Having opened in 1989 as a small-batch beer brewing service called Mountain Brew, Wine Works recently celebrated its 35th anniversary in business. Since taking over Wine Works in 1999, John Scheben-Edey has turned it into a thriving business that continues to attract a loyal following over the years. Wine Works is a ferment-on-premises business that allows customers to customize wines to their liking. The customers come in from all across the province, from Mount Forest to Elmvale to Toronto. While the business initially started with brewing beers, nearly two decades ago its focus shifted to wines, produced in batches of 30 bottles, which is on par with the industry standard. In 2005, Wine Works moved to its current address at 14 Ronell Crescent, Collingwood, and shifted the core of its offering to winemaking. In 2011, the business renamed itself as Wine Works.
After years of working in the business, Kris Scheben-Edey took over Wine Works as its owner three years ago. For Kris, the sense of connection with the community is an important part of the business. “We are a small business that serves a community of people we are closely connected with. We embrace that small-town feel,” says Kris.
Kris shares that Wine Works received a grant from the Digital Main Street program through the Small Business Enterprise Centre a few years ago. Digital Main Street is a program and service that helps businesses achieve digital transformation.
With the help of the grant received through the program, the Wine Works team hired a graphic designer to upgrade their website and build their social media presence. Kris notes that the grant has been especially helpful in enhancing the business’s digital presence.
Excellent quality at affordable prices
With small batch winemaking, customers pay for the juice and the winemaking service rather than purchasing the finished wine on a bottle-by-bottle basis. As a result, customers are able to save on taxes, often upwards of 50% of the retail price of a typical retail wine bottle. Additionally, since less sulphite – which acts as a preservative – is used in the winemaking process, the flavour profile is enhanced as each batch is carefully created by an expert team of winemakers.
Wine Works currently offers over 250 kinds of wines—from red and white to rosé and flavoured wines. After the customer decides on the type of wine they’d like to order, it takes the Wine Works team about 4-6 weeks to create the wine that meets its maximum flavour potential. Over this period, the winemakers go through a series of steps that include multiple fermentations, racking, degassing, stabilizing, clearing and filtering.
Once the wine is ready, customers have two packaging options: bottles and bags. If the customer plans to age the wine or decorate and label, bottles are the only option; however, bags are also a convenient option that takes up less space and is lighter to carry. For the labels on the bottles, customers are able to choose from a collection of pre-printed backgrounds and customize the text on the labels. The bottles can also be rinsed and reused. The choice of which packaging to use ultimately comes down to the customer’s needs and preferences.
As a result of rules and regulations in the industry, Wine Works doesn’t promote its events to the general public. However, in order to give customers the opportunity to try out different kinds of wines, Wine Works runs a Wine Tasting Club, which allows customers to explore upcoming events and go to wine tasting events. While prices vary for different events, the majority of the Wine Tasting Club events are priced at $35.00/person. In 2024, the Wine Works team organized various themed wine tasting events that were a great success.
Wine storage
For storing the wines, the Wine Works team suggests keeping the wine bottles upright for 1-2 weeks and laying them on their side, which lets the cork expand and keep it from drying out. To avoid any spoilage, it is recommended that wines be kept in a cool, dark area with a stable temperature. For long term aging, 13°C – 17°C is ideal; otherwise, if you’re planning to enjoy the wine within a few months, 18°C – 22°C is perfectly fine. The team notes that the most important factor in the storage and aging of the wine well is the temperature change in the environment. The more stable the temperature, the better it is for aging and maintaining the flavour profile.
Benefits of being in Collingwood
For John Scheben-Edey, who has been living in Collingwood since 1986, the changes in the town’s demographics have allowed the business to expand its reach. Reflecting on the changes in Collingwood over the past few decades, John notes, “The community has grown to be able to cater to a wide range of people. Whether you are interested in golfing, curling, pickleball, or activities like birdwatching, horticulture or theatre and arts, there is something for everyone. When we moved here, it was not like that.”
Born and raised in Collingwood, Kris Scheben-Edey is a local of the area. While he lived for some time in Kitchener, London and Midland, he eventually came back home to Collingwood. “It’s hard to find something you can’t do in Collingwood. You can go skiing, you can go to the mountains, you’ve got entrepreneurial opportunities in the area, and you have that sense of connection with the community. It’s more than just any specific lifestyle or hobby that keeps me here,” says Kris.
Looking to the future
The Wine Works team has many ideas for the future, but it all comes down to its priorities of continuing to produce excellent wine and keeping the customers and the team happy. While the business has weathered a period of instability during the global pandemic, the Wine Works team is continuously working to improve its processes, business practices and, ultimately, the customer experience. “Anytime there is a challenge, there is also opportunity,” says Kris.
To learn more about Wine Works and join its Wine Tasting Club, check out the Wine Works website: https://wineworks.ca/tasting