As legend would have it, DeMaria made a “blind correction” to the Vidal icewine and saved the batch of wine and his budding business. “Joseph thought ‘if I don’t do this, I don’t think we can make it,’ ” said Stephenson. To listen to his partner, Charlene Stephenson, tell it, DeMaria “missed a part in the book” and thought his first effort at making icewine was all for naught. He chose the latter, bought a book on how to make wine and went about the tricky business of turning 5,000 litres of grape juice into Vidal icewine. He struck a deal to sell his juice in 1997, but the Asian market tanked in 1998 and DeMaria, who had no idea how to actually make wine, was left with a dilemma - sell the juice at a major loss or keep it and try his hand at winemaking. The initial idea was to sell bulk icewine to the Asian market. He had a successful business in Toronto but after tasting a Niagara icewine back in 1991, he was bitten with the wine bug.ĭeMaria bought a winery licence in 1994 and purchased his 25-acre property, at the time with 15 acres planted to Vidal and Riesling grapes, in Beamsville, Ont. Joseph DeMaria is a hairdresser by trade. So, I wonder, why isn’t his place crawling with wine lovers seeking this sweet nectar of the Gods? Why are there no footsteps in the snow leading to the hustle and bustle of an international tasting room that smells of apricot jam and buckwheat honey? International magazines, newspapers and the internet have all spread the word that something very exciting is happening at his unique winery and, for those willing to pay the price (we’ll get to that, but how does $250,000 for a half bottle of icewine sound?), you, too, can taste a piece of the dream. His icewines, which is all he makes, have achieved a level of recognition, at least outside Canada, that others can only dream of. The owner, Joseph DeMaria, shot to superstardom on the strength of a litany (and I mean a boatload!) of international wine awards and trophies, in particular, for his Chardonnay Icewine 2000. Royal DeMaria is the most curious of wineries in Niagara.
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