and poker: the two passions that set ACES' Holger Clausen's heart ablaze.

If you live for sipping liquid bliss or raking in a fat pot, you'll understand the man.

Holger's wine infatuation first blossoms 25 years ago. Living with his family in Summerland, British Columbia - juicy centre of the fruit-filled Okanagan Valley - he often meets vineyard owners and winemakers at his folks' dinner parties. One evening, a guest brings an '82 Sumac Ridge Gewürztraminer and explains its birth in detail. Holger, 14, is enthralled.

After the guests leave, the teen challenges his dad to a chess game, naming the bottle the prize. He wins. Today, Holger's massive wine collection reflects a full-blown devotion, and the unopened Gewürz - now undrinkable - sits front and centre within it.

In university, Texas Hold'em gets a hold of him, and he spends three years (and most of his student loans) making a name for himself in high limit poker rooms from Vancouver to Vegas. His wine infatuation ripens as his poker career blossoms. The moment he turns 21, he tours Napa Valley. There, in the blush of perfect, sun-kissed grapes, he envisions his own premium label.

Holger accrues a decade of expertise co-owning and operating Level One, the Okanagan's premier grape harvesting company. In the off-season he's down under, harvesting a huge range of varieties in a multitude of regions. Whenever he can, he boards the 5:45 a.m. train from Swan Hill to Melbourne, and by noon he's in the Crown Casino deep into Hold'em. The redeye gets him home in time to supervise the next round of harvesting.

Toiling in vineyards earns Holger the respect of leading growers and vineyard managers - innumerable cash poker games earn him his grubstake. Combined, he wins coveted access to the Valley's best (and typically its costliest) grapes. (If a variety is less than superb, Holger folds on that wine that year. To whit, no Pocket ACES Syrah in '08.)

To handcraft this matchless fruit into something extraordinary, Holger invites rising star Jason Parkes, whose mastery of laborious Old World techniques attest to his killer work ethic and handmade approach to varietal expression.

Holger is delighted to share his enthusiasm, knowing that savvy players - whether in the wine or poker worlds - recognize a sure bet when they see one.