About

Violet Hill Wine Imports is an exclusive agency specializing in the juice of the grape. We are licensed to operate in Ontario, Canada under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to bring you exceptional wines of distinctive quality made with artistry and flair.

Violet Hill Wine Imports looks for grape growers mainly in northern climates including France, Italy as far south as Tuscany, Austria and Spain. The vintners they select know precisely when the grape harvest is ready, use traditional methods to produce their wines and have a reverence for excellence.

Dee and Pierre started importing wine in early 2008 to help an Austrian vintner in Burgenland. The winegrower wanted to establish a foothold in Canada. Violet Hill Wine Imports helped by agreeing to pour his unique red at a tasting of Austrian wines organized by the Austrian Trade Commission. The winegrower was a friend of Pierre’s uncle, Robert, who once tended his own vineyard in Vienna.

We discovered the merits of Blaufrankisch and went onto selling our first pallet of wine to eager Ottawa and Toronto audiences.

Violet Hill Wine Imports offers a slightly different approach to the product of the grape. The wines in our collection are produced in smaller quantities by small to medium size cellarmasters who provide great attention to detail and nuance. Regionalism and respect for the environment are important factors, as are finding those vintners who use traditional processes. We feel that by representing these vintners we can offer wines of distinction with unique character at a reasonable price.These are our goals.

In some Old World cultures, wine-making is considered one of the fine arts. In fact, there is a story about a cellar master in France who invited connoisseurs to sample wine from his new harvest. Each one rotated his glass, sniffed it, swallowed a mouthful and thought carefully before judging the wine. The son of the vintner arrived home, gulped down a glass in front of the guests and was told by his horrified father to go to the garden pump if he was that thirsty and get some water.