Raise a glass to Tico

For Winehouse founder Eduardo Cornejo, 66, 'it was about celebrating, it was a party'

By: Ben Sigurdson

When Eduardo Cornejo arrived in Canada in 1976 with Cecilia, his first wife, he had little more than the shirt on his back — and memories of being imprisoned and tortured for two years in his native Chile under the dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet.

Over the course of the next 40-plus years, Tico, as he was best-known, would find new love, build a family, act as a mentor to aspiring athletes, turn his love of wine into a thriving business, and share his boisterous, joyous love of life with everyone who met him.

Cornejo died Jan. 26 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at age 66, after struggling with diabetes and progressive health issues.

He was born March 1, 1953, in San Fernando, Chile, the middle child of five. His father died when Cornejo was a child, and he and his siblings essentially raised themselves before he moved to the capital, Santiago, to earn an agriculture degree.

"He started working for the socialist government, the (Salvador) Allende government, in agrarian reform," says Karen Cornejo, his wife from 1992 until his death.

In the fall of 1973, when Pinochet came to power in a coup d’état, Cornejo’s life would change forever.

"He was politically active, supported the socialist government — he had a socialist bent to him for sure," says Karen. "He was detained and tortured for two years."

Leandro Silva, a fellow Chilean who came to Winnipeg in the mid-1970s, met Cornejo in prison.

"The coup was Sept. 11, 1973. A month later, I went into hiding, and we eventually got caught," recalls Silva. "Tico was already in jail. He was in real bad shape, between the torture and being very sick. A group of us took care of each other."

Cornejo met and married his first wife while in prison; she did much of the leg work to get the two of them to Canada through a program established by then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

He retained a strong connection with Chileans living in Winnipeg, many of whom came to Canada under similar conditions. Cornejo played guitar and zampolla (a flute made out of bamboo) in Latin music groups for many years. (Any party he hosted, or even attended, almost always inevitably resulted in Cornejo finding a guitar and singing his favourite songs.)

Cornejo and Cecilia had two daughters, Valentina (Val) and Paz-Andrea (Paz), before splitting.

Cornejo met Karen in 1989, when he was working on the loading dock at the former Manitoba Liquor Control Commission and she was working at the MLCC for the summer while pursuing a business degree. The pair hit it off.

"I was 19, he was 36 — he’s got kids, led this crazy life, a very engaging, interesting person when I met him," says Karen. "I had lived in a bubble until that time. He opened my eyes."

Their age difference and Cornejo’s still-developing English didn’t hinder the connection. "He sent me flowers on my birthday. It had this beautiful poetic note, and I realized I wasn’t forgetting about this guy. I jumped in feet-first."

They married in 1992. Karen finished her business degree (and later a law degree), and the pair moved into a house on University Crescent.

After being passed over for a promotion at the MLCC, Cornejo was looking for a change.

"He came home one day, when they were doing the second round of private wine store applications in 1998," recalls Karen. "He knew about wine, but not about business; I had gone to business school, and to me it was terrifying. I didn’t have time to be a part of it.

"I was cautious; I was a lawyer, with a good job, and I didn’t want to mess with a good thing."

After investing the bulk of their assets (as well as support from Karen’s parents), and with Karen’s help with his business presentation, Cornejo was awarded a licence for Pembina Fine Wines, which opened in 1999.

"Julia was born in 2000, our son, Paulo, was born in 2002. That was crazy… I look back at those years of my life as a blur," says Karen.

An avid runner, Cornejo had completed a number of races, including the Boston Marathon. When Karen expressed interest in running, he developed training programs for her.

This began a coaching career in track, specifically helping female runners. He earned coach of the year honours from Athletics Manitoba in 2000.

Many employees at Pembina Fine Wines/The Winehouse came from Cornejo’s running and track programs. Among them was Lisa Buchel. In 2000, Cornejo asked Buchel whether she might want to work at the store seasonally.

‘I said sure. I made the ugliest gift baskets you’ve ever seen — they were horrible," she recalls with a laugh. "I knew absolutely nothing about wine — Tico taught me along the way." (Buchel went on to become sales manager for Charton Hobbs, a wine agency.)

For Cornejo, wine was more than just a drink.

"He really pushed hard on the experience — wine is more than just the bottle, it’s the experience, the sharing of it with friends and family and good food," says Buchel. "It was more about that story; once you’ve been in the vineyard, it’s easier to talk about the wine, to sell the wine, to share those experiences."

In 2005, the Cornejos purchased a condo in Puerto Vallarta, and would spend most Christmas holidays there. On Jan. 1, 2020, Julia and Paulo returned to Winnipeg from Puerto Vallarta after Christmas; Karen spent the next couple of weeks in Mexico with Cornejo before returning home Jan. 15.

Cornejo was to return to Winnipeg on Feb. 1, but died the week prior.

"Tico’s health had not been great in the last few years. His mobility was really poor — he needed a cane to walk — and he was suffering for the last little while," she says. "But we had a nice last couple weeks together. I really feel lucky that I got that time with him."

His early years in Chile, including the horrific imprisonment and torture, helped shape Cornejo into the selfless, joyful and empathetic person he became, Karen says.

"He turned his horrible experience into something good. He lived in the moment, wanted to enjoy people now — the parties with friends, on the dock, at the lake. Wherever he was, it was about celebrating, it was a party. It was about not living with regrets."

ben.sigurdson@freepress.mb.ca