The History of Featherstone Estate Winery

From there, to here

There is an honesty in farming a vineyard that has always appealed to winemaker David Johnson. Originally an accomplished amateur winemaker, his passion eventually led him away from his day job - running a gourmet food shop - and into the vineyards of Niagara. He now tends to 23 acres of vines and the vinification of the harvest at Featherstone Estate Winery. He crafts elegant small-lot wines that are true to their varietal characteristics and expressive of the farm's unique terroir.

Featherstone Estate Winery is owned and operated by David Johnson and Louise Engel, a husband and wife team who have already gained fame in the Guelph area for their culinary expertise at The Guelph Poultry Gourmet Market, which they established in 1986. They come to the wine industry from careers dedicated to excellence in food and a passion for wine.

David and Louise purchased their vineyard in 1999. It was fully planted to grapes and at that time the grapes were being sold to a large wine conglomerate. Over a period of several years, the Featherstone winery was built and fewer grapes were sold off. At the same time, there were upgrades being made to some of the varieties of grapes that were planted. The Vidal and Seyval were removed and replaced with Merlot and Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, planted in 1986, were left to thrive as was the Riesling, which was planted in 1978 and is some of the oldest Riesling in Niagara. Today the entire grape crop is bottled to produce Featherstone wines, with approximately 5,000 cases a year being vinified.

David's farming background and studies in agriculture at the University of Guelph have served as a base for understanding the viticultural practices involved in growing quality grapes. Featherstone has distinguished itself in Niagara as being insecticide-free since 1999 and practitioners of eco-friendly farming (see Eco-friendly).

Louise also comes from a rural background and studied business at the University of Guelph, where she and David met in the mid 1980's. Louise runs the office, returns the emails, looks after the many, many government remittances and taxes associated with selling alcohol in Ontario -- and will probably be behind the tasting bar when you visit.