Inniskillin is a Canadian winery located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Inniskillin, which is mainly noted for its icewine production, has played an important pioneering role in the modern Canadian wine industry. Since 1994, Inniskillin also operates a winery in Okanagan, British Columbia (Inniskillin Okanagan) in addition to its original location (Inniskillin Niagara).HistoryInniskillin was founded by Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser and saw its beginnings in 1974. Before embarking on the Innskillin project, Ziraldo was running a grapevine nursery and Karl Kaiser, a trained chemist, was a home wine maker. The first vines were planted in 1974, and since the duo had the ambition to make better-quality wines, their vineyard was planted with traditional European grape varieties, of the Vitis vinifera species, chosen from those cultivated in colder European regions. Their first vineyard, of 32acre was planted with Riesling, Chardonnay and Gamay.At that time the wine industry in the Niagara consisted of five bulk wineries growing American ("non-vinifera") vines, and no winery licenses had been issued since 1929. Inniskillin's license in 1975, which Ziraldo successfully lobbied for, was therefore the first post-prohibition license issued in the region. The company Inniskillin Wines was formally incorporated on July 31, 1975, and the first harvest occurred three years after their first vineyard was planted, in 1977. While waiting for their V. vinifera vines to yield grapes, they produced some wine from hybrid grapes. In 1978, Inniskillin moved to its present location on the Brae Burn Estate. An existing 1920s barn, thought to have been inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was restored for the winery's use, and has become something of a landmark.
Leave a comment