Winemaker at
Trius Winery

Craig McDonald

Craig McDonald

Get to Know our Winemaker

Trius Winery

Fortunately for Trius, our Australian Winemaker’s walkabout came to abrupt end when he discovered Niagara.

What attracted you to Niagara initially?

I was actually working in Oregon at the time, but I came to Toronto to visit friends and made a quick detour to Niagara on that trip. I was really surprised by and impressed with what I saw and tasted. Interestingly enough, the first Canadian wine I tasted on that trip was Trius Red, so I guess you could say it was fate!

You’ve worked at wineries in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Oregon and California. How have these experiences impacted your approach to winemaking in Canada?

Because each of these regions is so different, I’ve learned to be open-minded and nimble in my approach to the new obstacles that each season inevitably brings.

Speaking of obstacles, what inspires you to persevere through the challenges of winemaking in Ontario?

I think I’m inspired by the fact that as a wine region we have so much untapped potential. Ontario wines keep getting better every year, despite the arduous conditions and challenges we constantly face. There is no sameness to our seasons and we’re constantly adjusting our approach from grape growing right through the winery to blending.

What’s something unexpected we can look forward to from Trius in vintages to come?

The Viognier vines that we planted in the Ghost Creek vineyard when I first arrived at Trius are still quite young, but we’ve recently released our first vintage from them and I’m really pleased, so that would be one varietal in particular to keep an eye on. We have lots of exciting things on deck for our sparkling portfolio that I think Trius fans are going to be pretty happy about too.