It’s not about the wine for Adrian Trochta. It’s about the experience. And 25 years later Cox Creek Winery celebrates a story of family, grief, immigration and perseverance.
Trochta’s parents Jerry and Kamil came to Guelph from Czechoslovakia in 1968.
“So the Russians, much like they are today in the Ukraine, they came rolling into Eastern Europe, and decided to impose their will, if you will, on the nations of Eastern Europe. And my parents were very vocally outspoken about communist rule. And my father, being a gentleman in the media was kind of at the point where he was asked to join the party or ensue the consequences. So he decided to flee,” said Trochta.
During the time his father had a then girlfriend, later on wife, Jerry. She was a nurse in England. Trockta’s father had a contact in Guelph who got him a flight there. “And the only reason my dad could get out of Bratislava, which is the capital of the Slovak Republic, was because he had a press pass and a Visa. The borders were already closed,” he said.
“I think it was the 27th of December, they flew into Pearson Airport in Toronto, drove down the 401 ... stopped at the Mohawk raceway,” Trochta said.
In 1981 his parents opened KJ Urban Winery which is still in Guelph today. The business sources European grape juices to make wine.
In 1998 Cox Creek Winery was founded on Wellington Road 22 just north of Guelph.
On Saturday, while celebrating the 25th anniversary, friends and family came through sharing wine by the fire.
The Canadian alcohol and beverage industry is quite different than countries in Europe.
“You have seasonal consumptions of beverage alcohol, you know, you have more beer at certain times, more spirits at certain times, you have wine at certain times. All that sort of stuff. Whereas in Europe … the seasons definitely play into it. But the seasons play more into it, not because of the way that we purchase and consume. But they play into it based on history, tradition, lifestyle,” said Trochta.
He helped his parents open the winery and in 2004 he took a different career path. Trochta took over the winery from his parents in 2021 and is building his family home on the property.
Trochta’s father had dementia and his mother couldn’t run the business and focus on her husband at the same time. Kamil passed away in 2021 from COVID, leaving his family and a lasting legacy of wine with many bottles he personally named.
“My mother is 81 now. She is, you know, the backbone of an individual. She is … still an ox. Can outwork … the majority of teammates that I have here,” said Trochta.
Jerry was at the anniversary party warmly dressed with a cup of coffee in hand greeting everyone as she walked around.
When the winery opened it wasn’t a Designated Viticultural Areas (DVA) like the Niagara Peninsula is. At the time the LLBO now the AGCO did not allow for places outside of a DVA to produce 100 per cent grape wines, said Trochta.
At the start Cox Creek produced fruit wines, and it still does. Apple orchards fill the property across from the vineyard. “Now, we still carry quite a few different wines to kind of pay homage to our history and our heritage and everything that brought us to this point,” said Trochta
In 2016 things changed and if wineries outside a DVA wanted to produce a grape wine they needed a minimum amount of acres of grapes growing. Cox Creek applied, planted grapes, the vineyard was inspected and now they offer wines with 100 per cent of grapes grown from its property.
“It's not what we create because there are 150 other wineries in Ontario that produce wines that are probably a very similar quality to our own. But here in Wellington County, Guelph, Fergus, Elora there's no other winery. There's nobody else that can offer the experience that we can offer. And, thankfully, for people like us, we were able to see the trend sort of start from a spark and turn into this raging fire now that is buying and supporting local,” said Trochta.