Next-generation winery stewards
No succession drama at Domaine de Grand Pre
Whether it was a meeting of winery owners, dealing with government or greeting visitors to Domaine de Grand Pre, Hanspeter Stutz has always been willing to offer an opinion.
An informed opinion, to be sure, but now Stutz, 75, is stepping aside from running the winery, turning over operations to daughter Beatrice and son Jurg.
“I think he recognizes that it’s time. He’ll want to be involved, and we will keep him informed and when there’s a big decision to be made, of course he’ll have a say, and he will always be involved,” Beatrice said. “That’s normal.”
Added Jurg: “Also, it didn’t happen overnight, it happened over the last year, so it’s not like we’re changing things from one day to the other.
“It’s been in the making, and we’ve been running the day-to-day for a long time. He was always the one with the vision, the big vision, the big picture. He was the one that held everything together.”
Making the transition easier for all involved is that the patriarch has moved off the property, and the house he and his wife used to occupy was converted into an inn.
“So, he doesn’t see things happening or not happening,” Beatrice said. “When you’re here and don’t see something you think you should be seeing, then you panic. With
him being removed, it’s
helped him to make that step. Being physically removed is Step 1.”
The siblings say they know their father trusts them, but they have slightly different ideas of how much input they’ll get from him. As the one taking on the overall operation of the business, it’s likely to be Beatrice, and she’s comfortable with that.
“His role being the connection to government and making those moves, pushing for something and being the face, the person out there promoting the business as a whole, that’s what he’s stepping back from,” she said. “He’ll always be known as the one that started it, and he’s recognized and well respected for that. We’re going to step into that role and take over some of those responsibilities. To me, that’s the big change.”
The sister and brother, born on the same date a year apart, say the change won’t be noticed by visitors to the winery, which the Stutz family took over in 2000.
“It’s just within the business, the company structure, how we do things and who is responsible for what within the business, that’s what
changing,” Beatrice said.
“Ownership is not changing. This is a corporation and we all have shares; that’s not going to change,” she continued. “That’s something we had to come to terms with. Ownership has nothing to do with the job. The job is making wine, selling the products, running the restaurant.”
As for Jurg, he will give all his attention to wine making and production, giving up partial responsibility for payroll and things of that nature, which bothers him not one bit.
“It’s those kinds of things that I never enjoyed doing anyway,” he said.
Jurg’s oldest son, now doing an accounting degree, plans to take the viticulture course at Niagara College, the same place well-known winemakers Mike Mainguy and Ben Swetnam did their training.
Beatrice becomes the second woman in as many years to take over the running of a Nova Scotia winery, following Geena Luckett, who took over from her father Pete at Luckett Vineyards.
As the economy recovers from the pandemic, Domaine de Grand Pre expects some of the changes forced by that time to stay in place.
“People really want to stay and sit down for a glass of wine,” Jurg said. “We didn’t really see that before when they came for a tasting, but because of COVID, we had to create the opportunity for them to sit down. We couldn’t have people standing for tastings, they had to sit, and I think that’s something that will stay. People enjoy that.”
Jurg expects to find some bud damage in the vineyard after a cold winter. The siblings are planning an expansion and are looking for land adjacent to the property to purchase, so production can be ramped up from the current 10,000 cases a year.
Domaine de Grand Pre employs more than 50 people, and that number is expected to grow this year.
“We were forced to reduce hours because we couldn’t find enough staff, so we were only open five days versus seven days. Adding two days adds a considerable amount of staff just to cover everyone’s days off,” said Beatrice. “The last two years, you’d put up an
resumés. ad for staff and get zero Nothing. Now you put an ad up and they’re coming.”