2005 Tourism 1st Vision Award Winner

Hanspeter Stutz,  Domaine de Grand Pré

The various wineries in Nova Scotia have built an exciting dimension to the Nova Scotia Tourism product mix. This vibrant and growing business sector serves the tourism and agricultural sector through the development of the grape crops, a farm winery product for consumers and a retail component product for consumers and suppliers to the restaurant industry in Nova Scotia.

Wineries have become a great new extension to Tourism and while Nova Scotia's award winning wineries are individually unique and distinctive in their own ways, there is one operation that stands out largely due to the driving force and the vision of it's very proud owner.

Domaine de Grand Pré is not only an award-winning winery in the agricultural heartland of Nova Scotia - it is a recognized destination. The Stutz family have stimulated wine tours, wine tastings, festivals, community involvement, and educational wine programs in support of tourism and trade activities. The winery's patriarch, Hanspeter Stutz, is indeed a man with vision, belief in tourism and a level of confidence which has surely paid off.  A Swiss businessman, Hanspeter spent much of his early career in finance and investment banking in Switzerland. His involvement in the wine industry began in the late 1980's in Switzerland and while working on a project for a client, discovered an abandoned winery in Nova Scotia. In late 1993, he purchased the winery in Grand Pré. For Hanspeter, this was not a dream but a business opportunity in which he saw the potential for a connect to the tourism industry in Nova Scotia through such products as "Wine and Dine" and "Vineyard Tours". In 1999, Hanspeter immigrated to Canada and was accompanied by his son, Juerg, daughter, Beatrice, and their families. By 2000, the winery was reopened under the name Domaine de Grand Pre and also included a wine shop and restaurant.

Domaine de Grand Pré began as a tremendous challenge - it needed extensive renovations and a complete overhaul of the entire property. The Stutz family began the process of cleaning up the abandoned 30-acre vineyard, replanting it and developing 2 new vineyards in the Gaspereau Valley and in Woodside. Hanspeter's goal was to produce distinctive varieties and vineyard practices suitable to the soil and climatic conditions of the valley and region. To that effect, his goals and ambitions are have easily been passed on - his entire family has adopted the attitude of quality and long term thinking and work by his side to continually develop and evolve the business.

Hanspeter is a welcomed infusion not only to our industry, but to the Province as well. A great initiator for new events and new ideas, Hanspeter is a constant source of encouragement for his colleagues in the area to work together to bring focus to not only the region, but the entire Province. The winery continues to be an active member and supporter of the community, hosting several annual events for visitors and residents alike, and is actively involved with organizations such as Taste of Nova Scotia in the pursuit of higher quality standards.

In tribute to Hanspeter's own personal belief that "life is too short to drink bad wine", his projects have left a positive footprint on our tourism infrastructure. We are pleased to present Hanspeter Stutz with the 2005 Tourism 1st Vision Award in recognition of his pursuit and foresight in the development of new tourism projects to assist in achieving Nova Scotia's Vision for Tourism.