The Organized Crime Winery

About The Organized Crime Winery

The Organized Crime Winery is a small family-owned estate winery located on the upper slopes of the Niagara Escarpment in the Beamsville Bench sub-appellation. Founded by Jan and Krystyna Tarasewicz in 2006, it is now run by Ania de Duleba and Edward Zaski, and winemaker Greg Yemen.
Our 40 acre property is planted with 25 acres of vinifera vines, with the rest of the land consisting of woodlands, ponds, streams and naturalized areas. Our vines are farmed in a thoughtful manner using best-practice viticulture with the health of the whole vineyard in mind. We have adopted a ‘no till’ policy in our rows, and this approach has allowed for a healthier and more balanced ecosystem, with the native flora and fauna thriving alongside our vines. In the winery our wines are treated with the same respect, allowing the variety, vintage and vineyard site to express themselves clearly. While respecting classic winemaking techniques, we are never afraid to experiment and push forward. This approach has led to The Organized Crime Winery consistently placing in the “Top 10 Small Wineries in Canada” at the National Wine Awards of Canada.

Representative Biography

Greg Yemen, Winemaker

A lifetime ago while living on Vancouver Island working as a finishing carpenter, our winemaker Greg Yemen caught the wine bug many have fallen victim to. Upon returning to Ontario with his wife, Greg enrolled in the Niagara College Winery Program and gained employment at a small family-owned winery in Vineland.
After working through a number of Niagara vineyards and wineries, Greg joined The Organized Crime Winery team in 2014, and took over as winemaker in 2016. What makes his role unique, is that alongside winery owners Ania de Duleba and Edward Zaski, Greg farms all the grapes that he uses to make our wines. You are just as likely to find him in the cellar as you are to find him on the tractor in the vineyard.
Greg’s winemaking philosophy is not bound by any one ideology, but rather each vintage is approached with an open mind, and the desire to make the best wine possible. He has taken a very minimalist approach to our Chardonnay program, and is always looking for elegance and balance in the wines to truly reflect our vineyard site and growing season.

Why We're Cool

We are fortunate to grow our grapes on the cool and breezy upper slope of the Beamsville Bench. This ideal climate in combination with our clay/ limestone glacial till soils, are what allow us to craft elegant and pure vineyard-focused wines. With our long, cool ripening period, we consistently achieve ripeness without elevated sugar levels, while maintaining the benchmark acidity essential for great Chardonnay.
Our grapes are hand-picked on taste before they express an overripe Chardonnay character, and always with acidity in mind. The fruit is gently whole-bunch pressed, typically with no additions and the juice put to barrel with little or no settling. We use puncheon and foudre rather than small barrique, and always allow the juice to ferment and undergo malolactic fermentation using native yeast and bacteria. The wines are left to rest on their ferment lees for 10-14 months and battonage is avoided to retain freshness and purity. Every vineyard and winemaking decision is made with the goal of crafting elegant and complex cool climate Chardonnay.