Martin is a 35-year veteran of the Canadian movie industry, having worked on many movie, television and commercial productions as a special effects supervisor. His personal characteristics include an analytical and creative mind and an independent nature, choosing hobbies such as climbing, flying, diving and cooking.

While Martin has never lost interest in the movie business, he has become financially successful in several other areas including real estate development and as a venture capitalist investing in other small businesses.

That’s where Martin’s winery story begins. In the mid-70s, Martin became interested in wine and began travelling to various wine regions to increase his knowledge and to add to his personal wine cellar. The change from wine enthusiast to more active involvement was spurred in 1994 when Martin was working on the movie Trapped in Paradise in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He spent his free time taking a closer look at vineyard properties and the wineries in existence in Niagara. Although he had been looking on a casual basis much earlier than this, it was only then he decided to become more diligent about acquiring a vineyard in Niagara.

With the encouragement of his partner Moira, who was equally interested in purchasing a vineyard property, Martin made a lifestyle decision to buy a vineyard in Beamsville and to build a weekend home. After acquiring this vineyard property in 1995 (now known as the Moira Vineyard), they oversaw their first harvest in 1996. By then completely engaged by the challenges of growing and making wine, Martin and Moira decided to develop a small but meaningful winery – and The Malivoire Wine Company was born.

Not purely a business decision, the key factors for opening a winery included blending a lifestyle choice with a love and respect of the outdoors, a life-long interest in wine, and the belief that they had the ability to build a meaningful vineyard and winery operation. It was also important for the couple to be able to actively participate, both physically and intellectually, in any business venture.

Since opening the winery, Martin has played an active role in helping develop the Niagara wine industry. His hands-on approach and innovative wine-growing style has led to his development of new farming techniques and technology advancements that have helped put Niagara on the map as a world-class wine region.