The selling of the historic Marynissen Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake is “bitter sweet” for the family. But, as of Friday, the winery will no longer be owned by Sandra Marynissen and her husband Glen Muir.
It’s been sold to a group of Chinese investors, two from Toronto and two from China, who plan to run the winery just as it is and keep the retail workers and winemaker Jeff Hundertmark (photo below) on staff.
That was important to the family and factored into their decision to sell the winery.
The sale included both the winery and vineyards, which were two separate entities now consolidated into one, and becomes official Friday with the signing of the final documents.
The sale of Marynissen started two and half years ago when the couple was approached with a proposal to sell the winery. Once they got into the details of the deal they realized the “offer was ridiculous” and bowed out. They were bruised by the ordeal and didn’t actively pursue buyers after that.
But about six months ago, the couple started to realize that, with two young kids, aged 7 and 9, they just didn’t have enough time to be a family. They placed an ad in the Globe and Mail and were inundated with offers. One serious buyer impressed them the most.
“They asked the right questions,” said Muir. “They wanted to keep the staff and keep the family involved and even wanted us to help introduce the brand in the China.”
The two sides agreed on a price and the deal was done.
The Chinese buyers hope to double production at Marynissen to 10,000 cases, including starting up an icewine program that hadn’t been made since 2004, and exporting half the production to China.
Muir says the wine industry in Niagara is a tough one. “There’s more and more wineries but we’re selling the same amount of wine,” he said. The buyers believe they can export and sell the wines in China, and that makes a winery more viable.
Muir said the buyers were impressed with the wines at Marynissen and said “they admire Jeff’s (winemaker Hundertmark) winemaking and retail staff.”
There is some “sadness” in selling the winery, Muir said. “We will miss this. Sandra and her father (John) started this winery but they always said: ‘We’re going to do this until it’s not fun for us anymore,’ ” he said.
“When Sandra lost her dad (John died in January of 2009 at 84) it just wasn’t fun anymore. Sandra misses him.”
Muir said it was shortly after the death of John that they had thoughts of selling the winery. “The industry has changed and our lives have changed because we lost John.”
What Muir and Marynissen do next is not clear. They have told by the new buyers that they want them involved in a consultant role and to help introduce the brand in China. But in their immediate future is long, long trip to the cottage with the family.
Marynissen is a renowned and historically important winery that has always specialized in red wines (It has also garnered many awards over the years for its white wines). John Marynissen helped shape Niagara’s wine industry and is credited with planting Ontario’s first Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. His vines, planted in 1978, are said to be the oldest in Ontario.
While Marynissen cut his teeth as a grower, he finally decided to make his own wine we he started his winery in 1990.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the centrepiece of this estate’s wine program, drawing from old vines planted by John Marynissen. Single-vineyard Cabs from Lot 66 and Lot 31 and Solstice, a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet are the top reds in the portfolio.
Marynissen came to Canada from Holland in 1952 and began growing grapes in Niagara with his wife Nanny. He soon realized the importance of Vinifera grapes in the production of quality wines and switched to planting vinifera vines.
Prior to the establishment of the winery John received several awards for his winemaking. He also was awarded the title of Grape King in 1978. As a result of these honours, his daughter Sandra convinced him to open a commercial winery and take the wine making to another level. The winery won the Cuvee Award for Best Red Wine in 1996 and 1997 and has long been recognized for the strength and longevity of the product.
Sandra began assisting with the winemaking in the late 90s and her first endeavour garnered her the Best Red Wine under $10 at the Ottawa Wine and Food show for her 1997 Baco Noir. After several years of covering all aspects of the winery Sandra turned over the winemaking to Jeff Hundertmark.
I forsee more and more of this happening, especially with the burgeoning market for this style of wine in other parts of the world…
You are right, Shawn.
Rick Very interesting development. Is this a “one off” or do you see more coming?
I see more coming, Ken. There are a lot of wineries for sale either officially or “unofficially.” And there is a lot of interest out there, a lot of it from Chinese businesspeople. China is a big, huge emerging market and a lot of people feel they can import Canadian wines to China and make good money. The very best way to do that is to own your own winery. Don’t forget, the rules are different for exported wines compared to selling wine in Ontario. VQA does not apply and does not mean anything to a foreign market.
The sales or potential sales of Niagara wineries is not surprising. Most of them struggle to make a profit so why not cash out? The shame is that corporate interests will make the wines even more homogeneous. Their aim is to make profits not to make good wines with regional character.