T.G. Bright & Co. Limited

The ivy covered stone headquarters of the T.G. Bright & Co. Limited in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

In 1874, Thomas G. Bright and F.A. Shirriff formed a partnership with the intent to become dealers and producers of wine.    By 1890, the decision had been made to relocate the business from Toronto to the Niagara Falls area where the grapes and wine were being produced.   The Niagara Falls Wine Company came into existence when it purchased land on Dorchester Road in the former Stamford Township.  

Initial growth was slow, but by 1904, the company had reached capacity with over 300,000 gallons in its cellars.   In 1910, F.A.Shirriff sold his share of the business to Bright and the company then became known as T.G. Bright & Co. Limited.  

In 1924, a second story was added to the original stone cellar and a bottling line was installed, the first production line in the history of Canadian wine making. 

The front of the Brights Wines headquarters, ca. 1945. 

The Bright family sold their wine company to Harry C. Hatch in 1933.   Hatch had previous experience in the distilling business having owned Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts of Toronto.  Under Hatch's expert leadership Bright's Wines, as it become commonly known, began to flourish and prosper. 

Aerial view of winery options including iconic water tower. 

Under Hatch's leadership, "Brights was launched on a vast viticultural and vinicultural improvement program that transformed an entire industry.  It was an experiment that eventually demanded more than two million dollars in money; more than a generation in time; and a dedication to an ideal that bordered on the fanatic.   …more than two hundred imported varieties of grapes were tested in the more than thirty years since Brights initiated this far-reaching experiment.  Of these 200 varieties, about 170 were discarded after several years of testing; but thirty proved successful beyond the wildest dreams of the 1933 meetings."  Source:  The story of Brights fine Canadian wines

The rear of winery operations showing warehouse, shipping and receiving and cellar storage.