Cheers to 30 years for Henry of Pelham
Winery took root as industry took off
I recently visited with Paul Speck, the eldest sibling in the triumvirate that makes up Henry of Pelham Estate Winery.
Sitting in his office, in the newish administration building, you can hear some of the construction going on nearby as the winery builds another expansion.
The winery is also celebrating its 30 anniversary this year, a vision of their father Paul Sr. who passed away in 1993.
Like climbing a mountain, it’s easy to look back and see how far you’ve come from the top.
But there have been many struggles along the way.
Speck credits their naivete for part of their success.
“You got to remember back in 1988 the wine industry is getting obliterated by California, just around the free trade deal, there are a lot of companies going broke or consolidating, and it didn’t look good,” says Speck. “We were luckily young and stupid and didn’t know what we were doing, there was a level of fear, but it probably wasn’t at the level it should have been.”
He recalled that there were only about eight wineries at the time and VQA hadn’t started.
“There was a dark cloud, but then there is this enthusiasm (in Niagara).”
The VQA process included wineries like Vineland, Cave Spring, Inniskillin, Konzelmann, Reif, and Chateau des Charmes among the few.
“That was it.”
“The big guys didn’t even come to the VQA meeting because they had other battles.”
“At that time we could also make more mistakes because nobody was really paying attention,” says Speck.
“The difference now is, you see the wineries that are being built, they’re beautiful, there’s great marketing. We were not beautiful we didn’t have any marketing, and we were able to make a lot of mistakes under the radar, that was kind of helpful.”
One mistake they didn’t make was bringing on head winemaker Ron Giesbrecht who held the position for 23 years and helped the brothers turn the St Catharines winery into an ongoing success.
Through the years Sandrine Bourcier joined first as assistant then head winemaker as Giesbrecht left. After 15 years she was followed by current winemaker Lawrence Buhler in a seamless transition.
Back in 1988, Henry of Pelham was essentially a 450-squaremetre barn and the inn which still holds a tasting room and store.
Speck recalls living in the inn for the first few years.
When it came to expanding the offices, he threw his bed out and moved a desk into what would be his office for many years.
“Not much happened until ’92 when we added to the Pole Barn. And in ’98 we put the metal expansion on and things got a little bigger.”
In 2003 another extension was added, and the barrel cellar was finished in 2008.
“This is a big one,” says Speck as he refers to the construction just outside the offices.
“We thought do one big step and build into it.
“We’ve found you never have enough space.”
He admits that they are nowhere near the big guys, but in VQA they are one of the larger independents.
“When we started I couldn’t get a distributor to take Henry of Pelham, so we said we have to do it ourselves.
“I was the first guy selling our wines, we created our own sales staff.”
And while it was difficult in the beginning to get licensees or restaurants to bring in their wines their timing was perfect with the LCBO that was getting rid of their old system, bringing out display racks and promotion.
The brothers expanded creating Family Wine Merchants, which distributes wines from other regions as well, and allowed them to use their sales staff better.
“As they (LCBO) were getting more mature, we were getting more mature, and FWM really helped. We became perfectly comfortable pouring Niagara wines up against anything around the world.
“Thirty years ago that wouldn’t have been the same story, but 10 years ago absolutely,” said Speck.
As they celebrate their 30 years, we taste the 2016 Speck Family Reserve Baco Noir, a varietal that helped put them on the map.
“That was the first hit we had. It was one of those funny things, the industry was going in a different direction including us, we were making mostly Vinifera wines, but we had this Baco Noir that every time we poured it for customers, they loved it. Despite the fact that it was an older grape, people loved it, and we couldn’t keep it in stock.
“People were ripping it at the time.
“Luckily, we didn’t know what we were doing, but if people love it, you keep making it. So, we kept at it, and it became a huge hit.”
Speck also says that it’s also something that is unique for Niagara.
“A lot of people from around the world that are looking for something different. We’re launching our wines in Ohio right now, the number one variety they want from us is Baco.”
Deeply-coloured the wine breathes ripe dark fruit, with black cherry that feels lavish in the mouth.
Medium to full-bodied, it’s smooth with just a slight sweetness from the fruit.
Easy to drink and easy to enjoy. “It’s become a really legitimate awesome wine.
“In Copenhagen, it was chosen by the customers at the festival as the summer wine of the year, and the critics are all on board, too.”
Asked about the next 30 years, Speck says the winery is linked together at the hip.
“Henry of Pelham wouldn’t have the success that it’s had if the industry didn’t succeed as well.
“We’re selling wine all over the world and across Canada.
There’s more to do in Ontario, but we’re very excited about the amounts that were beginning to ship around the world.
“I think there’s a huge future for Niagara wines, we’re pretty excited, were prepared to go.”
Cheers, to 30 years.