Owners : Rayla and George Myhal
Rayla and George are new to Niagara and wine making, but their love of wine and Featherstone in particular, led them to this transformative moment.
George brings 45 years of business experience from his time with Brookfield Asset Management as well as Windermere Investment Corp.
Rayla has 30 years of management, marketing and event experience and currently spends her time running the Myhal Family Foundation.
They have grand plans for the future of the winery and look forward to many years of collaboration with David and Louise as they move the winery into a new phase.
Senior Winemaker : David Johnson
David’s full title is Winemaker/Grape Grower/Tractor Driver Extraordinaire – but that’s a mouthful so we just call him The Winemaker. In 2019, David was honoured to be named Winemaker of the Year by Tony Aspler’s Ontario Wine Awards.
There was a time in 2003, just after David was named The 2003 Grape King, and Featherstone was designated Vineyard of the Year, that we had to refer to him as Your Majesty. But that’s all behind us now…even though Dave is the only person to have received both a Grape King title and Winemaker of the Year.
David’s farming background and studies in agriculture at the University of Guelph have served as a base for understanding the viticultural practices involved in growing quality grapes. His international experience includes harvests in New Zealand (2007) and South Africa (2016).
The Grande Fromage : Louise Engel
As co-founder, it Louise’s job to ensure any experience you have with Featherstone wine is excellent and that your visit to the winery is fantastic.
Louise also comes from a rural background and studied business at the University of Guelph, where she and David met in the 1980’s. Louise runs the office, returns the emails, plans events and works on creating a welcoming atmosphere at the winery, ensuring that your visit will be memorable.
The Other Winemaker: Kevin Qin
Kevin is the winemaker who gets his hand the dirtiest at harvest and he’s also the vineyard manager. Since 2016, Kevin has held a growing variety of winery and vineyard responsibilities at Featherstone… heck, he even gets to feed the sheep in the summer. It’s all in day’s work at the grape ranch. Kevin is a graduate of the Niagara College Winery and Viticulture program and his diverse background provides him with the experience and expertise to craft Featherstone’s fine wines year after year.
The Administrator : Jane Shook
Jane is Featherstone’s administrative ninja. For more than 10 years, Jane has looked after shipping & receiving, managing the office, ensuring the bills are paid, and much more. Much, much more.
We all know too well just how lost the team would be without Jane.
The Sheep Labour
Each Summer, Featherstone ’employs’ a small flock of sheep. Their job is to eat the leaves on the vines, thereby exposing the grapes to more sunlight and air circulation.
Sheep are ideally suited to the job of leaf-thinning: they are not interested in eating the tart, unripe grapes. Find out more about our eco friendly farming practices here.
