How this pair of Ontario sisters are becoming leaders on the Canadian wine scene

It's been nearly 20 years since Ontario sisters Angela Marotta and Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli planted the first vines on the land that would later become Niagara-on-the-Lake's Two Sisters Vineyards, but they're not resting on their laurels any time soon.

This past month, they launched their latest venture, Stone Eagle Winery, poised to continue their mission of growing, producing and serving premium VQA wines that prove Canada's place on the world wine market.

"It was a family passion. It was something that our family wanted to do for a very, very long time," Melissa tells blogTO. 

"We have hospitality in our blood. I think that's what it is, just the love of sharing food and wine, and sharing our experiences that we love, with the public, and creating a space where people can enjoy high-end wine in a beautiful place, Ontario wines that can be recognized on the world stage."

Two Sisters officially opened in 2014, serving a 2010 vintage, and has become a pinnacle of the Niagara wine community and hospitality industry in the eleven years since.

Though the success of Two Sisters has been undeniable, Angela and Melissa tell blogTO that they have always had aspirations for their wine production and hospitality offerings to soar to new heights.

"There are a lot of companies that manufacture in the wine industry, and at times they will level down to take advantage of, perhaps volume and sell more of a particular SKU. We didn't take that approach because we wanted to maintain the lower percentage of tonnage," Melissa says.

"So we thought, listen, there are so many entry-level pricing wines here. We need to do something that is more elevated, because we want to push the boundaries of what the wine industry is within Canada. We can't just look at Ontario. So that's where we saw the opportunity."

That's where Stone Eagle comes in. Officially opened to the public on Wednesday, Nov. 5, the winery acts as a home to the sisters' most premium wine banner: a collection of five wines named after the imposing eagle statues that once presided over Two Sisters.

They've since been relocated to Stone Eagle, where they guard a breathtaking 36-acre estate, a tasting room where all five wines are paired with intricately designed bites from chef Jeff Crump, and their in-house restaurant, The Nest at Stone Eagle.

While Two Sisters is beloved for its warm, more casual atmosphere, Stone Eagle is all about luxury. Every detail, down to the glassware, has been carefully selected to create an air of natural elegance, making Stone Eagle an unparalleled venue for events, tastings and meals in the area.

Though being a women-led, family-run business in a historically male-dominated field certainly comes with its challenges, for Angela and Melissa, it's always been more of an advantage.

"We always approached it from a non gender kind of way, in the sense that it wasn't, 'Oh, well, you know, we're women, so what if...,' we did not anticipate or look for the challenges," Angela tells blogTO.

"We just did what we needed to do, and in a way, we kind of used it to our advantage, because as women, we are, in nature, more detail-oriented. We are good managers. We have a way of really connecting with our team and inspiring them to do better; we make that connection to them in an emotional way."

The teams at both Two Sisters and Stone Eagle, Angela notes, are roughly 90 per cent made up of women with whom Angela and Melissa take on a deeply collaborative approach. While Angela and Melissa might be blood related, their staff are family, too, and are granted the same consideration when it comes to making the wineries great.

As for being two sisters in business together for nearly 20 years, the biggest benefit, Angela and Melissa both agree, is "trust."

"I know if I was, you know, not there for a matter of weeks or a month, I know that things are going to be okay with her leading the way," Angela says. "We have each other's backs."

Stone Eagle Winery is located at 2080 Niagara Stone Rd. in Niagara-on-the-Lake.