(Part of an ongoing series GoBeWeekly will be completing on Niagara wineries)

By David DeRocco

Given the opulence that’s found its way into many of the estate wineries dotting the Niagara wine route, you would think the job of winemaker would be one of the most glamourous roles in the entire wine industry.  The winemakers of Hernder Estate Wines are very happy to dispel that notion.  

“They think it’s a glamourous job, but it’s not,” laughed Hernder Estate winemaker Angela Kasimos. “It’s very dirty.”  

Kasimos and assistant winemaker Denise Peacock speak from experience when it comes to the actual down and dirty work involved in turning 300 acres of grapes into award-winning wines.  The two women are a major part of the team responsible for producing the quality wines at affordable prices that have been the foundation of success at Hernder Estates Wines, one of the few Niagara wineries to actually operate within St. Catharines city boundaries. Since officially opening to the public in 1993, Hernder has expanded its operation to include the production of more than 25 VQA wines from its properties in St. Catharines and Beamsville.

For Kasimos, who took on her current role in early 2016 after stints at Riverview Cellars and Small Talk Vineyards, working for a large estate winery like Hernder allows her to focus more on her craft than the many distractions inherent in a winery operation.

“I’ve worked in smaller operations, and luckily here it’s such a large winery I’m not as involved in the vineyards as I’ve been in other wineries,” said Kasimos, who grew up in Newfoundland but was drawn to Niagara by its flourishing wine industry. “There’s 300 acres out there so somebody has to manage the vineyard. There’s so much wine to be made that you can’t be tending to the vineyard.”

What Kasimos and Peacock do tend to in their roles with Hernder is a lot of the grunt work inherent in the process of making wine, which clearly involves more than just blending some grapes together and waiting for magic to happen.

“Obviously science is a big part of the job,” said Kaimos, who studied biochemistry before attending Brock to learn more about winemaking. “I came to this industry with a science degree, but there’s still a lot of physical work, creativity, a lot of numbers, a lot of PR. Your job changes with the season. Sometimes you’re out in the vineyard checking out the vines, other times you’re just in the cellar watching your fermentations. There are a lot of elements involved in winemaking that keeps it fun and interesting.”

For Peacock, who’s been with Hernder for nearly seven years, the greatest joy in helping produce wines comes in the fall. “I like the harvest, the grapes coming in and seeing all the different varieties. The fermentations and the excitement of the filtering of the wine. And the sampling. We get paid to drink at 8 am.”

As female winemakers Kasimos and Peacock are not unique; in fact, the wine industry has become an equal opportunity employer when it comes to genders targeting local careers.

“There are a lot of female winemakers in this area,” said Kasimos. “When I was going through Brock University the class was split half and half. I think a lot of the young people coming through are split 50/50. It doesn’t mean a lot of them stay here. The fun thing about winemaking is you get to travel around. That’s what a lot of people do when they (graduate). They work in different regions and eventually come back.”

As it happens in other industries, technology is helping to shape the way grapes are being processed and wine is being made. However, Kasimos says that wine-making is still steeped in tradition – even if it is a modern version of it.

“It’s incredible how much it’s changed, but it’s also interesting to see what’s stayed the same. A very simple example is the crusher/de-stemmer. A de-stemmer separates grapes from the other material that comes with it. All leaves and stems are separated by this machine. That actual technology hasn’t changed in over 100 years, except they’ve made it motorized, easier to clean and adjusted the sizing. They’ve taken that machine, and put in the harvester in just the past five or 10 years. It helps us when making wine because the more the grapes sit on the stems the more those bitter flavours get transferred into the grapes. So simple steps in technology have helped.”

Does the technology make for a better wine? It depends on who’s using the technology according to Kasimos.

“It depends on the winemaker what you choose to use. As a winemaker you want to baby everything. The simple step of taking care of the grapes as soon as they come into the harvester as opposed to when they come into the winery eliminates a little bit of the bitter flavours that creep in to the wine. You’d have to be a professional sommelier to notice but it’s always little baby steps. Like investing in pumps that are gentle on wines, using different yeasts that produce more aromatic flavour. They all affect the results of the product.”

Peacock agrees: “The technology makes it simpler, but not easier. What it does is allow us to be able to focus on the actual winemaking aspect of it.”

With the harvest season not that far off, both Peacock and Kasimos are enjoying their down time – which as winemakers means typical 45 hour weeks until the busy season kicks in in November. And for those dreamers still considering a glamourous career as a winemaker, Kasimos offers this vintage piece of advice:

“Stay creative. And don’t make any life plans during harvest season.”

HERNDER ESTATES WINERY is located at 1607 Eighth Ave Louth, St. Catharines and is situated on a beautiful estate that features a perfectly restored 1867 Victorian barn. Visit them on-line at https://www.hernder.com/.