Three new wines from Therianthropy will be unveiled to the public at a special pop-up event at Chin Chin wine bar in Creemore.
Winemaker David Eiberg arrived in Creemore from California in 2018. He had originally been looking for a property in Prince Edward County, but fell in love with the Southern Georgian Bay area which was just beginning to emerge as a wine region.
Early on, Eiberg connected with local grower Chuck Magwood. Magwood farms 280 acres on the 6th Concession of Nottawasaga, and has been growing grapes for almost 30 years.
At the start, Magwood says, growing grapes in this area was hugely experimental.
“I bought this derelict farm and I noticed that wild grapes were growing in profusion,” said Magwood. “It was the early days of the internet, but I found a site which talked about winter hardy vines so I connected with the author and started out with some of his vines.”
Magwood initially planted frontenac, sabre bois and some hybridwinter -hardy grapes. They did well so he kept adding, learning and growing. Eighteen years ago he got some roots from Niagara and added vinefera grapes and never looked back. These days, he’s growing baco noir, marechel foch, pinot noir, pino gris, chardonnay, cabernet franc and syrah. He employs a system of covering the vines with geo tech fabric to protect them from winter damage.
“It’s very labour intensive, but it works,” said Magwood. “I don’t know of anyone else north of Niagara doing these varieties of grapes this successfully.”
Eiberg says the three wines, to be debuted at Chin Chin beginning July 18, are made from 2023 grapes grown on Magwood’s farm.
The first is a pinot gris. Eiberg describes it as like a pinot grigio but with some skin content that gives it more complexity and structure.
Next is a field blend.
“This is a light red that is meant to be served chilled. It’s a combination of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes which are grown, picked and fermented together,” said Eiberg.
The third new wine to be showcased is a big serious red — a blend of syrah and cabernet franc. Eiberg is especially proud of this one.
“It’s hard to get good reds in cool climates. This has the weight of a Malbec with a bit more acid,” he said.
Therianthropy means Human-animal shapeshifting in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Each wine will feature a label created by Michel Tolmer, a French artist who has a connection to Canada. Eiberg says each one is a piece of art.
“He does all our labels and branding,” said Eiberg. “We do 19 new labels each year and no label is repeated.”
The labels for the three new wines feature images of Magwood’s farm.
Until recently, Eiberg made his wine in a barn on the 12/13 Sideroad but he outgrew that space. The 2023 wines were made locally, but he has since shifted production to a 1,400-square-foot facility in Vineland.
In addition to the three new Georgian Bay wines, the pop up will feature the entire 40 wine library of Theriantrophy from their firstvintage to the latest offering. Eiberg and partner Anastasia Phillips will be taking over Chin Chin, located on Mill Street in Creemore, from July 18 to August 6.