Brad Royale and his business partner at Kitten Swish Wines, Mark Kuspira, have 29 unique offerings under their belt, which may sound confusing as they release their 25th offering this month: a spicy, tannic expression of old vine Kékfrankos from Hungary aptly called Better Late Than Never. With a few setbacks, this particular project took slightly longer than anticipated to come to fruition.
“There were numerous delays in getting this project completed, all of them reasonable and simply put, it just took this much time to get done; roughly three years from initial planning. Sometimes you have to wait… Better late than never.”
For those who may not know what a négociant is, they are the ones who seek out grapes from various farmers and use them to produce wine that will in turn be sold to thirsty consumers. It is important to note that while the role of a negociant is quite common in old world countries like France, it is somewhat of a niche position here in Canada, with less than a handful worthy of recognition. Brad Royale is one of those few negociants and an asset to the Canadian wine industry. His razor sharp palate and whimsical way with language, reminiscent of the writer Roald Dahl, partnered with an unparalleled passion and love for wine has brought many a delicious bottle to our market.
It should also be noted that this particular offering will only be available in large format—all the better for ageing! With only 75 bottles produced, this wine will be gone soon after it hits the shelves. As Royale noted, “The only thing that happens fast in wine is the drinking.”
