Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 11 \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP Owning a winery is a huge commit- ment and that is where Calgary entrepre- neur Glenn Fawcett comes in. Not a lawyer but a commerce grad, Fawcett got bitten by the wine bug in California's Napa Valley in 2000. He went on to organize a series of guided wine tours in the Okanagan. Many of his clients were lawyers and on his tours after an idyllic day in the vineyards, a good meal, and a bottle of wine many would muse, "Man I'd love to own a vineyard." But the daunting, capital-intensive eco- nomics of running a winery and the sheer hard work tend to make those dreams evaporate. However, the experience planted a seed in Fawcett's entrepreneurial mind. How could he open the possibility of winery ownership to people without them having "to put their life's savings on the line?" Around 2007, he heard the Black Hills Winery in Oliver was for sale. That's when he got the idea of selling units in a winery. He started off with units going for $25,000 apiece and managed to move 456 of them. By Fawcett's estimate, 20 per cent of those investors were Alberta lawyers. The first offering of units was so successful that when Black Hills expanded recently to 49 acres from 34, it made another offering, this time at $30,000 per unit, and sold out. Fawcett's "first customer" was Dale Burstall, of Calgary-based Burstall Winger Zammit LLP. They had been friends since their days at the University of Calgary. Burstall did some of the legal work in organizing the Black Hills purchase and remains a director, while Fawcett is presi- dent. Burstall — who "used to be a beer guy" — admits to reading and thinking a lot more about wine than he once did, but he is mindful of the pitfalls of being involved in a business that depends on the vagaries of sun, soil, and the change- able public taste. He quotes an industry old-timer as saying "the wine industry involves the worst of farming and art." Ian Savage is a Calgary criminal lawyer, long-time summer resident of the Okana- gan, and a lifelong wine connoisseur. He was raised in Saskatoon by a mother who loved to cook ethnic dishes and a father who was an early member of the Opimian Society, a Canadian mail-order wine group and shopped the world to find the right pairings for the family cuisine. Despite his "passion" for wine, Savage has no taste for owning a winery. Instead, he calls himself "an evangelist for Okanagan wines." For him, the connection between Okanagan wine and Alberta's law com- munity is the vineyards' proximity to the Edmonton and Calgary areas and a shared admiration for "the incredible quality of the wines from what is a spectacular region." — GEOFF ELLWAND writerlaw@gmail.com Dale Burstall is a director of Black Hills Winery. GEOFF ELLWAND Osgoode's Professional LLM REFLECTING ON YOUR SPECIALTY REFLECTS WELL ON YOU Working full-time and pursuing your professional development goals is possible with Osgoode's Professional LLM programs. We offer you unparalleled fl exibility to attend onsite at our downtown Toronto facility or via videoconference. LLM SPECIALIZATIONS STARTING IN JANUARY AND SEPTEMBER 2016 INCLUDE: A WORLD LEADER IN LAW SCHOOL LIFELONG LEARNING Professional legal education the way it was meant to be. To learn more or to register for an info session webinar, visit www.osgoodepd.ca/info > Administrative Law > Alternative Dispute Resolution > Business Law > Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution > Constitutional Law > Criminal Law & Procedure > Energy & Infrastructure Law > Family Law > General > Intellectual Property Law > Labour Relations & Employment Law > Tax Law REGISTER FOR A WEBINAR TO LEARN MORE: > Monday, September 21st > Tuesday, September 29th Webinars take place at 1:30pm EST Untitled-1 1 2015-08-21 8:32 AM

• Cover