The Roman family shares much more than just the same DNA. They shared the same school, same passion, same lifestyle and now, the same career.

Krystina Roman graduated from McMaster alongside her brother William. Since then, the two have been working to raise the profile of their family's winery, “Rosewood Estate Winery & Meadery” using the skills they learned at the DeGroote School of Business.

“Within days of graduation I was already using the knowledge I gained at DeGroote. It felt like the words were popping off of the textbook page,” explains Krystina.

Rosewood Estate Winery launched during Krystina's last
year of school at DeGroote. Returning home, she quickly found herself developing industry analyses, strategic marketing initiatives and selling wine to businesses, restaurants and the LCBO.

“Because I took such a variety of classes at DeGroote, I was able to fulfill so many positions in the business. My dad is the leader, but I take care of the day-to-day operationssales, public relations, human resources, marketing, operationseverything,” said Krystina. “William focuses on developing the honey business.”

Krystina knew that her family's winery had to differentiate itself from the rest of the offerings available in Niagara. Producing mead, a honey wine made from Rosewood's on-site bee farm, was the competitive edge Krystina was looking for. Rosewood is the only winery in Niagara to make honey wine.

“Bee keeping and making honey wine has been in our family for generations,” she explains. “Selling it in the wine market was definitely our competitive strategy, and we've gained a lot of attention as a result.”

Rosewood is gaining momentum in the wine industry. It won gold at the 2009 Canadian Wine Awards for its Pinot Noir (2007), Toronto Life magazine named the Pinot Noirs as a “local legend” and most recently, Rosewood has been incorporated into the LCBO Vintages across the province.

“I realize that DeGroote helped me develop the skills to compete in the Canadian market,” Krystina explains. “Canada is a diverse country and so my approach to sales and marketing has to be diverse as well. Understanding this has allowed me the ability to close deals with clients and I am now thanking DeGroote for that training.”