Bigger is better at Big Head Wines
Each of us at some point looked at our father or mother and thought, maybe we would grow up and follow in their footsteps. That we would perhaps take over the family business, or maybe go to the same school, and follow a similar path to a career. In my case my father was curing cancer so that seemed like a pretty cool thing to do. So what if your father is making wine? How does that register for a young man growing up and thinking of being part of a legacy?
In the case of Jakub Lapinski he had a well-regarded father in the viticulture business, and someone who worked a bit outside the norm of the industry model, and produced some of Niagara best and possibly most interesting wines. Jakub’s dad Andrzej Lapinski didn’t start out in wine, but after taking a job at Vineland Estates in late 1990s he soon realized his calling and a career was launched. Many top wineries in Niagara have benefited from his creative drive such as Foreign Affair and Organized Crime. Today he splits his time with Colaneri, a stunning structure just off York Road, and his family project at Big Head Wines in Niagara on the Lake.
Big Head Wines makes a point of bending some of the rules in the industry, from their tasting room that offers blind tasting of their wines, to the amazing product in the bottle that always seem to have an interesting twist in production. Andrzej is infamous for the use of Appassimento, the process of drying and intensifying grapes, to create intense wines, that hold up to the name of the winery.
They are a family business with Andrzej and Jakub heading up wine production, but Kaja and Janina are also there to support the rest of the business, as part of the family passion. When you discuss the business with both of them the love and excitement of what they are doing is infectious. Jakub is comfortable as the spokesperson for the business, while his father will light up with a fire in his eye, when the topic is wine. The wine team is backed up by Sam Lim, who is a graduate of the Wine and Viticulture Technician program at Niagara College.
Staff are trained to have exceptional wine knowledge, and create a true educational environment for guests to not only taste great wine, but leave understanding their own palette a bit better. Almost all the wines at Big Head are small batch, hands on production, with new wines coming through from the creativity of the wine team all the time. I personally am a huge fan of their Chenin Blanc, which is unique in the lexicon of Niagara wines, but produced with exceptional care and something that doesn’t last too long in my cellar.
From the big complex red wines, to the new concrete fermented wines called Raw, that are coming soon, Big Head will surprise you, and give you an experience you won’t find elsewhere in Niagara. Father and son are always their showing their passion and connecting with guests. They plan to continue to grow and create, and hopefully you will get a chance to do you tasting with Jakub himself. You will see someone who exudes emotion and drive for what he does, and a person who has followed in his father’s footsteps with intense pride and determination.