A love of Burgundy inspired the creation of premium, vineyard-focused Tawse Winery in Niagara | Canada Voices

Moray Tawse didn’t plan to make wine in Niagara. His dream was to own vineyards in Burgundy, but he couldn’t find anything suitable in his favourite wine region. However, once he tasted multiple vintages of Cuvée Temkin-Paskus, a chardonnay made by vineyard manager Deborah Paskus and wine consultant Stephen Temkin, he had a change of heart and invested in the community of Vineland.

“After tasting those wines, I believed that Ontario could make really good wines with the right approach,” explains Tawse, who founded his family winery in 2001 as a passion project alongside his role as co-founder of the Toronto-based mortgage lender First National Financial.

Paskus was Tawse Winery’s first winemaker. She was followed by Paul Pender, whose team brought critical acclaim, including winning winery of the year from the National Wine Awards of Canada for three consecutive years, from 2010 to 2012. Tawse purchased additional vineyards and opened Redstone, a sister winery and restaurant in Beamsville, in 2015. Since Pender’s sudden death in 2022, winemaker Jessica Otting and vineyard manager Augusta Vanmuyen have overseen the winemaking operation.

At the age of 68, Tawse achieved his original dream of making wine in Burgundy by partnering with Montreal native and acclaimed winemaker Pascal Marchand in 2010. Now, he spends most weekends in Niagara and travels to France four times a year to keep tabs on his vines and wines there. That’s all outside of his daily work as executive chairman of First National Financial. “I love that business. I love every business I’m in,” he says.

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As Tawse celebrates 25 years in the wine business, he talked to The Globe about how he developed a passion for wine and what inspired him to produce $40 bottles of chardonnay in Ontario.

When you established Tawse Winery in 2001, your goal was to produce 4,000 cases of premium wine. What was the reception from other wineries at that time?

When I bought the property and started meeting with people in the industry, I told them, “I’m going to produce premium chardonnay and charge $40 per bottle for it.” They all thought I was crazy. “You’re in Niagara, you should make a wine for under $15,” they said. I didn’t want to just make widgets. Instead, we aimed to work hard, invest in the right equipment and do all the right things in the vineyard.

Your instincts were correct. Much of Tawse’s continuing success can be attributed to Robyn’s Block Chardonnay and Quarry Road Chardonnay, as well as the single-vineyard pinot noirs, cabernet francs and rieslings made from your vines in Niagara.

Terroir is a word that is often overused, but it is important, when you are comparing wines, to be able to distinguish the differences that come from where the grapes are grown. That is why Burgundy is considered so special – the focus is on allowing the vineyard to express itself, without the winemaker imposing their own style on the wine. When you do a side-by-side tasting of our Quarry Road Chardonnay and our Robyn’s Block Chardonnay, the difference you can taste is because of the distinctly different soils. Quarry Road Chardonnay is more focused with great acidity, while Robyn’s Block is rounder, richer and more complex. I enjoy them both and I choose one over the other depending on what I plan to have for dinner.

Twenty-five years later, Robyn’s Block Chardonnay sells for $46.95 per bottle. How do you justify the price?

When you sell a $40 bottle of wine, you’re talking to 3 per cent of the buying public. Selling wine at that price puts you in global competition. It’s a hard market. Inherently, many people believe that Ontario wine isn’t as good as wines from other places in the world. To change that perception, you have to engage with customers, taste with them, explain the unique qualities of your wine and get them excited about it. The general public is not going to get excited about Ontario wine without the tasting experience and education. We have trained our staff to provide that experience, which has helped us build a loyal clientele over the years.

How did you become interested in wine?

When I first started drinking wine, it was Mateus and things like that. Then in 1977, I went to Banff and got a job at a hotel. Despite my lack of formal training, I was promoted to wine steward. The hotel had a well-stocked wine cellar, and the custom was for me to taste every bottle before it was served. This meant sampling 30 to 50 bottles a night, gradually expanding my palate for wine. It was during this time that my love for pinot noir developed. Back then, pinot noir wasn’t expensive – you could buy a bottle of village appellation Burgundy for $20. With the success of First National, I had the means to purchase and try better wines. I also started wine clubs to get together with other people to taste and discuss the wines, which is still the most fun for me.

Two years after starting to produce wine in Burgundy with your long-time friend Pascal Marchand, you were able to expand that interest with the purchase of Domaine Maume in Gevrey-Chambertin.

The process to acquire Maume was an interesting experience. Instead of simply buying it, you had to submit an offer and go through an interview. I participated in blind tastings with the family [tasting wines without seeing the label] where they asked questions like, “What do you think of this wine? What vintage do you think this is? Which vineyard do you think this is?” Everyone wanted the Maume vineyards because they included Grand Cru and Premier Cru sites [which are the top classifications for vineyards in the region. Less than 2 per cent of the total acreage is considered Grand Cru.] These incredible properties have been owned by the family since 1923. In the end, they chose me.

Tawse is planning a series of events to commemorate its 25th anniversary, including a June 13 concert featuring Jim Cuddy. More information is available at tawsewinery.ca.

This interview has been edited and condensed.