Winemaker Thomas BachelderLe Clos Jordanne/Supplied
Thomas Bachelder arrived in Niagara wine country in 2003 as winemaker for Le Clos Jordanne, a chardonnay and pinot noir-focused joint venture between Vincor (now Arterra Wines) and the Boisset family from Burgundy.
The terroir-based project based on vineyard sites in Jordan, Ont., established the Montreal native as one of Canada’s top winemakers and inspired greater interest in single-vineyard wines from Niagara.
Today, Bachelder divides his time between his family’s winery and Le Clos Jordanne, which have been actively working to introduce quality Niagara wine – not just icewine – to international markets. “We are making inroads,” he says, as he prepares to join a Canadian trade tasting in Olso, Norway, next month. “If the world could know us then Ontario and Canada would know us even more.”
You have been focusing on export for more than a decade. Has your sales pitch changed over time as you pour your wines outside of the country?
It’s hard and it’s humbling. Nobody has heard of you. Every time you pull a cork or pour a sample, you don’t think of branding Bachelder or Le Clos Jordanne because you’re too busy telling them about where you come from, about Niagara Falls’ connection to the limestone soils and benches where grapes are grown. … It’s about place, place, place, place, place. You constantly explain all these elements and details with great passion, and it makes you love the place you come from even more.
You mentioned the best potential markets are places like Denmark and Norway, where you’re headed with other Canadian wineries for a collaborative showcase. What about England?
Bachelder has been in England for 10 years. Le Clos Jordanne has been there for 15 years. England is a saturated wine market, but it’s one that really understands wine. They appreciate what we are doing, which is fulfilling. Our sales to England don’t really move the needle volume-wise and yet they’re important because England has a bunch of wine writers and people everywhere read the English wine press.
How are the chardonnays, pinot noirs and, more recently, gamays from Bachelder received internationally?
I am continually asked: “Why don’t I know this?” The unknown of Niagara shocks people. In England, Benelux, Denmark, Amsterdam, Japan and certainly in the northeastern United States, people are enjoying this new discovery. The limestone soils in Niagara aren’t the same as Burgundy’s, but they give a hit of recognizability to our wines if we get out of the way and let them express themselves. (I don’t always succeed, but that has been my life’s mission.)
Certainly, icewine continues to be the only wine associated with Canada for many. How is your approach different to how Inniskillin and others market their wines outside of the country?
Donald Ziraldo proselytized with incredible success around the world. He built an international reputation for Niagara icewine. What I am doing is slightly different, I am saying place matters. Export is always going to be niche for us. (If we win the world over, we can decide on which wines we send to which market and which wines we keep here.)
Between Le Clos Jordanne and Bachelder, you produce an extensive range of wines from a few grape varieties. How do you decide which wines to single out for international markets?
This is about getting Niagara known for the things it should be known for. We need to wave the Canadian flag and send our best stuff. We believe strongly in the quality of riesling and cabernet franc, but don’t make any. Our focus is on the Burgundian varieties. Our approach is less grape varieties, more terroirs. We don’t have to take all our wines abroad, but every wine we make informs the decision of which ones we export. They have got to be emblematic of Niagara.
Bachelder makes wines with chardonnay, pinot and gamay grapes from different vineyards in different parts of Niagara. Not every vineyard is produced every vintage. How do you determine which growers to work with?
I am trying to develop relationships that work towards our mission. If I had brown hair, it would be less urgent. But not a lot of people are doing this. I need to focus. I need to self-edit. Some things go away from attrition, other opportunities arise. I don’t feel beholden to keep making wines from the same specific places in Niagara. In five years, there might be fewer single vineyards to offer, but a larger volume of each to sell.
That said, you continue to develop relationships with new vineyards, like Grimsby Hillside and Mio, that offer a different personality and character than the wines you already produce.
When I moved here 22 years ago, all I knew was Jordan. After 10 years, I felt I had a handle on Jordan. Then I discovered Vineland, working with Craig Wismer [of Glen Elgin Vineyard Management] when Bachelder started, and other parts of Niagara when more vineyards were proposed. The most exciting evolution of continuing this single-vineyard approach is when consumers start to recognize their names. Wismer-Foxcroft and other vineyards are now seen as distinct, meaningful places.
Your trips abroad increase year after year. What is your motivation to open new markets?
Now is the time to do it. We need to take advantage of this swell – I’m not talking about tariffs and “elbows up,” which I think will increase traffic to tasting rooms this summer – but the swell of great wines made in Ontario from four successive strong vintages: 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. I am incredibly confident in showing off the wines we have produced to anyone.