So German!

Gregory Wertsch is the co-owner of Between The Lines Winery

(SoGerman) Why did you come to Canada?

(Gregory) It’s an easy question. I was 14 years when my parents decided to move to Canada, in 1998, so I had no other choice.

Did wine play a role in the decision to move to Canada?

My father’s family had a vineyard close to Heilbronn. When my grandparents passed away, the vineyard was sold and my parents acquired wine land in the Niagara region.

What would you recommend to someone who is thinking about moving to Canada?

I think people need more patience here even though the mentality is pretty similar in Canada than the one in Germany. Sometimes people are maybe too relaxed for German tastes. However, if you come here with the right motivation without being too pushy, you can be successful. After I have finished my degree in Geisenheim at the age of 24, I started to teach at College and after only one year I had kind of a fulltime position and was teaching for another five years. This is one of my most beautiful experiences here in Canada.

And which kind of position did you hold in college?

I was teaching many programs, for example, wine business, wine production, and vineyard management. Most of them were post-graduate programs. Then, eventually, my brother and I found someone who (…) was not really into wine before. He became our first stakeholder and gave us a quarter million dollars to start.

That sounds like a story from a fairy tale. And what was the intention of this gentleman to lend you the money?

My little sister dated his son for a couple of months. He then heard our story and was really interested and said ‘’Give it a shot’’. However, it was not only coincidence. We always had the right mentality to work hard.

What are the advantages of Canadian wine?

We can produce really good ice wines. Cabernet Franc and Gewürztraminer are really good as well. In general, we can produce a wide variety of wines. However, the possibilities in terms of exports are limited. For example, if a large German supermarket company would like to order wine from the Niagara region, we maybe couldn’t even produce the amount of wine they would require. The production here is more for the domestic market, with ice wines being the exception.

What are the advantages of living in Canada?

In general, every country has his advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes you have to accept that certain things work differently here, more relaxed. You have to know that and accept certain things to a certain extent. My father, for example, always struggled to get along with the more relaxed Canadian way of life, whereas I, who was going to school here, was more used to it.

Do you have still ties to Germany?

I’m still in contact with many of my former colleagues. My family and I also travel once a year to Germany to visit the grandparents of our children.

Thank you for your time!