Arterra Wines commissioned Steven Noble to create illustrations for their new wine labels that includes conceptual scenes of Thomas G. Bright. In 1874, Thomas G. Bright dared to dream that a Niagara Falls winery could flourish and grow. Arterra Wines honours this pioneer who had a bold idea: to grow European grapes in Niagara, Ontario / Canada. In the face of countless challenges, from the soil conditions to the unique Canadian climate and an army of naysayers. The illustrations were created in a scratchboard engraving style depict this struggle against those incredible odds. Thomas G. Bright, one of the pioneers in Canadian wine history, has been revived by Arterra Wines Canada with the label, The Audacity of Thomas G. Bright.

This might be a classic example of what happens when the marketing department creates wines rather than the winemakers.

The printed material with the wines reads: “The Audacity of Thomas G. Bright is an ode to a place where explorers and mavericks have been defying the odds for generations. When our founder challenged the era’s accepted wisdom and grew some of Europe’s most prestigious grapes right here in Canada, dissenters deemed his strategy too risky – impossible even – but today, we continue the legacy he forged in 1874.”

That may be great copywriting but it is dubious history.

There was indeed a real Thomas G. Bright. He was a lumber merchant in Toronto who, in 1874, teamed up with F.A. Shirriff to start a winery on Toronto’s Front Street. They moved in 1890 to a site on Dorchester Road in Niagara Falls to be close to vineyards.

Shirriff left the partnership to go into jam production. In 1910 W.M. Bright, the founder’s son, took over the business and ran it until 1933, when he sold it to distiller Harry Hatch. The Hatch family ran the Brights winery at least for the next 50 years.

Arterra’s news release this fall credited Thomas G. Bright with the “bold idea” of growing European grapes in Niagara. In fact, he died many years before the winery made a significant commitment to European grapes varieties.