Late Chilean wine connoisseur gets his own vintage

Opinion

In 1999, Pembina Fine Wines opened its doors as part of the second wave of private wine stores to enter the Manitoba retail liquor market.

It was spearheaded by Tico Cornejo, a former employee of the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (MLCC), who ran the shop on Pembina Highway, and then at 1600 Kenaston Blvd. from 2009 on (when it changed its name to the Winehouse), until he died from progressive health issues at age 66 in January 2020.

Raise a glass to Tico

On June 18, past and present employees along with friends, suppliers and others gathered at the Winehouse to celebrate 25 years since the store first opened.

Those gathered were also able to raise a glass to Tico with a wine from his home country of Chile that bears his name, image and signature.

The Tico wines are a collaborative project between the Winehouse — now run by Karen Cornejo, Tico’s wife from 1992 until his death — and Viña Ventisquero, a Chilean producer.

“Around 2002 or 2003, Tico went down to Chile, and he found Ventisquero down there — he liked their wine.They’re from Colchagua Valley, which is near San Fernando, where he grew up. He was very, very fond of that whole region of winemaking,” says Karen.

Tico was instrumental in getting Ventisquero wines into the Manitoba market (and eventually other provinces); their wines are found at most of Winnipeg’s private wine stores and on many restaurant wine lists today.

“Tico believed in the potential of Ventisquero when we were very small,” says Horacio Fuentes, former winemaker at Ventisquero, who now serves as North American director of the winery.

“When I first met him he was really charming — a personality that engaged you in the passion of wine. We developed a friendship very early. He liked to drink the wines, live the passion of the wines with his friends, family and his partners.”

Last year, Ventisquero reached out to Karen about the possibility of making a wine as a tribute to Tico.

“They came up with a few different wines, and they sent us samples,’ Karen explains. “Last fall, we had a little gathering here; we invited people who were close to Tico in the industry, people that were all part of our growth as a wine store. We sampled the wines, we did a little blind tasting, and everyone ranked them.”

The winning wine was a red blend made of Carmenère, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, made from grapes grown in the Colchagua Valley, which became the Especial; the finished product spent about 15 months in French oak barrels, and retails for $49.99 at the Winehouse (the only store that carries the Tico wines).

“It just really reminded us of him — it’s from Colchagua, it tastes like his kind of wine,” Karen says.

“Colchagua is one of the most traditional, established wine regions in Chile. The wine has structure, elegant tannins … everything is sustainable and everything is estate fruit. But the philosophy behind the winemaking here is a shared one, because we worked together on this,” says Fuentes, who came to Winnipeg solely to attend the June 18 event.

Because Tico was such a proponent of Chilean wines, Karen and the staff at the Winehouse decided a second wine, made solely from Carmenère, Chile’s flagship grape variety, was also in order.

The result is the Tico Gran Reserva, made from estate-grown Carmenère grapes grown in the Maipo Valley. The wine sees less time in barrel, and retails for $29.99 (also only at the Winehouse).

“Tico loved Carmenère — it’s such an expression of Chile. It’s the most widely grown grape in Chile, and it’s their signature wine,” Karen says.

The labels on both wines sport a photo of Tico taken when visiting Ventisquero.

“The label was a work of love. His name on the front label is actually his signature. I took a piece of artwork that he had done and signed, scanned his signature and sent to the winery,” says Karen, who is not content with simply taking over the reins and operating with a business-as-usual mentality.

“I’m so excited about doing some new things, keeping Tico’s legacy alive. We could sit here and drink Chilean wines and reminisce about the old days, but that’s not life, that’s not what he would want. I’m really excited about the new things we’re doing, and putting my own stamp on the place.”

Those new things include converting the kitchen and private events space in the back corner of the store into a self-contained wine bar, the first of its kind in a private wine store in Winnipeg; recent changes in licensing now allow the Winehouse and other stores to operate such endeavours.

The plan is to feature a rotating list of around 20 wines (and always the Tico wines) by the glass and in flights, including premium and cellar selections, along with offering snacks and pop-up culinary collaborations.

The wine bar is slated to open in August, and will operate from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday to start.

“This is exactly the kind of thing that fits in our space, and in our market, our philosophy,” says Karen. “When this store was built, the idea Tico and I had about it was to create a place for people to meet and gather, to enjoy and share wine and food.”

And while Karen never expected to be running the Winehouse when it opened 25 years ago, she has found stepping into Tico’s shoes rewarding.

“I’ll be honest, the first couple of years were really, really hard. It was hard for me to come in here, to be doing this without him — this was his baby,” Karen says.

“Going from being Mrs. Tico, as I used to always call myself, to becoming Mrs. Winehouse has been a shift, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”

uncorked@mts.net

@bensigurdson