Pillitteri Estates Winery: Going for Gold
Photo by Pillitteri Estates Winery
It’s 1996 and Jamie Slingerland and his wife have been invited aboard a boat cruise on the Sienne River immediately after winning Vinexpo in Bordeaux for Pillitteri Winery’s Riesling Icewine. The elite cruise, which is strictly limited to Vinexpo winners and select media, is a three hour-long celebration of the awarded best wines in the world. Everyone’s heads were turned towards Pillitteri Estates Icewine. Media had crowded Pillitteri’s station for their first taste, before sampling any of the other winning wines. Jamie poured 4 cases of the Riesling Icewine to the mob of people on that cruise as they fawned over the quality of Canada’s “liquid gold”.
Canada had just begun to stretch their legs as a wine producing country, and winning such a monumental award was a pivotal moment not only for Pillitteri, but also the Canadian wine industry. Coming only two years after the catalytic win of Inniskillin’s Vidal Icewine’s Grand Prix D’honneour at the Vinexpo, this solidified the country’s foothold on a global scale.
Pillitteri went on to win an unending slew of international awards for their Icewine, including a recent Double Gold Best in Class Trophy for their Vidal Icewine at the 2019 American Wine Society Competition. They currently sell wine in 43 countries and have a “no sale is too small” export ideology, shipping even a single case overseas.
Whether in person, or virtually, they make a presence in the export market and base a wide amount of their success on this tactic. Attending ProWein in Germany in 2021 on the big screen, and they attended the world’s biggest wine fair in Chengdu by having an agent present, as well as virtually. Their diligence with exporting ranges from exceptional detail on paperwork, to taking pictures of seals on shipping containers, to even specific wine placement on the boats to ensure the packages are below water level for extra cooling.
Pillitteri’s exceptional attention to detail goes deeper than their exporting ventures. The family-owned winery prides itself on maintaining the highest quality and consistency of their wine. Meticulous care is given to the winemaking process, from the vineyard to the winery. Their Icewine achieves a 40-42 brix level at harvest, even though the standard is 35. They have even achieved the Sustainable Winemaking Ontario certification, a stamp that many local consumers look for today on a label.
The winery has come from producing 20 tons of Icewine to 200 tons presently with the help of new hydraulic presses and state of the art technology in their winery. Their ambition and eagerness for excellence, along with having the only Icewine co-op placement in the world is a huge attraction for CCOVI Brock University students serious about Canadian winemaking.
The Pillitteri family has been striving towards their goal of building a legacy since arriving to Niagara, Canada in 1948. As proud Canadians, Pillitteri has also made a mark by becomming an official partner and sponsor of the Canadian Olympics. Their Team Canada Wine Collection that can be found across the country supports Canadian athletes by donating one dollar of every bottle sold to the Canadian Olympic Foundation.
In the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pillitteri now has three generations of family that are involved with the winery. The estate wines showcase the greatness of Canadian wine that’s recognized around the world, and it appears that a legacy has indeed been made. Slingerland puts it in perfect perspective, (while referencing the Olympic theme) when speaking on international Icewine competitions, “we win gold every time”.