From farm to table: grape growing and processing from the records of George Hostetter
Item set
Title
From farm to table: grape growing and processing from the records of George Hostetter
Description
The Niagara region is well known for its wine production. This renowned reputation was built by men like George Hostetter, a researcher and viticulturalist with the T.G. Bright & Co. Limited company in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Hostetter and his colleagues changed grape and wine production with their experiments and trials, with their collaboration with other North American grape growers and wine producers and their attention to the desires of Canadian wine consumers. This exhibit highlights some of the earliest efforts to produce grapes for the wine market in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Creator
Edie Williams
Date
1940-1960
Language
English
Rights
George Hostetter fonds
Subject
Niagara region
Niagara Township
Grapes - Ontario
Wine - Ontario
George Hostetter
The use of manure as a fertilizer component was, and still remains a popular solution to feeding of grape vines. Here a vineyard worker on a McCormick-Deering tractor pulls a large trailer filled with manure as workers spread on to the field.
The Niagara Falls Wine Company also known as the T.G. Bright & Co. Ltd and Brights Wines produced this brand of sparkling wine from the early 1900s until 1948. The crate is 8 inches deep, 16 inches wide and 22 inches long.
Vineyard staff on a tractor prepare to pull wire for the trellis system on a newly established vineyard. Trellis systems was one of the many research experiments conducted by George Hostetter early in his career with the T.G. Bright & Co. Limited.
John Ghetti was a long serving employee of the T.G. Bright & Co. Limited. His work both in the lab and on the field contributed to the success of the vineyard research division at Brights Wines.
In the 1940s-1950s when this photograph was taken some old time farming methods were still in use. Here we can see a vineyard staff member ploughing the field with a horse leading the way. What a beauty! Wonder if he/she had a name??
Drainage was an important element in preparing a vineyard for planting. It formed a significant part of George Hostetter's research early in his career. It was very important to provide proper drainage for heavy Niagara clay soils so that the precious vines would not rot in standing water.
Hernan Gras, a native of Chile, began his career at Brights as a farmhand in the vineyards in 1975. Within four years he was chief winemaker. Gras comes from an "illustrious Chilean winemaking family".
Douglas Hatch began his career at the T.G. Bright & Co. Limited by working under the tutelage of chief scientist and researcher Adhemar de Chaunac. He learned the wine business from the ground up.
The Brights Wine Letter featured president Edward S. Arnold in this issue from September 1985. Edward S. Arnold was the four modern day president of the T.G. Bright Co. Limited. He succeeded to this role in XXXX while Douglas Hatch retained the position of director.
W. Douglas Hatch was a son of Harry C. Hatch and joined the staff of the T.G. Bright Co. Limited in 1946. After learning the business from the ground up he rose in the ranks and became president in 1963 at the retirement of M.F. Jones. Douglas Hatch died in XXXX at the age of 61.
In 1983 the T.G. Bright Co. Limited honoured four retirees - Denny Parks, Bucky Waters, Steve Wodynski, and Roy Wood - flanked by chairman W. Douglas Hatch and president Edward S. Arnold
Douglas Hatch took over the presidency of the T.G. Bright Co. Limited at the retirement of M.F. Jones in 1963. This clipping from the St. Catharines Standard celebrated this appointment.
Harry C. Hatch purchased the T.G. Bright Co. Limited from the Bright family in 1933. Hatch had vast experience in the distilling industry and is credited for expanding and growing the wine industry in Ontario.
MF Jones was hired by Harry Hatch, president of Brights Wines in 1934. After Hatch's death in 1946 Jones rose in the ranks of the company eventually becoming president in 1959. Mr. Jones retired in 1963 but remained on the board of directors.
