When it won the Grand Prix d’ Honneur, it really blew us into the stratosphere. Canada was such an unknown entity, so that was a phenomenon, and I think that“ ice” and“ Canada” just psychologically worked for people in the marketplace, especially for the Japanese, who became our biggest customers. We had no grand plan; it evolved.
I noticed a change when I took it to my buddies in the wine industry. They were always trying to be polite about our Pinot Noir and our Chardonnay. When I poured them the Icewine, they all stopped:“ Oh my God. Jesus. Oh wow.” There was no competition, so it was no skin off their back, and they started talking it up all the time and proudly poured it themselves.
It became really easy to focus on Icewine so I spent 200 days a year flying around the world and focusing on those markets, especially Asia. It really was a slow progression, a lot of time in the trenches, but Niagara became known as the region for Icewine. I quickly stopped bringing red and white table wines with me and I only exported Inniskillin Icewine because it just made sense to focus on one thing.
GH: I remember subsequently being at Vinexpo and the Inniskillin stand would be like a feeding frenzy.
DZ: I know! They were saying we were too busy and I said to the guy,“ Too busy? Maybe you should give us the booth for free next year, because too busy is what you want, isn’ t it?”
GH: It was definitely a point of excitement. I love your comment about how it made them stand up and look. I think, as Canadians, we don’ t see ourselves as being exotic very often.
DZ: One of the reasons why I spent a lot of time outside of the country was because there were enough of us making wine here, and lots of others promoting Canadian wine in Canada. I noticed, whether it is at Vinexpo, or any other competition, the minute Canadians read about foreign awards, it’ s not unlike when one of our directors gets an Academy Award nomination— it’ s huge. As Canadians, we always need to be reinforced by others.
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GH: We’ ve been on a high for a long time in Canada with Icewine production, though it is seen as a luxury item, and we’ re heading into a time of economic retrenchment. How do you think the industry is going to fare over the next couple of years?
DZ: Like any other luxury commodity, which has never been hit this hard before, I think the people who really stay focused, the people who are really committed, are going to do okay, and the marginal players are going to have trouble. Some people will just hunker down and take the opportunity to be more competitive.
GH: Would it be fair to say that it will be a maturing process for the industry?
DZ: Absolutely. We go through stages and now there are a lot of people with money coming into the industry buying the best equipment, buying the best vineyards, hiring the best winemakers, and cost isn’ t an issue. We are seeing some pretty amazing wines and they are continuing to improve. Competition is always good. It keeps you sharp.
GH: One of the big changes for you in the last while was in 2006 when you and Karl Kaiser gave up the running of the winery you established, Inniskillin Wines. Was that a difficult decision to make?
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