WINES WITH PEDIGREE FROM A
WINERY WITH HERITAGE.
In the late 18th century, our great-great-great grandfather was deeded the land on which our Ontario winery sits in present day St. Catharines. Fast forward six generations and we’re still on the family farm in the Short Hills Bench sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula.
We named Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery after great-great-great grandpa’s son, Henry. We think he had a pretty dry sense of humour, nicknaming himself “Henry of Pelham” after a British Prime Minister. He was an entrepreneur, building an inn and tavern on the property and operating a toll road. He also raised sheep and grew grapes—some of the first to be planted in Canada. Our retail store and tasting room are where the inn used to be and our restaurant is in the former Coach House.
In 1984, when our parents decided to replace Henry’s concord and Niagara grapevines with old world vinifera grapes, the Niagara wine scene hardly existed and there were a lot of naysayers—but we had done our homework. Heat scans proved we had the right conditions, and we bettered our chances by contouring the hills and installing drainage. At the time, we were one of only a few Niagara wineries to make premium wines from our own grapes.
Today we honour our family’s ties to the land by capturing the taste of the landscape.
We think Henry would be proud.
SIX GENERATIONS STRONG
1778 - FOR KING AND COUNTRY
Great-great-great grandpa Nicholas Smith, a United Empire Loyalist, joins the Butler’s Rangers, serving as a bugle-boy and translator (he was part Iroquois) during the American Revolution.
1794 - LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
Nicholas is awarded the deed to the land where the winery is today, thanks to his service during the Revolution. Over the years he adds additional parcels to the farm.
1842 - YOU CAN CALL ME SIR
Henry, Nicholas’ youngest son, builds an inn, tavern and carriage house on the property. He signs the tavern’s liquor license “Henry of Pelham” as a joking reference to a past British prime minister, Sir Henry Pelham. The name sticks. He plants some of Canada’s first vineyards.
1982 - KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
Paul Speck Sr. and Bobbi Speck purchase several contiguous parcels of the original family farm.
1984 - HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER
Paul Sr. and Bobbi put their three boys to work hand-planting Riesling and Chardonnay vines. At the time, Paul Jr. was 17, Matthew was 14 and Daniel was 10. The back-breaking work continued over several summers and too many weekends to count.
1988 - THE HAT TRICK
Paul Jr. becomes president. Henry of Pelham produces its first vintage. The winery helps found the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) with a handful of other Niagara wineries.
1993 - THE LEGACY CONTINUES
Paul Sr. passes away and Paul, Matthew and Daniel become the Ontario winery’s owners.
About Henry of Pelham
Family Estate Winery
Matthew E. Speck
Vice President, Operations
Matt began work at Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery in the early 1980s. He planted, posted, wired and grew 65 acres of vinifera and vinifera hybrid vineyards along with brothers Paul and Daniel. Beginning in 1992, Matt assumed the role of Viticulture Manager and Vice President at Henry of Pelham Winery and has continued to develop the vineyards into some of the finest in Niagara as a co-owner of the winery with Paul and Dan.
His viticultural work was recognized when Matt was named Grape King at the Niagara Grape & Wine Festival of 2000-2001. Matt was educated at St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland (BA, Philosophy and Mathematics double major).
Paul T. Speck
President
Paul planted the early vineyards with his younger brothers Matt and Daniel and began the business development of Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery. In 1989, Paul became President of Henry of Pelham Winery and set it on course to become a 75,000-case per year producer of fine Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) wines.
In addition to being a co-owner of Henry of Pelham, Paul is a founding director of VQA, and continues to play an active role in promoting and developing the premium wine industry in Niagara and Ontario, as current Vice Chair of the VQA, former Chairman of the Wine Council of Ontario, and as a former director of the Canadian Vintners Association. Paul received his BA from St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland in Classical Philosophy (with Mathematics as a minor).
Daniel Speck
Vice President, Sales
Daniel is co-owner and one of three brothers who as children shovel-planted the modern-day vineyards that became Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery in Niagara’s Short Hills Bench. The Speck brothers founded the winery with their parents, a family venture which began in 1984. Daniel spent the years from age 8 to 22 in the vineyards. He studied philosophy, math and science at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, then returned to work on the farm/winery upon graduation.
After fourteen vineyard-years he migrated from the farm to the marketplace when a key sales person left the company. Today he is Vice President, Sales and Marketing. Daniel actively promotes and sells his family’s wines while still participating in determining each wine’s final composition with his two older brothers and the winemakers.
“When everyone else became a knowledge worker in the 1990s, we connected to our roots with what you might call green collar work. Hard work.”
– Paul Speck
Mathew Seguin
Head Winemaker
Originally from Guelph, Ontario, Mathew attended the Hotel and Food Administration program at the University of Guelph. During his studies he discovered a passion for wine which he decided to pursue by completing the Winery and Viticulture program at Niagara College. After graduation he worked in the cellars of several Niagara Region wineries including Le Clos Jordanne as well as travelling to work at wineries in Nova Scotia and France. This experience increased his knowledge and reinforced his dedication to winemaking.
Upon returning to the Niagara Region Mathew joined Henry of Pelham as Cellar Supervisor/Assistant Winemaker in 2016 graduating to Winemaker in 2018.
When he’s not winemaking, Mathew plays tennis, hikes, reads, cooks, and likes to travel.
Vanessa Agbonwaneten
Senior Production Winemaker
Vanessa hails from a small town in the Durham Region called Claremont. Her interest in science and plants lead her to pursue the Oenology and Viticulture Science degree at Brock University where she graduated in 2015. Throughout her education, Vanessa worked harvests in California, Australia and Niagara gathering experience and knowledge along the way.
Vanessa was hired to work in the cellars at Henry of Pelham in the spring of 2016 and joined the winemaking team in 2021. She leads Henry of Pelham’s award-winning traditional method sparkling program and Icewine productions.
Vanessa enjoys being outside, volunteering with SPCA, is constantly crafting and always working on home improvements.
Henry of Pelham’s 300-acre vineyard is located in the Short Hills Bench
sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula.
The Short Hills Bench is the most easterly of the sub-appellations located within the Niagara Escarpment. It encompasses the land rising up from the plain of the peninsula south of Regional Road 81 to the Escarpment Brow and situated between Twelve Mile Creek and Fifteen Mile Creek.
The undulating hills and valleys of the Short Hills, which rest on an ancient buried valley that once cut through the Niagara of
Escarpment and connected the basins Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, provide long gentle slopes with excellent drainage and sun exposure. The warm sunny days and cool nights characteristic of this area are perfect for developing the intense grape flavours derived from its complex soils. All the grapes for Henry of Pelham Estate and Speck Family Reserve wines are grown in the Short Hills Bench sub-appellation.
Sustainability
from soil to shelf
When your family has been on the land for six generations, sustainability takes on new meaning.
In 2006, Henry of Pelham was the first vineyard to be certified as local and sustainable by Local Food Plus. We’ve followed Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario’s world-leading standards in our farming practices since 2004. In 2017, we became one of only six Ontario wineries to be certified by the Wine Council of Ontario as following sustainable winemaking practices from vine to table.
We’ve insulated our sexy stainless steel tanks with some seriously unsexy foil-coated bubble wrap. Designed our Ontario winery so we can heat and cool areas independently—often using outdoor air. Created wildlife corridors, then protected the vines from hungry furry visitors with reusable fine mesh netting. And left dead trees for raptor perches.
From wetland restoration and biofiltration to reforestation and water conservation, our efforts will ensure that plants, helpful insects, animals and people—including wine makers—continue to thrive on this land six generations from now.
“Real sustainability is never done. It’s an ongoing process of improvement where we find and apply the best new practices, never being afraid to break with the past.”
– Daniel Speck
Sustainable Wine in Ontario
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