Jean-Pierre Colas was head winemaker at the reknown Chablis house, Domaine Laroche where he oversaw production for a period of 10 years. While at Domaine Laroche, Colas was honored with Wine Spectator Magazine’s 1998 White Wine of the Year, an award he received for his Domaine Laroche Grand Cru Les Clos 1996. Jean-Pierre is an International  judge , one of the very few  from Ontario invited in Selections Mondiales, the largest North American wine competition held in Quebec City.

As a winemaker constantly looking to further develop his skills, Jean-Pierre has spent time in Chile’s, Carmen Vineyards, Argentina’s Bodega Chandon (Moet et Chardon) and at New Zealand’s Oyster Bay. Jean-Pierre has studied and worked under a number of exceptional winemakers including Michel Givors of Morgon in Beaujolais and Gilbert Picq in Chablis, in order to gain an appreciation for wine making techniques in other regions of the world. It was that very desire to experience new challenges in the field of winemaking that drew him to the Niagara Region, where he combines an old-world winemaking philosophy with new-world technology to craft the best wines ever produced in the Niagara region.