If life gives you berries, why not make wine?

Lionel Rodrigues is standing behind a bar, pouring samples of his family’s award-winning fruit wines while telling the remarkable tale of Newfoundland and Labrador’s first winery.

Remarkable? Rodrigues Winery & Distillery is in Markland, an unpretentious farming town located about 90 kilometres inland from St. John’s—a small community that, at first blush, would seem an unlikely epicentre for wine and wellness. The winery and its newer sister business, a nutraceutical company with partnerships around the globe, is housed in a former cottage hospital where many locals still recall being born.

Remarkable, given Dr. Hilary Rodrigues and his wife, Marie-France, didn’t plan to put down roots when they first stepped on Newfoundland soil, in 1974. He, the Tanzania-born, India and England-educated young dentist, and she, a native of France, had come for a month with their two-year-old daughter, Vanessa (son Lionel arrived two years later), to visit a colleague who had interned in Newfoundland, and who had married a local girl. They fell in love with the landscape and the people, and decided to stay themselves.

“Newfoundland was—is—full of opportunities,” says Hilary, 68. “It is a beautiful province and the people are exceptionally friendly. I had opportunities to go to Zambia, Bahamas and Bavaria. However, the people in Newfoundland won the day. That was 38 years ago.”

A crazy idea from a dentist

When Hilary was introduced to the region’s homemade berry wine, he immediately wondered why no-one had tried to commercialize it.

“People said nobody was going to buy Newfoundland wine,” recalls son Lionel, 36, who now runs the company.

Then one Christmas Eve, Hilary attended a party held by a friend, who served excellent blueberry wine.

“I thought it compared very favourably with any on the market,” Hilary says. “I decided to make my own, in our laundry room.”

He researched formulas for making blueberry wine, then started making batches in five-gallon buckets. “My batches grew into 30-gallon drums, and the house smelled like a brewery.... My wife gently advised me to look for another location.”

In 1985, Hilary bought the vacant and vandalized Markland Cottage Hospital. He began making wine there in the basement, using blueberries, cranberries, black currants and cloudberries.

Many scoffed—including government. Hilary couldn’t get a license to sell his wine.

“Government agencies thought that a winery was a very crazy idea from a dentist,” recalls Hilary, who has practiced in nearby Whitbourne for 38 years, and has now scaled back to one day a week.

“They did not have confidence in what could be accomplished. They also possibly felt that we could not compete with the mainland wineries.”

Undeterred, he made 500 cases of wine, thinking that they would have a great party if he didn’t get a license. Each case of wine held 12 bottles—totalling 6,000. “I really had a strong belief in my ability to make things happen,” he says.

It took nearly five years, but eventually the government changed, and the new minister of finance gave Hilary the green light. The entrepreneurial dentist from Whitbourne was finally able to cut the herculean amount of red tape, and see his batch of 500 cases sell out in 10 days. That was 1993.

Today—nearly two decades later—Rodrigues Winery is the largest primarily fruit winery in Canada, and the only fully kosher winery. The company makes brandy, liqueur and vodka as well as wine.

In 2005, it launched a nutraceutical company, Sedna Nutraceuticals, turning hand-picked local berries into powders and flakes that can be added to juices and smoothies, providing a vitamin and antioxidant punch. (The word “nutraceutical” is derived from nutrition and pharmaceutical.) Through various partnerships and products, the company’s nutraceutical network stretches from Korea to Brazil, Ireland to New York.

Still, success has not come without challenges. Hilary says that, until last year, cottage wineries paid the highest business taxes in Canada, and Newfoundland wineries paid more than similar businesses in other provinces.

Lionel’s path came roundabout as well. After a stint at university, he backpacked around Europe, making his way as far as Egypt and Israel by washing dishes, picking fruit and doing general labour.

After two years of low-paying jobs he decided to return to university, where he focused on environmental and food science.

“One thing I noticed throughout my travels was that sustainable industry had been developed around the world based on things akin to what we have at home in Newfoundland,” says Lionel, who now has two young children.

“Most places would capitalize on anything that pertained to clean, healthy living, an experience that we have an untapped abundance of.”

Healthy soil, water and air

Back at the winery in the former hospital, the décor has changed little since the days it bustled with everything from surgery to expectant moms: walls are filled with period photos; original plaques announce “Ladies Ward,” “Nurses Station,” “Operating Room.”

Although the hospital has closed, the building’s connection to good health continues. “[Sedna Nutraceuticals] is all about wellness products,” says Hilary.

The idea stemmed in part from Hilary’s appreciation for Newfoundland’s clean, virtually smog-free natural environment. In addition, that Newfoundland is not a traditional farming area means it was not as affected by 1970s farming methods, where pesticide and fertilizer usage made farming regions more productive but at the cost of the long-term health of the soils and environment, he says.

“This leaves us with healthy soil, water, and air, and places Newfoundland as a frontrunner in the world regarding the health of our land, sea, and air.”

Where there’s a will

Hilary’s initial goal was to bring back the Newfoundland tradition of blueberry wine, but wine from other indigenous berries soon followed. “We wanted to use our Newfoundland fruits here in the province, as opposed to sending them out for further processing,” he says. “Our aim was to process all available berries here, thereby creating sustainable jobs and innovation in processing.”

A $125,000 feasibility study confirmed the company should proceed with the nutraceutical business.

“Our aim was to make Newfoundland a province where we made wellness products for the global market. These products would be great for the body but also tasty. Tablets. Capsules. Juices, raisin-type products and chocolates that were healthy indulgences, fruit leathers, and a host of other products.

“In addition to phytonutrients [the products] have a high concentration of antioxidants, which neutralize the free radicals that can cause health problems. If these products are ingested, they will boost the immune system, and the result is much better health.

“We are making them with cutting-edge technologies that have a very small carbon footprint,” he adds.

Today, the company is the largest producer of berries in Newfoundland, employing 10 people full-time year-round, and up to 16 during peak seasons. With increasing products and partnerships, the business is poised to expand ever further. It’s a far cry from the days when Hilary fought to get a license.

Why did he stick with it?

“Easy,” he says.

“My dental practice was excellent and I have given continuous service for 38 years. I wanted to give back to the province and people for what my family was given.

“I also have my mother to thank, for she always drummed this saying into me: ‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’”