Twenty years ago, we harvested our first grapes.

For many wineries, that would be the beginning of the story.

For Rosewood, it was already decades in the making.

In truth, our story begins with bees.

The Roman family's beekeeping roots trace back to 1932 in Ukraine, where my grandfather, RW Roman, first learned the craft. Following the Second World War, he immigrated to Canada and, like many newcomers, began rebuilding his life from the ground up. Through hard work and determination, he established Holly Park Apiaries in Nobleton, Ontario, continuing the beekeeping tradition that would shape generations of our family.

In 1967, while continuing to operate his apiary, RW Roman set his sights on a new dream: establishing a meadery in Ontario.

At the time, mead was virtually unknown in Canada. Over the next five years, he pursued the licenses required to produce and sell mead. Five separate times he applied. Five separate times he was denied. By 1972, after years of effort and frustration, he set the dream aside and focused on the apiary he had worked so hard to build.

But the dream was never forgotten.

Watching his father navigate those challenges left a lasting impression on Eugene Roman. Throughout my life, I heard stories of my grandfather's dream and the frustration of seeing it repeatedly denied. My father often spoke of one day building a meadery in his father's name and completing the journey that RW Roman had been unable to finish.

As a child, I don't think I fully appreciated the significance of those conversations. Looking back now, it is remarkable to realize that what once sounded like a distant dream eventually became Rosewood.

Then, in 1982, while honeymooning in Niagara wine country with his wife Renata, Eugene made a promise.

One day, they would build a family winery and meadery together.

At the time, it was simply a dream shared between two newlyweds.

Eighteen years later, that promise began to take shape when they purchased the property that would eventually become Rosewood Estates Winery.

Everything our guests experience today grew from that dream and that promise.

The land was cleared and prepared. Vineyards were planted in 2003 and 2004. The winery building was erected in 2005. In 2006, we harvested our first vintage. In 2008, we opened our doors and welcomed our first guests.

I was fortunate to grow alongside the winery itself. Many of my memories are tied to vineyard rows, honey supers, harvest bins, cellar work, construction projects, and the countless jobs that come with building something from the ground up.

When a family farm grows, everyone grows with it.

Twenty vintages later, we find ourselves reflecting on how far that journey has taken us.

Over the years, Rosewood has continued to grow alongside the vision that inspired it.

Between 2007 and 2010, we developed our second estate vineyard, Blackjack Vineyard in Jordan. We expanded our winery building twice, first in 2007 and again in 2018, creating the space needed to support our growing winery, meadery, apiary, and hospitality programs.

Our bottle shop has evolved through two major renovations, in 2019 and again in 2024. Following the challenges of COVID-19, we expanded our vineyard-side hospitality experience with a larger patio and pergola after learning just how much our guests valued spending time among the vines.

In 2023, we added a full commercial kitchen and culinary development space. In 2024, we established our estate garden, allowing us to grow ingredients for the dishes served to our guests and further connect our culinary program to the farm.

Yet through all of those changes, one thing has remained constant: this has always been a family farm built through hard work, curiosity, and a commitment to creating meaningful experiences.

Every vineyard row, every hive, every bottle, every meal, every renovation, and every improvement has been shaped by the people who call this place home.

The bees have remained at the centre of that story.

Long before Rosewood existed, RW Roman and Eugene managed more than 900 hives through Holly Park Apiaries. Today, Rosewood manages approximately 200 hives across the Niagara Escarpment and another 200 in Oro-Medonte, continuing a family tradition that spans nearly a century.

Perhaps the most meaningful part of our story is that the original dream was ultimately realized.

The meadery that RW Roman envisioned in 1967 eventually found its home here at Rosewood.

What could not be achieved in one generation became possible in the next.

Over the years, we have expanded beyond wine and mead into a growing family of honey products. What began with our Niagara Escarpment Wildflower Honey and Creamed Honey eventually grew to include Nutty Honey, Smoked Honey, Hot Honey, and most recently Fermented Garlic Honey. Each product reflects the same spirit that has guided us from the beginning: craftsmanship, innovation, and a willingness to explore new ideas.

That same spirit has shaped our wines.

Over twenty vintages, our labels, packaging, and portfolio have continuously evolved. From traditional reserve programs to Lock, Stock & Barrel, pét-nats, Old Smokeys, sangrias, experimental wines, meads, and countless limited releases, we have never been afraid to challenge ourselves creatively.

One of the evolutions that makes me particularly proud has been our approach to branding and storytelling.

Over the years, we moved away from the traditional estate-winery model and embraced a more creative, art-driven approach to our labels. We took risks. Some worked better than others. But each step helped us better understand who we are.

Today, our labels are among the most expressive representations of Rosewood's personality. They allow us to celebrate artists, tell stories, and create wines that feel as unique as the people who make and enjoy them.

Looking back, I can honestly say there have been no dull days. Building wines, meads, and honey products with such diversity, personality, and purpose has been one of the great joys of this journey.

The greatest lesson we have learned over twenty vintages is to take the craft seriously, but not too seriously.

Wine is ultimately a farm product.

Every vintage brings its own challenges and opportunities. Some years are generous. Others demand patience, resilience, and humility. That unpredictability is part of what makes farming and winemaking so rewarding, particularly here in Ontario.

Our responsibility is not to control nature, but to work with it thoughtfully and respectfully, crafting wines and meads that are balanced, expressive, and enjoyable to share.

Farming also teaches perspective.

Over the years, we have lost vines. We have lost hives. We have watched weather undo months of work in a matter of hours. We have experienced difficult vintages, crop losses, equipment failures, and all the challenges that come with stewarding a living farm.

But that is the reality of agriculture.

You replant. You rebuild. You learn. Then you begin again.

As I've grown older, I've come to appreciate that this lesson extends far beyond farming.

The same resilience that carried my grandfather through five unsuccessful license applications and inspired my father to pursue a decades-old promise is the same resilience required to farm grapes, keep bees, operate a family business, and raise a family.

You simply keep moving forward. 

Anything worthwhile takes time, and few things teach patience quite like farming.

In many ways, Rosewood has been built on blood, sweat, and tears, or in our case, blood, sweat, and bee stings.

The setbacks are not separate from the story. They are part of the story.

They remind us that every bottle, every jar of honey, every harvest, and every vintage is a privilege that can never be taken for granted.

In 2025, we took another important step in our evolution by bringing vineyard farming fully in-house. Purchasing our own tractor and spray equipment represented much more than machinery. It represented a deeper commitment to stewardship of our land, our vines, and our bees.

Sustainability is not a marketing slogan. It is a daily practice of observation, restraint, patience, and care. Reducing passes through the vineyard, minimizing inputs, and farming thoughtfully requires constant attention. It is challenging work, but it is work worth doing.

Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without the people who have been part of the journey.

One lesson twenty vintages have taught us is that while family may begin the story, it never writes it alone. Rosewood has always been larger than the Roman family. It has been shaped by remarkable employees, interns, growers, artists, chefs, musicians, and friends who have all left their mark on this place. Their fingerprints are everywhere, and Rosewood is better because of them.

Many careers have begun here. Many friendships have been formed here. Many milestones have been celebrated here.

For that, we are deeply grateful.

We are also grateful to our peers throughout Niagara and Ontario wine country. We are fortunate to call this remarkable region home and to be part of a community of passionate producers who continue to push one another forward.

Looking back after twenty vintages, we are reminded that some dreams take longer than expected. Some require patience measured not in years, but in generations.

They also require perseverance.

The willingness to keep going after disappointments, failed harvests, lost hives, winter injury, and all the inevitable challenges that accompany a life in agriculture.

What began with a beekeeper's dream in 1967 and a promise made between newlyweds in 1982 became Rosewood Estates Winery.

Today, when I walk through the vineyard, watch guests enjoy a glass of wine on the patio, see our team at work, or hear the hum of bees on a summer afternoon, I am reminded that none of this existed when my grandfather first imagined a meadery in Ontario nearly sixty years ago.

As we celebrate this milestone with our team, friends and the estate itself, we are hosting a 20-year celebratory luncheon on Saturday, September 12th. Full details for the experience are available here. Limited seats available. 

What began as a dream eventually became a promise.

What began as a promise eventually became Rosewood.

And twenty vintages later, the adventure continues.

That perspective fills me with gratitude.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us, worked alongside us, and shared in this adventure over the past twenty vintages.

You made this dream, and this promise, possible.

Here's to our first twenty vintages.

And here's to the next twenty.

- William Roman on behalf of The Roman Family