Some early success stories fuel momentum of new owner’s transformation

One sign of the transformation underway at Lailey Winery is – literally – the sign that greets visitors on the driveway.

It has been refurbished, to restore the original font and look. That sign was among several things the owners from 2015 to 2021 had changed. Things the current owner Matt Faik Turkmen, is changing back.

Lailey was one of the earliest vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, planted in the 1970s.

Donna and David Lailey sold it in 2015 and the new owners at that time switched focus from the fine wines Lailey had become renowned for, to high volume sales of icewine and large group tours.

Turkmen bought the winery in the fall of 2021 and began the process of returning Lailey to its roots. The last year has seen significant headway.

There’s the new sign proudly hung where the driveway meets the Niagara Parkway; wooden posts are being installed in the vineyard to replace the metal posts put in by the interim owners; and 23 new wines were released, some to critical acclaim.

Turkmen merged Stonebridge Vineyards with Lailey when he purchased the winery.  Many of the wines released this past year are under the Stonebridge label, made with grapes from his vineyard at Line 5 and Concession 5.

One of those, the Stonebridge 2019 Chardonnay Reserve East, won a gold medal at the Chardonnay du Monde wine competition held in Burgundy, France this spring. 

The internationally acclaimed team of Ann Sperling and her business partner and husband Peter Gamble have been working with Turkmen for several years now, both in the vineyards and the cellar. 

“It’s nice to be recognized. There are a lot of Chardonnay entries, so for Niagara to rise up to that level and to get a gold medal is a really special recognition,” said Sperling, adding, “we knew this Chardonnay was a special one, but it’s nice to have that affirmed.”

Wine expert David Lawrason credits Sperling and Gamble for the win. 

“To me, the quality is based on the detail that’s gone into the viticulture and the winemaking that Ann and Peter have brought to this. So, knowing who’s who’s behind it, I’m not surprised.” 

Stonebridge Vineyards produce low-yield, but high-quality grapes.

“The soils that we’re working on are clay, so they’re very fine particles and high in mineral content, but they’re meagre when it comes to things that promote bigger,” said Sperling.

“If you have a bigger vine and more vigour you can support a higher volume of grapes, but you’re not necessarily getting that concentration of flavour. So, by working with lower yield, we’re putting more intensity into the grapes that we harvest and, in turn, into the wine.” 

That also means the price is higher for these wines. The Stonebridge 2019 Chardonnay Reserve East retails for $78, while other wines under the label range from $42 to $110.

Lawrason, who is the vice-president of wine at Wine Align, provided this assessment.

“Certainly to the naked eye they’re expensive. However, my judgment is more about whether the quality inside the bottle is up to the price level,” he said.

“They’re definitely entering the market at the high end. To do that, the quality has to be top notch. And from what I’ve tasted so far, I don’t have a huge problem with the value to price to quality ratio of their wines. Overall, I think they’re doing what they need to do to sell at that price.” 

“It’s a separate market they’re after. I think it creates an updraft of quality. People start to expect some really good stuff from Niagara, which is great,” he added. 

From Sperling’s perspective, the Stonebridge and Lailey vineyards are very different. 

“At the Stonebridge vineyard we know that we can produce super high-quality grapes, year in and year out. Whereas at the Lailey vineyard, where it’s a bit cooler throughout the growing season, we know that we can produce wines with a lot of finesse and fruitiness. It’s a nice differentiation between the two properties.”

“When we reach the point where we say both vineyards are producing to their potential, because of the soil structure, etc., Lailey wines, to compare, will be less expensive, easily approachable, more fun, more joyful,” said Turkmen. 

The vineyard at Lailey is key to the transformation. 

“The vineyard had been neglected and it’s an old vineyard, and old vineyards have a life cycle. So, sometimes it means taking care of the vines and sometimes it means replacing certain blocks with new vines,” said Turkmen.  

Stocking the store shelves with Lailey vineyard wines will take time. 

“When we bought the winery, there was no wine inventory from the past except a couple of icewines dating back to 2015, which are wonderful. No question about that. But literally nothing else. So we need four to five years to put good Lailey wines back on the shelves,” said Turkmen. 

“Lailey was known for its Bordeaux varieties and Chardonnay, which will take some time to put back.”

In the meantime, there are a few new Lailey wines making an earlier appearance. 

“Some of the reds allowed us to make wonderful rosés and sparklings,” said Turkmen. “And we were lucky that the Zweigelt vines gave us something.” 

“Zweigelt is not a common variety, but it’s been on the Lailey property for probably 30 years. And they had a cult following for that wine. It’s a lighter-bodied red wine,” explained Sperling. 

Wine critic Lawrason is a fan. 

“I tasted the Lailey Zweigelt. I think it’s tremendous. It’s really well made from some original vines. I think they’ve got a real treasure there and there’s not a lot of it, but it’s really good.”

Turkmen noted, “When you have people like Ann and Peter around, sometimes you say ‘OK, I want something still top notch, what can we make?’ One of the answers was to make an orange wine with the Vidal grapes and that turned out to be wonderful.”

“The orange wine that we made from the Vidal is really lovely. I wanted to make it specific to Lailey. The aromatics that come from that property are really lovely and very different from on the other side of the NOTL area,” said Sperling.   

That 2021 Lailey Skin Fermented Vidal was scored 91 points by Wine Align critics and retails for $33.

“We’re really in a good position now to make presentations to the critics and enter competitions with wines that are ready to be judged,” Sperling said.

“We’ve gotten comfortable in the facilities and we have a good team to talk about the wines and to really represent the wines well. Visitors are coming through the door, so we’re making the effort to let the world know that we’re ready,” she said. 

Turkmen said they’re getting positive feedback from customers.

“I hope it’s going to be a good year. We’re seeing more visitors from the U.S., which is good news. I think we will have a better year than last year,” he said with a smile.