An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech was hosted by Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP at KIN Vineyards, located in Ottawa's west-end community of Carp. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Heard through the grapevine: Ottawa tech trades pitches for Pinot at KIN Vineyards
Call it networking if you must, but mostly it was a really good night out at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, where about 100 guests gathered Wednesday at a local vineyard and winery in the west-end village of Carp.
The annual gathering at KIN Vineyards brought together executives, entrepreneurs, business owners, CFOs and other senior leaders from the technology sector, along with many of the professionals who work alongside them, including accountants, lawyers, commercial real estate advisers and outsourced financial experts.
A shuttle bus, with stops at Bayview Yards and Kanata Centrum, meant nobody had to make the trek out to the country behind the wheel.
The event was hosted by Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP, four firms that not only have clients in common but are themselves closely connected to Ottawa’s technology ecosystem.
There was no keynote speaker or panel discussion. In fact, there wasn’t much of an agenda at all. It was just a chance for a busy bunch of people to step away for a few hours over drinks and food, said Bryan Haralovich, partner at accounting and advisory firm Welch LLP.
“There’s no purpose other than to let people have some fun, relax and network,” said Haralovich. “You can just be yourself and enjoy conversations without having to be ‘on.’”
The weather couldn’t have been better, and neither could the setting, with neatly planted rows of grapevines, wide-open blue sky, the occasional flock of Canada geese passing overhead in perfect V formation, and a sunset that pretty much stole the show.
An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech was held Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at KIN Vineyards in Carp, a rural community in Ottawa’s west end. Photo by Caroline Phillips
KIN Vineyards is owned by senior executive and strategic advisor Shaun McEwan and his wife Lorraine Mastersmith, who’s the national managing partner at Gowling WLG.
“It’s a very unique facility in Ottawa,” said Gowling WLG partner Dan Scott, who deals with a lot of clients in the technology and knowledge-based space. He lives nearby and has been coming to the vineyard and winery for years. “There is no other place that I’ve been to where you have this sort of outdoorsy experience while you’re having a nice glass of wine that’s grown here.”
For Susan Richards, co-founder and CEO of numbercrunch, the evening felt less like a standard business mixer and more like what she called “old home week.”
Her Ottawa-based firm provides outsourced financial operations to technology companies, including bookkeeping and fractional CFO and controller services. Richards brought some of her own staff to the gathering, but with very specific instructions.
“What I told them is: ‘Come and enjoy yourself. Show up with curiosity and just get to know people. I’m not asking you to go and pitch. This is not what this is about,’ ” said Richards, who viewed the gathering as bringing people together to build community.
From left, Ben Richards, Susan Richards, Fereshte Moradi and Eric Jacques from numbercrunch at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, hosted by Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP at KIN Vineyards in Carp, a rural community in Ottawa’s west end. Photo by Caroline Phillips
While the evening doubled as a client-appreciation event, the focus really was more about catching up with each other than on closing deals. One of the more interesting parts of the evening was hearing what people in the room are up to. Jay Conohan, for example, is coming out with a new fundraising platform to help kids raise money for organized sports. He’s also the guy who invented the Loud Cup, for those moments when a sporting event isn’t quite loud enough.
With so many of the sponsoring firms working with the same companies, and often with one another, the gathering was a chance to meet other professionals who could come in handy down the road, explained Martin Aass, CEO and managing principal of Cresa, which represents companies in their commercial real estate dealings.
“It’s a really good way to reconnect with your clients and also introduce them to others who could help them,” he said. “I think that’s one of the great things about Ottawa; people really do look out for each other.”
Some of the roughly 100 guests at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech gathered for a group photo at KIN Vineyards in Carp on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips
An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech brought clients of Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP together for a relaxed few hours of drinks, conversation and networking at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Mahmoud ElHewahey from PulseAI Solutions captured the setting sun on his smartphone camera during An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Justin Ferrabee of Commercial Payment Network, Nick Albright of BDC and Ray Rashed of RBCx enjoy a drink and some late-day sun at KIN Vineyards during An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Andrew Hudon (MaRS IAF) and Jason Flick (Northern Forge Studios) were among the 100 guests at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech held at KIN Vineyards in Carp on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Welch LLP’s Josh Raganold, Jessica Grandy, Brad Guillemette, Bruce Raganold, Bryan Haralovich and Alessandro D’Angelo at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech hosted at KIN Vineyards in Carp by Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Rami Abielmona from Larus Technologies Corporation, while at KIN Vineyards in Carp, proves some of the best networking happens with a wine glass in hand. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Alicia McCarthy and Valerie Anka, both with Export Development Canada, and Ray Rashed from RBCx soak up the sunshine, and a little wine, at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Representing Cresa at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech are, from left, Jasmine Begin, Katherine Baak, Zachary Coakeley, Emma Smith, Martin Aass, Dan Marques, Lukas Samson and Alex Childs. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Jay Conohan, who’s developed a new fundraising platform called FundFox Inc. to help kids raise money for organized sports, skipped the formal handshake with Andrew Holmes from Sleep Efficiency at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Bruce Raganold from Welch LLP, Julia Elvidge from SheBoot, and Ray Rashed and Lindy Ledohowski from RBCx at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Kyle Smendziuk from WebMarketers and Jaclyn Eisenmann from the Kanata North Business Association at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held at KIN Vineyards in Carp. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Julie Pandeya from Mercury Filmworks, Josh Raganold from Welch LLP, and Mary Ellen Dempster from Mercury Filmworks at KIN Vineyards in Carp for An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, hosted by Cresa, numbercrunch, Gowling WLG and Welch LLP. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Gowling WLG’s Dan Scott, Colin Green and Jessica Ward at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech hosted at KIN Vineyards in Carp by Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Ryan Hanley from Taskd in conversation during An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held at KIN Vineyards and hosted by Cresa, numbercrunch, Gowling WLG and Welch LLP. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, lawyer Dan Scott from Gowling WLG, business development director Bruce Raganold from Welch LLP, managing principal and CEO Martin Aass from Cresa, Welch LLP partner Bryan Haralovich, numbercrunch co-founder and CEO Susan Richards and Welch LLP partner Alessandro D’Angelo at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, which they hosted together at KIN Vineyards in Carp. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Ben Richards and Eric Jacques, guests at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, took advantage of their first visit to KIN Vineyards by touring the property. Photo by Caroline Phillips
An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech was held Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at KIN Vineyards in Carp, a rural community in Ottawa’s west end. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Josh Raganold (Welch LLP), Ross Morgan (CFO4Results) and Mahmoud ElHewahey (PulseAI Solutions) catch up over drinks as the sun set during the An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, James Baker, CEO of Keynote Search, and Martin Aass, CEO and managing principal of Cresa, at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech hosted at KIN Vineyards in Carp by Cresa, Gowling WLG, numbercrunch and Welch LLP. Photo by Caroline Phillips
An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech was held Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at KIN Vineyards in Carp, a rural community in Ottawa’s west end. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Sara Joudeh, Erik Watt-Sorensen and Kate Wolfe from engineering design house Syntronic at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at KIN Vineyards in Carp. Photo by Caroline Phillips
David Ewart of THINK Virtual CFO in conversation with fellow guests at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at KIN Vineyards in Carp, a rural community in Ottawa’s west end. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Amanda Conohan, Jay Conohan of FundFox Inc., Bruce Raganold of Welch LLP, and Shaun McEwan, co-owner of KIN Vineyards in Carp, at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Lindy Ledohowski from RBCx shared a laugh with fellow guests at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Megan Malone from FCC Capital, Brad Guillemette from Welch LLP, Valerie Anka from Export Development Canada and Jessica Grandy from Welch LLP enjoyed the kind of weather that organizers dream of at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech held at KIN Vineyards in Carp. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Shaun McEwan, co-owner of KIN Vineyards, in conversation at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech, held at the local vineyard and winery in Ottawa’s west-end village of Carp. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Julia Elvidge from SheBoot in conversation with Susan Richards from numbercrunch and Bryan Haralovich from Welch LLP at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Eric Jacques from numbercrunch played a game of cornhole with his colleagues at An Evening of Wine, Beer & Tech held at KIN Vineyards. Photo by Caroline Phillips
This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law, Westland Benefits and Ottawa Rapid FC.
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