By Adriana Ermter
Photography by Jake Rosenberg, Nataschia Wielink & Dan Ricci
You’ve opened your favourite bottle of red wine, decanted it to breathe and now, you are ready to pour yourself a glass. The burgundy liquid flows smoothly into the bowl, its brilliant colour moving along the sides as you gently swirl it, inhaling its deep scent.
Perhaps you smell blackberries, strawberries or cherries, then a hint of rose or vanilla. Lastly, possibly, a waft of oak, coffee or smoke comes through. You take your first sip, rolling it across your tongue to taste all the flavours. It’s an experience, a wonderful one with seemingly never-ending options to drink in and enjoy. And perhaps the best part — you don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to participate.
“Being a member of a Wine Club is one of the best ways to learn about and experience great wines,” affirms Angela Marotta, who, with her sister Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli, is the co-proprietor of Two Sisters Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. “When we opened in 2014, we knew we wanted to create a wine membership program so that we could create a sense of community and an extended family with other people who love wine like we do.”
In true Two Sisters-style, the two sisters over-delivered on this promise, offering two membership-based Wine Clubs: the VIP, with its open-member policy, and the Cellar240, which caps its membership at its current 240 members. The 1,000+ VIP members receive six bottles of the vineyard’s select red, white and/or rosé wines each quarter.
“Being a member of a Wine Club is one of the best ways to learn about and experience great wines.”
The Cellar240’s exclusive 240 members are sent an additional six wines — all 12 bottles are red. “Anyone can be a member to both, but we give first priority to join 240 to the people in our VIP club,” says Marotta-Paolicelli. “There is always a wait list, so being a VIP member has that extra advantage.” Winemaker Adam Pearce takes this opportunity to create special wines outside of the current portfolio for Wine Club members exclusively that are not available for sale to the general public. This is an exciting collaboration between Adam and the sisters, who take these curated Wine Club exclusive wines very seriously.
“The real beauty of our clubs is the community they bring. Our members say they feel like family, because when they come to the Estate for dinner or for any Wine Club event, they feel a sense of belonging.”
Advantages to both memberships, however, flow aplenty. Beyond providing award-winning wines to sip and savour each March, June, September and December, the clubs offer a long list of perks that include everything from complimentary wine tastings, invitations to Wine Club exclusive events and access to the Barrel Room or Veranda to host private dinners, to dessert and icewine pairings at the Vineyard’s restaurant Kitchen76 and front-line access to parties and events held at the Estate. They also afford loyalists the comfort of knowing where and what types of grapes are grown and nourished, how the wine is crafted and that each bottle will feature five-star quality and flavour — benefits that come from buying directly from a vineyard.
“But the real beauty of our clubs is the community they bring,” says Marotta-Paolicelli. “Our members say they feel like family, because when they come to the Estate for dinner or for any Wine Club event, they feel a sense of belonging,” adds Marotta. “Our Wine Club concierge Erika Cirocco-Cayouette, events manager Tara Moore, all of our wait staff and entire team know who they are. Our members have relationships with each other and with all of us.”
This personalization is part and parcel of the Two Sisters DNA and is representative of the real-life sisters. With a family-first mentality, they exemplify bonding through homemade Italian food, shared memories and good wine. Trips to Italy inspire new dishes on the restaurant’s menu, wine and food pairings, serving Chardonnays in a wide barrel glass and icewines in a small Grappa glass and more.
“We think outside the box so that we can share different experiences,” affirms Marotta-Paolicelli. “Everything we do is what we love and enjoy. It’s all very personal to us.” Says Marotta: “We don’t know how to and wouldn’t want to run our Vineyard including our Wine Clubs any other way.”
