After winemaking stints at Niagara’s Daniel Lenko,Te Kairanga wines in Martinborough, New Zealand, and The Foreign Affair Winery, Ilya and wife Nadia followed their dream and opened their own winery. Nadia and Ilya first met in their hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba where a passion for each other, for life and for wine was born. Leaning Post Wines in 2013. Ilya, a graduate of Brock’s oenology and viticulture program (BSc ’03), knew he always wanted to make wine.
Leaning Post focus on small-lot Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Syrah. The name Leaning Post represents the essence of their project. Just as grapes can’t grow on their own, they need the support of posts and wires, Nadia and Ilya have had to rely on the support of family and friends to make their virtual dream a reality. Leaning Post began as a virtual winery and now has transitioned into a bricks and mortar (barn board and hand fashioned nails) winery located at 1491 Highway 8, in Winona, Ontario.