Meyer Family Vineyards and Mayhem Winery change owners

Photo: Janice Stevens and JAK Meyer /photo credit Noelle Starzynski

Northlight Wine Collective, a new entity in the Canadian wine industry, has just acquired Meyer Family Vineyards and its sister winery, Mayhem Wines, both based in Okanagan Falls. The transaction was announced on LinkedIn by José S. Salgado, the Mexican-born principal and founder of Northlight, currently based in Oakville, Ontario. Purchase price has not been disclosed.

The transaction was also announced by the founders of Meyer and Mayhem in emails to their wine clubs. “What began as a dream,” JAK Meyer and his wife, Janice Stevens, wrote, “has grown into a remarkable community.” The reference is to the loyal wine club members. “As many of you know, succession has long been part of our family's conversation,” JAK and Janice continued. “Our daughters have chosen different paths, and we've always known there would come a day to consider what came next for the winery. Yet we never imagined how meaningful it would be to find the right partner to carry it forward.” That partner is Northlight.

“From our very first conversations with José Salgado, we felt something that was important to us” they continued. “José grew up around hospitality and winemaking before building a career at some of North America's most respected wine companies, deepening his understanding of what makes great wineries endure. He understands that Meyer Family Vineyards has been built patiently, over many years, through people, vineyards, relationships and trust, and he shares our belief that what makes this winery special should never be lost.”

A lawyer by profession, Salgado started his career as a law clerk in 2010 with a firm in Mexico City. His biography is detailed on his LinkedIn profile. He then founded or managed several restaurants there. Between 2016 and 2018, he acquired a masters in business management from the Tuck School of Business in Dartmouth, New Hampshire.He then spent almost two years at the Duckhorn Wine Company in California as a senior financial analyst, moving to Fetzer Vineyards in 2020 as a business development manager.

He came to Canada to join Andrew Peller Ltd. in Ontario in 2022 as a direct-to-consumer marketing executive. He left there in September, 2024, to set up Northlight. It appears that Meyer and Mayhem are its first Canadian winery acquisitions.

Meyer began when JAK, a former investment dealer who is now 68, planted a four-acre Chardonnay vineyard on the Naramata Bench in 1994. Little more than a hobby winery, it enabled JAK to get his feet wet in the wine industry. He even considered having Robert Mackenzie, the Okanagan’s leading winery architect, design a winery before looking elsewhere to expand the business. Late in 2008, JAK purchased a 5.9-hectare (14½-acre) Okanagan Falls vineyard for about $2 million. It had been the Stone Mountain winery and was bankrupt. It was renamed Meyer Family Winery. JAK and Janice replanted more than half of the vineyard with Pinot Noir, establishing the winery’s direction. JAK also purchased a small Pinot Noir vineyard in Kaleden in 2018.

“Stone Mountain was on an existing vineyard with a processing facility,” JAK told me in a 2008 interview. “They made wine in 2005 and 2006.” There were 23,000 litres in the inventory (some in bottle) when JAK bought the winery out of bankruptcy. “I was quite happy not to get the wine,” JAK told me. “I want to start fresh.” The wine was likely sold on the bulk market. To make wine in the plain-jane processing facility (no shades of Robert Mackenzie here), JAK hired Chris Carson, an Edmonton-born winemaker with training and extensive experience in New Zealand. “I was pretty lucky,” JAK once told me about that recruitment. Lucky or smart, the result is that Meyer Family has acquired many accolades for its Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, which are among the finest made in the Okanagan.

One of the unique traditions at Meyer has been the annual release of a “tribute” Chardonnay. The first was released as a tribute to Kenny McLean, a Canadian rodeo legend who came from Okanagan Falls. Over the years, an eclectic group have been honoured by having their names associated with one of the winery’s best Chardonnays, including Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer in British Columbia.

Northlight is also buying Mayhem Wines, which was opened in 2018 by JAK’s sister, Terry, and her partner, Andrew Stone. Mayhem shares the Meyer production facility and has in independent tasting room at Meyer’s Okanagan Falls location. Mayhem also has a vineyard on Anarchist Mountain overlocking Osoyoos, its own winemaker and a portfolio that does not conflict with Meyer.

The Northlight Wine Collective is the second investment group to announce an acquisition in the Canadian wine industry this summer. In mid-July, Fairfax Financial Holdings announced a $579 million takeover of Andrew Peller Ltd., which has wineries both in British Columbia and Ontario. This deal is expected to be finalized later this year.