In the early 2000's, Inniskillin's Icewine had pretty much taken over Asia, with a bottle - typically two - pretty much occupying every household. So formidable was its unique aromatics and taste, of course very much bolstered by its beguiling sweetness, that even those who had no interest in wines or even alcoholic beverages for that matter, would almost certainly pick up bottles at the duty-free, which they would in the years following covet as if it were treasure, typically keeping it stashed away never to be uncorked for at least another decade - if the households of Asia were checked, it is almost certain that we would amass some solidly 20-30 year old Inniskillin's; which would make a great tasting event for sure. It would not be uncommon to hear at the dinner table or at a get together, that there was some Inniskillin Icewine that could be opened and shared - a mark of great hospitality and generosity on the part of the host. It's therefore remarkable to consider that this revolution was set forth by simply how striking Inniskillin's Icewine's was - that first sniff and taste enough to set forth a great turning. If so, I'd wager then that this reformation in Asian attitudes towards wine must have been achieved on the smallest per milliliter basis - just one drop was enough!

Today we go behind the unassailable reputation of Inniskillin and find out how two men brought Canadian winemaking to the global stage. This is the Inniskillin story.

A young Donald Ziraldo with a destiny for the vines.

It was 1971, a young Donald had just recently started a grapevine nursery that sold European grape varieties, as well as several hybrids that Donald had been experimenting with during his university days at the University of Guelph in Ontario where he had completed a degree in agriculture. Donald was the son of Italian immigrants who had hailed from Fagagna in the Friuli region (today known for bright and crisp white wines, as well as the very fashionable orange wines that have become a staple at indie wine bars) hoping to escape the economic depression that had fallen on Italy after World War I - his father as it turns out was just 15 when he had stowed away to Ontario - and so having come from an agricultural community, it was unsurprising that Donald's family would export to Canada mixed fruit farms (that was, after they had saved up enough from working as gold miners), growing peaches, apricots and of course grapes. Donald's father, Fiorello, had carried over a mix of French hybrid varieties that were uncommon in Ontario at the time, with the region predominantly growing indigenous Niagara varieties (primarily of the vitis labrusca species) that were relied upon for their hardiness against the harsh cold, yet however produced a mediocre wine at best that most peculiarly came with what was widely termed a "foxy" taste (described as wild, animalic and musky; likened to a fox's fur). And so as a child, Donald would often accompany his father to deliver these French grapes to various wineries in Ontario, spurring Donald's interest in the subject.

Unfortunately, whilst Donald was still a teenager, his father's decades in the mines had resulted in a fatal illness that would claim his life, and in turn forced Donald to take over the family's fruit farm, Ziraldo Farms and Nursery, which was further emphasised by his mother who believed that a degree in agriculture would serve the family's farm well. When Donald had graduated, his mother Irma would gift him a gold ring that his father had fashioned from ores that he had dug up whilst working as a miner, and carved on it was a grape bunch growing on a vine - for Donald, this was a sign of his destiny. 

Vitis Labrusca varietals were distinctive for their "foxy" taste.

Building upon his father's work, Donald would continue to develop on the vitis vinifera European species that is what is used around the world for the best known wines from Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot, Pinot Noir to Syrah, Chardonnay to Riesling. He was also increasingly intrigued about the possibility of making French style wines having observed that European regions that could cultivate vitis vinifera with ease were not even able to grow more tender fruits like peaches that was already a local staple in Ontario. On top of that, whilst commercial wineries in Canada at the time still primarily used local vitis labrusca grape varieties, Donald had know that there were increasingly more experimental wineries that had begun toying with Chardonnay, as well as hybrids such as Marechal Foch and De Chaunac (named in honour of Canadian winery, Bright's enologist), the latter of which further cemented Donald's suspicion that cultivating these vitis vinifera varieties that were deemed too susceptible for Ontario's winters was perhaps possible.

Karl Kaiser.

And so whilst Donald Ziraldo continued to experiment at his nursery, this one day in 1971, he would find a fresh Austrian emigre showing up at his nursery unannounced, having found a newspaper ad touting the sale of European rootstocks, before deftly inciting a little bit of an argument with Ziraldo, claiming that Canadian grapes made for terrible wines. The man had recently moved over from Austria with his wife and child to Ontario, and had begun work as a science teacher. He would complain to Donald of how difficult it was to find good locally made Canadian wines to enjoy at home, not the least of which one that didn't taste foxy - he had concluded that Canadian grapes were simply not cut out for winemaking, and as a result he had come to Ziraldo looking for European vines, preferring to go through the painstaking process of simply growing his own wines. Ziraldo being the patriot that he was, had taken offence to the assertion, to which the Austrian visitor would next show up with a bottle of homemade De Chaunac rosé wine to prove his point. Ziraldo was astonished. The wine was excellent and conclusively demonstrated that it was indeed possible to make great wines in Canada if only better varietals and hybrids were used. That Austrian immigrant was none other than one Karl Kaiser - today often called the Grandfather of Canadian winemaking. Spoiler alert: the two would come together to form Inniskillin and change Canadian winemaking forever.

Now Kaiser was 7 years older than Ziraldo and the two men had vastly differing backgrounds and personalities - both were nevertheless avid skiers and had grown up on a farm. Where Ziraldo was more extroverted and outgoing, Kaiser was much more reserved, and yet both shared a single belief and goal, which was that they could most certainly produce much better wines than whatever was available in Canada at the time. 

Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser figured they probably could - and really, that they should - make better wines in Canada.

Kaiser had been born in Austria and had grown up through poverty, belonging to a large and religious family that had lived on a farm in Sankt Veit an der Golsen, west of Vienna. Even as a child, Kaiser had loved to read and learn about the world around him, with interests ranging from history to astronomy and even mythology. When his parents had him sent to live in a monastery at the age of 12, believing that he would pursue a life of priesthood, it was there that he would get his first taste of winemaking, having helped the monks make their wines. In a twist of fate, just as Kaiser was about to be inaugurated as a priest, his abbot would instead dissuade him from the path, believing that Kaiser's deep curiosity about the world would not be sufficiently quenched with a life within the walls of a monastery. Kaiser would thus leave the church and eventually became an economics teacher. It was nevertheless his marriage to an Austrian-born Canadian student by the name of Sylvia that would propel him to his eventual life in winemaking. Kaiser would often spend time at the farm of Sylvia's grandparents where he would deepen his winemaking experience, and eventually the young family would immigrate over to Ontario in the late 60's to be closer to Sylvia's parents. It was there Kaiser would eventually take on a degree in Chemistry and thus became a science teacher, which was when he had started to grow frustrated with the locally available Canadian wines and had thus hit up Ziraldo looking for European vines so that he could produce wines for his own enjoyment.

"I will make the wine and you will sell it!" Kaiser would propose to Ziraldo.

Convinced by Kaiser about the possibility of making better Canadian wines, the duo would start planning their winemaking operation in earnest. They would figure that in the icy and harsh climate, they would have to first find a particular site that would even allow for less hardy vitis vitifera vines to grow. They would thus narrow in on the Niagara Peninsula in southern Ontario. They had found that the Peninsula was located on the 43rd latitude, similar to northern California and just south of Burgundy. The spot was also incredibly special as it was located in a geological feature called the Niagara Escarpment - which is what created the famous Niagara Falls! - where a ridge encapsulates the area that is then also bounded by Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Niagara River, resulting in a temperature moderating effect that countered the intense cold. Consequentially a special microclimate of maritime influence, a continental climate, as well as the combination of river valley alluvium of mineral sand, clay and gravel (once a the shoreline of a prehistoric lake) was to be found here in the Niagara. With then the little annual rainfall, heavy sunshine and the cold climate, it would thus allow for fruit that had higher acid and therefore the potential for greater aromatics and long ageing. And so unable to completely sell off his nursery's inventory, Ziraldo would plant the first 30 acres of Chardonnay, Riesling and Gamay.

Yet the pair would quickly run into their first major obstacle - when Ziraldo had approached the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) for a winemaking license in 1974, he would be quickly informed that no such license had been issued since 1929 the year that Prohibition started. As it turns out, the LCBO didn't even make the application forms to process the license anymore! Disheartened by the rejection, Ziraldo would nevertheless meet with a General George Kitching who had recently newly taken charge of the LCBO, and had asked to taste their wines, having heard of the duo's goal of making wines. Upon tasting their wines, Gen. Kitching was convinced and months later, much to Ziraldo's surprise, they had received a provisional one year license to make their wines, along with a letter from General citing his enthusiasm and encouragement for their efforts. In appreciation, Ziraldo and Kaiser would name the winery Inniskillin, both as an homage to Gen. Kitching's time as a war veteran, and also taken after the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers regiment that had previously defended the Niagara land the winery sat upon. Operating out a fruit packing shed that was borrowed from Ziraldo's uncle, the two would make their first wines in 1974 - 500 bottles each of Marechal Foch and De Chaunac. By July 1975, Inniskillin would be the first winery to obtain a license since Prohibition, a landmark achievement after a 50 year gap, with Gen. Kitching a fervent champion of the winery since!

"Karl and I were very likeminded. We believed only premium grapes could produce quality wine. We refused to do anything that was mediocre! Our dream was to make world class wines." reflected Ziraldo.

This breakthrough led by Inniskillin would quickly reverberate throughout the Canadian winemaking scene resulting in sweeping changes. At the time in the 70's there were no rules, no geographical designations, and more importantly no impetus for wineries to take on the risk of planting the more well established varieties of the wine world which were untested and seemed unlikely to work - Canadians would simply have to put up with foxy tasting locally made wines. Any endeavour to make wines differently had remained largely experimental or lived as a passion project - and so when Inniskillin demonstrated that the government was indeed willing to open the doors to better wines, the race was on. It lit the fuse on an explosion of vitis vitifera winemaking in both Ontario and Canada's other notable wine region, British Columbia, and in particular the Okanagan Valley. Harry McWatters of the Sumac Ridge Estate Winery led the charge in British Columbia, helping to pave the way for winery licenses to be granted just as Inniskillin did. Within the span of a decade, a major grape vine pullout would spread across Canada, with other noble varieties such as Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Gewurtzraminer being planted in place of the Canadian labrusca. Yet unsurprisingly not everyone was convinced and some wineries held on to their traditional vines, or worse still began importing vitifera grape juice from abroad which would then be vinified in Canada and passed off as Canadian wines. Together Ziraldo, Kaiser and McWatters would begin to institute what would eventually become the Vintners Quality Assurance (VQA) which governed and protected Canadian winemaking, cementing that vinifera winemaking was to be the standard moving forward and that Canadian wines had to be 100% Canadian grapes. Today the VQA serves as the geographical and quality designation for Canadian winemaking, just as the AOC does for France and the DOC for Italy.

Nevertheless two things had to happen to make the VQA a reality, the first being the landmark US-Canada Free Trade Agreement that was signed in 1988 which gave wineries incentive to move towards producing premium wines that could be better supplied to the large US market, and the second - which would etch the Inniskillin name into the hearts and minds of the international wine community - was the success of Inniskillin's then experimental Icewine (the Inniskillin Vidal Icewine 1989) which would catch the world's attention when it won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at the hugely important 1991 Vinexpo wine fair in Bordeaux. 

Years prior to the major win at the 1991 Vinexpo, Inniskillin had already racked up a formidable reputation as being a pioneer in commercialising European wines like Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir - the latter of which was of particular interest to Kaiser who loved a great challenge - which had put the winery in good stead and allowed Ziraldo and Kaiser to successively expand, first to its Brae Burn Estate in 1978 (now with their own winery!), and then later more than doubling its vineyard acreage with the purchase of the 50 acre Montague Vineyard in 1982 (which would again double in 1991). Yet the Austrian Kaiser would continue to keep seeking out new challenges, many of which aimed at bringing European winemaking to Canada. And so on a particular wine night in the summer of 1983, fellow European vintner Ewald Reif who had owned the vineyard adjacent to Inniskillin would propose that the two winemakers should set aside several vines to make icewine. After all this sweet and unctuous style of wine had long been made in Austria and Germany (since the mid-1700's at the least), and was already familiar to both European winemakers.

On top of that Kaiser would recall that a decade prior when the idea for Inniskillin was just taking shape, he and Ziraldo had once had dinner in a Schnitzel tavern along the nearby Merittville Highway in Fonthill only to order a locally made "Sauterne" that was made from Niagara labrusca grapes with heaps of sugar added to it which ended up in such disappointment for the two business partners, in turn helping to spur their conviction that they could and had to turn Canadian winemaking around - and for that matter, Inniskillin wouldn't even be the first to make icewine, an honour that went instead to Hainle, a winery in Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. And so having given it thought and figuring that Ontario's cold climate was indeed very suitable for icewine making, further considering that even German icewine-makers only had sufficiently cold conditions to make the distinct style once every five years or so, whilst the Niagara Peninsula had in fact reliably achieved the necessary freezing temperatures every single year, Kaiser was thus on board with the idea as the bunch of European winemakers in Ontario joined in on the side project.

For the purposes of the project, Kaiser would determine that the thick-skinned Vidal Blanc hybrid varietal (a cross between vitis rupestris and Trebbiano, created by French grape breeder Jean Vidal for Cognac-making) was best suited to making icewines as it was able to stay on the vine for much longer and was hardy against mould, wind and pests. Kaiser had initially considered other varieties such as Seyval Blanc, yet decided against it as he felt that only Vidal Blanc would be able to achieve Kaiser's ideal icewine - one that was aromatic and yet had high acidity. Kaiser was quoted as saying "It has to be aromatic because a sweet wine with no aromatic overtones is plain sugar water". When Kaiser first informed Ziraldo of the idea, Ziraldo had been skeptical, yet the pair decided to simply keep 13 rows of Vidal Blanc on the vines to freeze at the Brae Burn vineyard. Yet when Kaiser had returned from a conference in the US, he would promptly call Ziraldo, "I told you not to pick those grapes!”, to which Ziraldo had told him “I didn’t, I thought you did!". As it turns out, the entire crop of heavily ripe and sweet grapes were devoured by a flock of starling birds, which also ate up those of Reif's. And so Canada's icewine revolution would simply have to wait another year. The following year that was 1984, Kaiser was determined to get it right, and thus had laid out nets to protect the grapes, and when temperatures finally hit -17ºC, he would have to move quickly to harvest the completely frozen grapes and crush them to ferment the incredibly sweet nectar-like juices that it yielded. Kaiser's first ever vintage of icewines (which was labelled "Eiswein Vidal") would amount to 900 demi-bottles and it was said that amongst his fellow European vintners who he had conceived the side project with, Inniskillin was the undisputed winner.

Unlike classic table wines, icewines demand a totally unique and also incredibly laborious method of production. First, grapes must naturally freeze on the vines, or else as Ziraldo puts it "otherwise, anyone with a refrigerator could make icewine!" In Canada, regulations dictate that temperatures must be at least -8°C - for Inniskillin, the sweet spot is about -10°C which yields a sugar level of 38-42 Brix in the grapes. In the early vintages in the mid 1980's, the self-taught Kaiser would harvest grapes at as low as -17°C only to realise that not only was the juice produced minimal and also so excessively sweet that it made it difficult to ferment, but that the grapes would be frozen so solid that it would literally break the wine press. As quantifiable as it seems, acing the right temperature remains incredibly tricky - between holding out patience for those low temperatures to hit (it doesn't help that climate change has over time shifted the harvest window, although Inniskillin's winemakers believe without a doubt that the necessary temperatures aren't ever going to be in question), as well as having the fruit achieve the desired sugar concentration (which can only occur with successive days of -8°C temperatures, with the repeated freezing and thawing of the grapes), acids and freshness - it is without a doubt the most essential part of the whole process. 

The moment it all aligns, the race is on to harvest the fruit (a combination of hand harvesting and machine) and have them pressed whilst still frozen (so as to minimise dilution). As Inniskillin today makes its famous icewines from also Riesling and Cabernet Franc, alongside their original Vidal, these are typically harvested first as they're less hardy on the vine. Once pressed into what looks like a hockey puck, this is then broken apart and pressed again to ensure that all the juices are out. The juices are incredibly thick and concentrated with much of the typical water content already dehydrated and frozen out, which also means that there isn't much to extract from to begin with and so every ounce of effort is put into maximising juice yields - Inniskillin states that icewine fruit yields about 15% of what a standard vineyard would produce. The juices are then fermented with specially selected yeasts that are cut out for the cold and high sugar environment, with fermentation going slow, taking up to 19 days - after which, a naturally amber coloured wine is already produced. In total, icewine accounts for only about 10% of Inniskillin's output yet remains highly important to the Canadian pioneer, where it produces a combination of unoaked (steel vats) and oaked icewines that are distinguished by varietal.

Kaiser was particularly proud of Inniskillin's icewines and figured that in all practicality, there was little possibility that Inniskillin (nor Canada's wineries for that matter) could compete on the global stage when it came to classic vinifera varietals like Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay and the like - most of Canada's vinifera vines were still fairly young by the late 1980's and early 90's - whilst at the same time there was an opportunity for Inniskillin to play to its advantages when it came to icewines, which it could reliably produce every year given the consistency of Canada's frigid weather. And so if there was any possibility for Inniskillin (and Canada) to stand on the world's stage, it would have to be its icewines. With Kaiser making the icewines, it was then up to Ziraldo to market them. Stuffing the tall and slender 375ml vial-shaped bottles in his luggage, Ziraldo would begin travelling around the world to promote the wines, having them featured on the menus of prestigious restaurants around the world, at important galas for foreign diplomats, as well strategically placing ads on TV shows and even Air Canada flights, and in particular with the Asian market, he would organise private tastings and have Asian accounts brought to visit the winery to see the extreme winemaking for themselves.

Yet most crucial of all was his efforts to represent Inniskillin's icewines at trade shows - inarguably the most pivotal of which was the 1991 Vinexpo in Bordeaux. That year, Kaiser was particularly confident of the icewines which had not been as rich as before yet did feature some botrytis (which is typically uncommon due to Vidal's tough skin) as a result of the particularly warm and foggy summer, giving that vintage additional complexity. Whilst Kaiser himself had opted to attend a technical conference in Seattle, he would send his daughter Andrea together with the Inniskillin team to the hugely important event, where he would later receive a call from Andrea exclaiming that Inniskillin's 1989 Vidal Icewine did not just take home one of seventeen gold medals, but had in fact won the Grand Prix d’Honneur, the biggest prize at Vinexpo! That single moment would hard launch Inniskillin and its icewines, along with Canadian winemaking as a whole, into the stratosphere and entrench the country as a formidable player in the wine community.

The following year in 1992, Inniskillin would merge with Cartier wines, one of the oldest wineries in the region, and the year after that with T.G. Bright to form Vincor, the largest winemaking group in Canada, marking a series of consolidation in the industry. In 1994, Inniskillin would begin to expand into Canada's other great winemaking region, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. As the Valley was considerably drier than Niagara, characterised as a semi-arid desert whereas the Niagara was more Burgundian, it offered Inniskillin the opportunity to make wines in a microclimate that was more similar to other great wine regions such as Champagne in France and the Rhine Valley in Germany. Much like in Niagara, the Valley was also moderated in temperature as a result of the Okanagan Lake, whilst also experiencing intense sunlight and cool nights that similarly allowed for heavily ripened fruit that featured also high acidity. For the venture, Inniskillin would partner with the local Inkameep Indian Band of the Okanaguen Tribe, and would establish a second winery in Okanagan, naming the vineyard Dark Horse, with also wine bottle labels paying homage to the Native culture. By 2006, Vincor (with Inniskillin as part of the company) would be acquired by American drinks giant Constellation Brands, and in 2016 in a landmark move, Inniskillin along with several other Canadian wineries would be reclaimed under Canadian ownership (under the name Arterra Wines) when the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan would acquire the wineries from Constellation.

Inniskillin's Okanagan vineyards.

Upon the 2006 acquisition by Constellation, both Ziraldo and Kaiser would formally retire, devoting their time to supporting wine research and training young winemakers in Canada. Whilst Kaiser would stay on as a consultant for Inniskillin, Ziraldo would go on to help in winemaking projects in his ancestral home in Friuli, Italy, before later returning to Inniskillin to produce wines under his brand Ziraldo Wines.

Wine Review: Inniskillin Vidal Icewine Niagara Estate

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: Deep luscious aromas of immediate honey and maltose, laid upon by heaps of yellow raisins - little bit of dried fruit mustiness there, gooseberries, quince and tangerine peels. It's incredibly rich, candied and aromatic, perfumed really. With time, accents of orange blossoms, touches of tinned fruits of peaches, apricots and pineapples, with some muskiness of longans and mangosteens. It's radiantly vibrant, rich yet aromatically lifted, and with great depth.

Taste: Full-bodied, incredibly rich, syrupy and rounded, with this candied plushness and surprisingly without weightiness or heaviness. Candied citrus peels take off with oranges and lemons, backed by tinned peaches and pineapples and mango puree, all coaxed in with bounties of honey and maltose, with an additional drizzle of perfumed tinned fruit syrup. Even with its syrupy texture, it sports a remarkable precision and focus, with actually great tension.

Finish: Completely seamless and one with the palate. It's giving more of those candied oranges, tinned peaches and pineapples, working into a never-ending rich yet delightfully clean finish. Yellow raisins, tinned apricot, as well as honey and maltose lingers.

My Thoughts

Such finesse! It's pretty much a given that we all knew we were in for a lusciously sweet and aromatic wine, yet what really impressed me here was the elegance, tension and precision. Beyond the candied richness and plush and rich texture which was incredibly vibrant and radiant with all these tinned and tropical fruits and also fruit blossoms, it never felt weighty or hefty, and instead had this lifted quality where the fruits felt incredibly distinct and detailed. It was also clean on the finish, wrapping up nicely, without overstaying or again weighing down the palate. It has all that depth and focus, whilst still feeling taut and structured, which really impressed me and brought it way above what I had expected!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot