Academy Award-winning director James Cameron has bought Vancouver Island’s Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery from founders Jeff and Susan Vandermolen for an undisclosed amount, Jeff Vandermolen told Business in Vancouver February 13.
Originally from Ontario, Cameron is a celebrated Hollywood director famous for directing blockbuster films such as the Terminator, Titanic and Avatar.
“The deal is never done until the money is in the bank but that’s happened now,” Vandermolen said.
The property had been listed for $1.3 million plus inventory.
The Vandermolens decided to put their property on the market after a potential buyer approached them in 2012.
Instead of selling, they decided to do an evaluation of how much the winery was worth and get as many offers as possible.
“We had a lot of potential interest from buyers in China this past year, none of which panned out,” Vandermolen said. “Then our Realtor was showing the Cameron family some properties in the Alberni Valley and the Cowichan Valley. She said, ‘You know, I’ve got this listing up in the Comox Vally that I’d like you to take a look at.”
Originally James Cameron and wife Suzy Amis were not interested in the property because it had a winery, Vandermolen said. Then, they changed their mind and visited the property in October.
“They basically fell in love with the idea of running a winery and all the great things going on here in the Comox Valley from a culinary and agricultural point of view.”
Cameron has installed a new winery manager, Mark Timmermans.
Neither Timmermans nor Cameron were available for comment by press time.
