Sometimes it takes a collision of dissatisfaction and opportunity to start an innovative and attractive business. Wine lover Marcus Ansems found himself in just such a situation in 2008. He was having difficulty finding high-calibre wines he was interested in. Lucky for Ansems, his frustration came just as foreign wineries were interested in marketing their product in a new and exciting way. “Invariably the really good wines tend to come from small- to medium-sized producers,” he says. “[They] can’t get their wines out because they simply don’t have the volume or the man power or the infrastructure to be able to deal with the large bureaucracy of the liquor boards.” It seemed that both the sophisticated consumer and the high-end winery needed help. Thus the beginning of the company for which Ansems is now wine expert, Hemispheres Wine Guild.

Hemispheres is a subscription-based club that delivers unique, difficult-to-find fine wines from around the world to its members. Although the company has yet to offer any Canadian wine, Ansems says our grape-loving nation is a great location for the start-up enterprise. “A lot of wineries around the world really want to get into the Canadian market. It’s a vibrant and educated wine-consuming market. Interest in premium wines from around the world is growing,” he says.

Ansems earned his wine expert title over 10 years in the business in a variety of roles. He grew up in an Australian wine-making family and spent his Easters among the vines of his uncle’s winery. He picked up the family tradition and got a degree in Oenology at The University of Adelaide. He then did as many Australian wine makers do, and flew around the world helping launch start-up wineries in France, Italy, South Africa and finally, in Ontario, where he worked for four years. He got onboard with Hemispheres in November 2008 and the club sent out its first wine offering in the second week of April 2009. In his new role, he still travels, and tries hundreds of different wines in each region he visits to source back for the guild. He, his wife and their four-year-old son visited the South African Winelands in August in search of premium wines for a future offering. They found some impressive Cabernet blends and Sauvignon Blancs that he hopes will take off in the Canadian market.

To access Ansems’ expertise, you must be a member. The guild caters to a range of interest with four membership levels for a spectrum of wine lovers (taster, enthusiast, connoisseur and icon). Membership fees range from $100 per month to $334 per month — close to half what you would pay if these wines were available in your corner liquor depot. Each bottle from Hemispheres comes with winery and regional information, and tips for food pairings and ideal drinking conditions. The difference in membership levels is defined by the quality and rarity of the wines as well as the number of cases delivered each year. As the category of wine goes up, the quality of product increases and the wines will likely be from very small batches of best-ever vintages. The icon collection includes 12 cases per year, which is great for sharing or building up a cellar.

One of Hemispheres’ biggest benefits is convenience. The wine guild eliminates the need to research and shop for wine. Each box is fully insured, so if a case comes with a broken bottle, it will be replaced promptly at no cost. Ansems hosts wine-tasting events for members in each Canadian region the guild caters to, and members are encouraged to visit the members-only section of the Hemispheres web site to discuss their new wines with each other.

Hemispheres’ referral programs are also alluring. For each member you refer to the guild, a free case of wine (corresponding with the membership purchase), is delivered to your door. If you refer 10 members to the guild, you can choose between a complimentary upgrade of your membership and a one-week vacation for two (including flight and accommodation) to one of Hemispheres’ wine sourcing regions.

Not only do members benefit from the guild, but winemakers themselves do too. Hemispheres takes on all the logistical work that may come up between wineries and Canadian liquor boards, allowing the vineyard staff to focus on creating premium wines. Ansems’ time in winery development has allowed him to maintain affordability for members, without shortchanging the wineries he respects. Wineries also get their foot into desirable markets, and their product onto appreciative palates.

As well as an impressive variety, Hemispheres maintains an eco-friendly mantra. They are owned by the parent company, EKO Canada (Environmentally Kind Organizations), that also owns Niagara Industrial Finishes, Accrue Professional Services Corp and Environmentals. By the end of 2009, Hemispheres plans to become a carbon-neutral company by offsetting its carbon footprint from travel, office and delivery; reducing its paper consumption to near zero per cent; and encouraging bottle recycling among members. The company expects a high environmental standard from its source wineries as well. “The wineries I go around the world and visit — I want to make sure that they are operating sustainably,” says Ansems. “It doesn’t have to be organic. I just want to see they are making an effort to be a sustainable vineyard and winery, and invariably the best ones are, because they have a vested interest in keeping their property going.”

As Hemispheres prepares to deliver its fourth wine offering in December 2009, the guild has plans to grow slowly and steadily. The guild would love to expand beyond the current markets (British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario), but part of the club’s appeal is its exclusivity. “We don’t want to be a huge club,” says Ansems. “Once we get too large we won’t get to work with those smaller wineries because they just won’t have the product for it.” With rare global wines and a potential free trip on the table, that may be a tough future to avoid, but Ansems is focused on keeping it simple. “If we get much larger we would have to change the way we do things, and we kind of like our model,” he says. “It seems to work for us.” •