Inniskillin
Austrian-born and monastically educated Karl J. Kaiser and native Canadian Donald J.P. Ziraldo, a descendant of a family of winegrowers in Northern Italy, founded Inniskillin Wines on July 31, 1975, obtaining the first winery license granted in the province of Ontario since 1929. Located in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the historic Brae Burn Estate, Inniskillin was founded upon and dedicated to the principle of producing outstanding wines from vinifera wine grapes grown in the Niagara Peninsula. Karl and Donald tirelessly tested the new ground of Niagara with better vines and superior winemaking techniques, grafting Old World wisdom in the New World terroir. Inniskillin rocketed to international notoriety when its pioneering 1989 Vidal Icewine was awarded the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo 1991 and drew worldwide attention to Canada’s burgeoning wine industry.
