Question: How do you make a small fortune in a winery? There is another joke all winery owners know.

What have some of the challenges been so far? So we started the winery, in anticipation of processing our first harvest. wouldn’t it be more profitable to add value to our crop and start a winery – how hard can it be?'Īgain, I did my research: so many tons per acre, so many litres per ton, so many cases of wine – boom! – great idea….on paper. Not to outdo myself with another bright idea, but I thought 'Hmmmm. We had serious dollars in the ground with vines and were committed to making this work. So then after farming grapes for a few years with only expenses and realising that we would have been better off growing forage, we realised we couldn’t go back. OK, so farming grapes is hard and you have to wait a long time for a return, and the risk of crop failure is great every season – welcome to farming. In the process I have gained tremendous respect for farmers. I wouldn’t recommend anyone do what I did. As it is, we bit off a lot, but powered through. Well it’s a good thing I didn’t know at the time how hard establishing vines is, or I would never have attempted it.

I did the research on input costs and potential yields and profitability and convinced my wife we should plant vines and bask in the revenues that grapes would give us. Being in wine country, we could probably do better growing grapes. I then had a bright idea, maybe we could grow a more profitable crop. Forage was hard work and we felt like we were working for nothing. So while we were forage growers, we had hoped for more revenue than the forage was giving us. When asked what he would do with the money, he answered “Keep farming until it’s all gone”. Farmers have all heard the joke about the farmer who won a million dollars in the lottery. We had cattle, chickens, ponies, and puppies in this time.Īfter the honeymoon period of being on the farm, we came to the realization that we would as some point in time, like to have a profitable farm or at some point at least breakeven. We focused on our family and “homesteady” farm pursuits to give our kids an experience in the initial years after acquiring the farm. The start of it all was when we moved from the city in 2009 looking for a wider space to raise our growing family and came across this awesome yet neglected 47 acre farm property in Beamsville. It has evolved from a set of unique circumstances and a chain of decisions as a result of our decision to seek a new lifestyle for our family.

Gord: The decision to start a winery was not something that we ever really deliberately made. On a blustery January afternoon, Archives chatted with Gord over a glass of the delightful 2020 Maréchal Foch and we were fascinated by his thoughtful approach to winemaking and family.ĪWSM: How did you decide to start a winery? There are some exciting plans in place to turn this old farmstead into an experiential winery. The whole Maretzki family pitch in at harvest time and today, the garage is filled to the brim with barrels, totes, and winemaking equipment that spills out onto the frozen drive. Case in point Urban Tractor's winepress was handbuilt, which is surely a first in the region. And this garage wasn't even heated until last month! But he also embodies the passion and can-do attitude that have turned garage winemakers into superstars at bottle shops the world over. Gord is a true 'garagiste' winemaker, in that his winemaking suite, aging cellar, and tasting room are all currently in his garage. While many new wineries in Niagara come about with a bang - starchitect-designed tasting rooms, icewine igloos, splashy unveilings at Toronto or Niagara-on-the-Lake wine bars - Urban Tractor Farm is not that. That will change.įor on this historic property, Gordon and Paula Maretzki have thrown their hat into the ring as Niagara's new winemaking family. Clinging to the top of the Escarpment, a set of weathered farm buildings exude character but wouldn't entice passersby to stop for more than a glance. Continue climbing, though, and you come across the lesser-travelled roads of Niagara's highest winemaking appelation Vinemount Ridge. Heading up the Escarpment from the village of Beamsville, one travels a well trodden route to wine country staples like Hidden Bench and Fielding Estate.

Gord farm