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By 1873 Vin Villa was producing enough wine to warrant an independent effort to market the product. This same year Thaddeus bought out the William's brothers shares in Vin Villa while attempting to market Canadian wine which was not a well known commodity. Most of the wines of that time were inexpensive ones from Spain and France. With a carload of wine Thaddeus set out for Windsor, Chatham, London, Ingersoll and Woodstock. A last ditch effort to market his wine was made in Brantford, calling on a J.S Hamilton of the firm Hamilton, Dunlop & Co. After tasting the wines of Vin Villa, Hamilton was so impressed that he purchased all of what Thaddeus brought with him. Furthermore, he offered to act as sole agent for future Vin Villa wines. This meeting spurred the start of a long business relationship between J.S Hamilton and Vin Villa vineyards. Hamilton successfully marketed Pelee Island wines in several Canadian provinces, the eastern United States, the West Indies and in Europe. He also became the agent for the wines made by the Wardropers from their West View Vineyards.15
J.S. Hamilton letterhead1 February 1896
Pelee Island, Ontario
Credits:Pelee Island Heritage Museum
16
J.S.HamiltonAs the grape plantings continued it became apparent that the available cellars on Pelee Island, that belonging to Smith, Wardroper, Rehberg, Finlay and Heaton could not handle the volume of grapes coming from the vineyards on Pelee Island. In response J.S Hamilton built another cellar on the island.
"The Pelee Island Wine and Vineyard Company have made application for letters patent of incorporation for the leasing and purchasing of the vineyards on Pelee Island, also real estate in the City of Brantford and Pelee Island. They intend to do a general business in wine and grape products. Their capital stock will be twenty-five thousand dollars; and their chief place of business Brantford." Amherstburg Echo, March 16, 1888
In preparation for this project a five acre property was purchased near the West Dock, probably from A.M. McCormick. By September of 1890 the stone was quarried and by August of 1891 the wine house was near completion. In the beginning there were between fifteen and eighteen one thousand gallon vats in the cellar of the wine house. In anticipation of the completion of the project J.S Hamilton hired the Toronto Globe to design and print a large poster that featured Pelee Island Wine and Vineyards Co. This poster can still be purchased today from Pelee Island Winery at the Kingsville location.
"On the [left of the poster] appears the Vin Villa Vineyards, established on Pelee Island a quarter of a century ago, next comes the firm's extensive premises in Brantford; and in the right hand corner appears the new three storey Wine House of the Pelee Island Wine & Vineyard Co. (Limited). In the centre of the card is given the exact view of the interior of the company's great cellars at Pelee Island. Captain J.S Hamilton, the head of the firm, is also President of the Pelee Island Wine Company and J.S Hamilton &Co., besides controlling the wine company's entire product. [The company is the sole agent] for the Vin Villa Vineyards of Pelee Island; the West View Vineyards, Pelee Island; the South View Vineyards, Pelee Island; the Fairfield Plain Vineyards and the St Malo Vineyards, Tilsonburg. The firm's cellarage capacity [at Pelee Island and Brantford] is now a quarter of a million gallons. The extent of J.S. Hamilton & Company's cellarage and business enables them to thoroughly mature their wines before being put on the market. No wine is sold less than two years old. They have large casks containing hundreds of gallons of wine of 1885 and older vintage. The firm produce an excellent Dry Catawba and Sweet Catawba. A fine communion wine, St. Augustine, is used in hundreds of congregations throughout Canada ; an excellent unfermented grape juice to meet the wants of the Methodist and Baptist denominations is also produced. Brands of Port and Sherry are also in stock and taking the fine quality of the wines and their comparative cheapness, it is no wonder what people say: 'The Pelee Island Wine Company's wines are crowding out foreign wines.' J.S. Hamilton & Company made a fine exhibit of their Pelee Island wines at the Jamaica Exhibition, and were awarded a gold medal. Captain Hamilton afterwards visited the Leeward and Windward Islands of the West Indies and appointed agents for his company in all larger Islands. J.S. Hamilton & Company are making regular shipments to Great Britain."
Fortunately for the Pelee Island Wine Company the harvest yields of 1891 were of record proportions. The largest crop of Virginia Seedlings, Concords and Catawbas ever produced came in that year. The wine house probably provided cellarage for one thousand tons of grapes or about one hundred and forty thousand gallons of wine. The year the wine house was completed Hamilton was buying up grapes from island vineyards. Even into October of that year long lines of horse drawn wagons were seen loaded with grapes making their way to the wine house.
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J.S. Hamilton wine house1891
Pelee Island, Ontario
Credits:Pelee Island Heritage Museum
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Pelee Island Winery and Vineyards PosterCirca 1895
Pelee Island, Ontario
Credits:Pelee Island Heritage Museum
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Henry Miller warehouseCirca 1895
Pelee Island, Ontario
Credits:Lake Erie Islands Historical Society
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In March of 1892 a distillery for the manufacturing of Brandy was established on the premises of the wine house. Mr. Gow jr. from Windsor was sent by the government as revenue officer in charge. By June of 1892 the equivalent of thirty carloads was ready for shipment. The brandy distilling carried on into the month of August, but without safety measures the final work was often dangerous:"There was a terrible accident on Pelee Island on Saturday evening about 8 o'clock. At the Pelee Island Wine House, William Lester, an employee, was unscrewing the cap of a still, under the direction of Mr. Laborde. Dr. Ewing and Mrs. Laborde were also in the cellar. In an instant the cap blew off and the steam escaped in clouds. Lester was standing right over the still and was terribly scalded on the body and arms. Mr. Laborde received the full force of the steam directly in the mouth and inhaled considerable of it. He was rendered unconscious and for some hours it was thought he could not be resuscitated. Mr. Ewing did everything at once to relieve his sufferings, but it was not until 12 o'clock that the unfortunate man showed some signs of recovering. He was burned externally slightly about the mouth, but he suffered extreme agony from his internal injuries. The other poor fellow, Mr. Lester, was also in an awful way. When his clothes were taken from him, his body was in a sickening condition, and in some places the flesh was a scalded quivering mass. His sufferings were heart rendering, and he will be laid up for some time. Dr. Ewing and Mrs. Laborde were uninjured and it was, no doubt, owing to the doctor's presence that Mr. Laborde has a chance of recovery." Amherstburg Echo, August 12, 1892
By the end of August the Brandy distillery closed for the season and over time the injured men recovered. Eventually Lawrence D. Warner of England replaced Mr. Laborde.
In 1894 another ambitious enterprise was undertaken by the Vin Villa Vineyards when an expert champagne maker was brought in from the Epernay region of France. Machinery for making the champagne was also brought from France. The vintage of 1894 came to be known as L'Empereur Champagne. The wine was made on Pelee Island and allowed to ferment in the bottles. When it was ready for market in 1898 it was met with popular approval. It is believed that this enterprise by J.S Hamilton and Vin Villa Vineyards to be the only manufacturing of champagne in Canada at the time. Two different degrees of dryness were made: "Sec" and "Extra Dry". The final product sold for half the price of imported champagnes.
In 1918, after less than thirty years of operation, the Pelee Island Wine & Vineyard Company moved to Brantford Ontario. A few years prior to the move the building was no longer used as a wine house. When the store of A.M. McCormick burnt to the ground in 1915, the wine house was taken over as the store, likely in 1916. It continued to be used as McCormick's store until it too burned in 1935.
Sources:
The Vinedressers, Ron Tiessen, Pelee Island Heritage Center, 1997
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Bottle of L'Empereur ChampagneCirca 1895-1900
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Terry Matz Collection
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Bottle of L'Empereur ChapagneCirca 1885-1900
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Terry Matz Collection
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J.S. Hamilton Bottle of CognacCirca 1895
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Terry Matz Collection
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Wine House on Fire1935
Pelee Island, Ontario
Credits:Creighton J. Hamel Collection
Pelee Island Heritage Museum
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