Niagara Farmers' Monthly

By Ann Marie Chechalk
Newly-crowned Grape King, Livia Sipos, with her husband Peter Kocsis.

The Grape King reigns
at Crown Bench Estates

Just outside Beamsville, nestled right into the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, sits Crown Bench Estates Winery. The day is summery, drenched in sunlight, the breeze is gentle and the large cobblestone walkway is surrounded by roses, sunflowers and marigolds. Tall majestic flower filled urns welcome you into the winery boutique. There, your eye is immediately drawn to the decanters of yellow, red and blue, filled with Ambrosia, Hot Ice and Berry Trio ice wines. What a welcome!

A crowd is gathering at the winery, waiting to crown the 2004 Grape King, Crown Bench co-owner, Livia Sipos. They are buying wine and browsing, smiling and saying, “It is a beautiful spot here, a very nice spot.”

Lisa Sipos Kocsis, the daughter of the Grape King is greeting everyone, laughingly commenting, “Now what do I call my mother?”

There is a rumour going through the crowd, Peter and Livia work together on this farm. “Why was she chosen?’’ A bystander proclaims, “Peter rides the tractor but she is the good organizer.” Livia Sipos, both mother and good organizer, is about to be installed as the 48th Grape King on this beautiful day in September.

As David Johnson, the 2003 Grape King, offers congratulations and advice to Livia on how to be kingly, he proclaims, “grapes must be impeccable to produce award winning wines like the wines here at Crown Bench.” Ray Duc the Chairman of the Grape Growers of Ontario confers that “Grape growers go an extra mile to make sure their vineyards look good, Livia and Peter make sure it looks great.”

“ Long live the King,” declares MPP Tim Hudak, “Livia and Peter are a quiet retiring people with very little opinion on anything,” he jokes.

A well-tailored jacket is presented to Livia as well as the chain of office engraved with all the names of the past Grape Kings. Her daughters are cheering and Livia states she loves being King -- look at the wonderful jewellery she receives. She expresses her feelings of being quite overwhelmed, honoured and humbled. Coming from a farming family, she has deep feelings for the land and the people who work the land. “Farmers do not receive enough recognition,” she states. “Sometimes it is hard to work year after year. In a surplus year the grapes don’t sell but we are so optimistic we do it again. We pray for rain, we pray for sunshine. It is an art, a culture.”

Livia Sipos is passionate about her vineyard, her winery and the grape growers. Although the reign is usually ceremonial she tells all that she is “hoping to initiate dialogue so the grape growers will get better compensated for better quality grapes.We will grow and prosper by quality grapes, not quantity, and grape growers don’t get that and that has to change.” She hopes to keep in touch with the Minister of Agriculture because “in my heart of hearts I am a farmer, whose husband just happens to make wine. We must work for the entire industry so young ones will want to come back to the farm.”

Husband and wife, Livia Sipos and Peter Kocsis, work together on the farm. Purchasing one of the oldest planted vineyards on the Beamsville Bench just nine years ago, they have spent the last five years working hard getting the vineyard in shape and at the same time establishing a small winery on the premises. Their vineyards are pruned to produce two tons of good grapes per acre by shoot positioning the vines, leaf plucking and hedging. They have created a winery on one of the most scenic locations, with a vineyard that produces world class grapes.

How hard it must be to choose the Grape King! Two Judges Ken Slingerland and Helen Fisher, who work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the University of Guelph respectively, are given this incredible task. With experience as growers of grapes and knowledge of what it takes to have a nice vineyard, they set out in just10 days to judge the vineyards and see the grapes at their peak. Fellow growers nominate the vineyards from all regions in the province. Of the ten to twenty that are nominated about five to ten will stand for the award. The judges, following rules set by the Grape Growers of Ontario, rate the vineyards by inspecting for disease, insects, innovative techniques, and the appearance of the vineyard. They examine everything from posts to soil to overall quality and varieties grown and then they choose.

To visit and taste the premium wines at Crown Bench Estates, home of the 2004 Grape King, travel along Regional Road 81 to Aberdeen Road, follow Aberdeen south, all the way to the end of the road and the edge of the Escarpment. The award winning wines and the spectacular view will be waiting for you.

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