The Thirties and Forties

1936 Chevrolet Master ½ ton truck with a Hercules-Campbell body

As prohibition came to an end Canadians returned to what they new best hard spirits.  T J Brights a company founded in 1874 had bought out the licenses of fourteen other wineries. They were determined to improve the quality of Canada's wines.  They hired Adhemar de Chaunac from france to be their winemaker. He was not happy with the quality of the grapes in the vineyard. In 1938 he imported  winter hardy French hybrides.
World War II delayed the arrive of his hybrides untill 1945

Adhemar de Chaunac - Winemaster and chemist Bright's Winery   In 1934 Brights launched a vast viticultural and vinicultural program that eventually transformed the entire Canadian wine industry. In the next 50 years the Company invested more than $6 million in research and development, more than any other single winery in Canada. Much of this work was initiated by Adhemar de Chaunac, Brights' French-born winemaster and chemist. The late Mr. de Chaunac's name is perpetuated in a grape variety named for him. He also brought over Chardonnay but years would pass before it reached its potential;l in Canada. He also played a role in the devolpment of Canada's icewines

This was a period of trail and error for the few Canadian winemakers who tested the various grapes to find the best  for the Canadian Vineyards and climate.  A man by the name of Harry Hatch tore out 600 Acres of Concord and  Niagara Grapes  between Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment replacing them with them with the new varsities. This included Seibel 9549 ( renamed de Chaunac in 1972).

Seibel 9549 became the leading commercial grape in Ontario in the 19760's and 70's.

A self-made millionaire and industrialist, from Prince Edward County. Hatch owned and bred five King's Plate winners. The light and dark blue silks of his stable were in action throughout the U.S. In 1931 he was among the first Canadians to run a horse in the Kentucky Derby. Hatch started out with a small liquor store in Whitby, Ontario and prospered to the point where he was able to purchase the controlling interest of Gooderham & Worts Ltd. in 1923. Four years later, Hatch acquired Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. based in Walkerville, Ontario , and in 1927 merged the two companies under the parent company of Hiram Walker-Gooderharn & Worts Limited. The company was one of a number of Canadian distillers who prospered by shipping their products into the United States during the Prohibition era from 1920 to 1933. In 1935, Harry Hatch oversaw Hiram Walker's acquisition of a 51% controlling interest in the H. Corby Distillery Limited . The following year he expanded the company's operation with the acquisition of George Ballantme & Son Limited of Glasgow, Scotland . Hatch was also known for playing a significant role in the pioneering of the Canadian Wine Industry, most notably in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario, where Hatch became majority owner of T.G. Bright & Co. Limited in 1933. He hired Mr. de Chaunac

Brights was not the only winery making a strong effort to improve Canada's wines.Parkdale Wine Company was founded by Allen S. Axler, Manuel J. Roth and Charles A Siegel. They moulded Parkdale out of several smaller companies in 1935. The winery itself was built in 1950 with a capacity of 1.25 million imperial gallons and was located on an 8-acre site along the Quen E in Etobicoke. In January, 1965, the control of the firm was purchased by John Labatt Ltd. Parkdale had seven retail outlets and sourced their grapes from Niagara.

  Parksdale Winery in Toronto brought in Vines from Hungry in 1947. The vines included Gamay Beaujolais and Johannisburg Riesling. Parksdale had little success with these vines. It was Donald Ziraldo of Inniskillin fame who prorated these vines in 1971.  The Fred Marsch Wine company started the development of Sparkling wine(1) in Canada.

Out west in BC Growers Wine Ltd  near Victoria was producing wines obtaining grapes from the OKanagan. Domestic Wines and By-Products Co. opened in 1932 . The owners included Guiseppe Ghezzi, Peter Casorso, Pasquale (Cap) Capozzi and W.A.C.Bennett. This led to the establishment of Calona Wineries.  The Casorso family planted the first Kelowna vineyards around 1925.

Back in Ontario Jordan winery founded in 1920 in the small village of Jordan Ontario. Jordan survived prohibition and grew to be a very respected name in Canada.  In 1973 jordan purchased growers i Victoria Bc and introduced the name St-Michelle Cellars.The winery had a succession of owners and was finally purchased by Brights in 1986. There was also Cartier wines founded in 1889. Cartier battle through World War One and Prohibition.1993 Cartier and Inniskillin merge with T.G. Bright to form Vincor

Another name of note was Canadian Wineries formed in 1926 by the merger of several small wineries It was later known as Chateau-Gai from 1936-1964 . When Labatt's brewery plunged into the wine business in 1964 they took over Chateau-Gai and the BC winery  Casabello.

Winemakers continued to experiment while wineries were sold or merged Canadian consumers still felt that the Old world wines were better.
It was not until the  seventies that wines like Baby Duck and Schloss Laderheim' made their mark. In the 70's and 80's Canadian wines began to emerge to truly challenge the old world.

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