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RIK Zoffman:
Tragically killed in a motorcycle accident at the weekend, will be farewelled at St Alban’s Cathedral on Friday.Photo:
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AT 35, Rik Zoffman’s life was on high beam.
His was a life brimming with adventure and energy, a life lived by the mantra – find your passion and make it happen.
He was about to settle down with the woman he proudly declared his one true love and had just realised a long-held dream of owning his own vineyard.
Tragically, it was a dream thwarted by disaster.
Rik was killed instantly when he lost control of his motorcycle on Kurrajong Avenue, just after 1pm on Saturday.
Stunned loved ones say he was a man destined to leave his mark, someone who strangled every inch out of life.
They remember a man who was laid back but intensely driven to succeed, generous of spirit but with a “devilish streak”.
A horticulturalist by trade, Rik moved to the region a decade ago with one simple mission – to bottle his own wine label.
He soon linked with McWilliam’s Wines and was shipped to the Hunter Valley to be assistant vineyard manager at their Mt Pleasant winery.
The bug had bitten and Rik returned to the area with his ambition now a blazing obsession.
Along with local businessman Peter Ryrie, Rik worked tirelessly on turning an old Yenda wheat farm into a premium wine producing vineyard.
In 1998, Dayleswood was born and a few short months ago, Rik finally secured the vineyard he so lovingly built.
He had just bottled his first label with the family name. Rik was hopeful Zoffman’s Chambo would become the first ever commercial sparkling chamberson of note.
“He couldn’t wait to get out of bed in the morning,” his dad, Tom Zoffman, said.
“Work was his life, his passion. He just lived and breathed grapes.”
He was about to embark on another great love affair.
“We’d been waiting for the day he’d find the one and Lilie was it,” mum Jan said.
“He rang me and said, ‘Mum, I’m in love’, I want to have a family with this woman.”
Her son was a person with true integrity, she said, a “man’s man” on the footy field but who was as comfortable in the kitchen.
He loved animals, especially horses, was an avid fisherman, surfer and boat enthusiast.
“He had a tough exterior but underneath was as soft as soft,” Jan said.
He was well travelled, making numerous overseas trips and even retracing the footsteps of his Danish ancestors.
Above all, Rik was a person who really cared about people, who touched the lives of those he met.
Rik will be farewelled on Friday at 11am at St Alban’s Anglican Cathedral.
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