Pillitteri Estates Winery has a new brand for it’s signature product, Icewine, thanks to two Niagara College students.

 

 

“Iceworks,” a brand concept developed by students Jessica Kueh and Jillian Grenier, incorporates a label depicting red and white fireworks and the tagline “A toast to the world from Canada.” The brand will be used for Pillitteri’s Vidal Icewine, which is produced mainly for the Asian market. It was the winning submission in a contest that saw five student teams pitch their innovative visions for an Icewine brand name that holds global appeal. Four of the five teams included four students representing the Wine Business Management Graduate Certificate, Graphic Design Production – Art and Design Fundamentals, Business Administration – Marketing and Bachelor of Applied Business and Hospitality Operations Management programs. The winning team consisted of only two students: Kueh, a third-year student in the Bachelor of Applied Business and Hospitality Operations Management program and Grenier, a third-year student in the Graphic Design Production – Art and Design Fundamentals program.

 

The students pitched their ideas to a panel from Pillitteri on March 26, and the winners were announced April 9 during an awards ceremony at the Niagara College Wine Visitor + Education Centre in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Kueh and Grenier win $1,500 for first place, and Pillitteri expects to launch the brand by the end of the year.

 

Jeff Letvenuk, Pillitteri’s Marketing Manager is thrilled with all the entries received. “This is more than we could have hoped for. The Quality of the brands created made it very difficult to select a winner and as a result all of the labels presented will at some point be used. Iceworks was chosen as the winner because it clearly met and exceeded all of the criteria for the competition. The combination of celebratory fireworks and the Maple Leaf on the label clearly expresses the essence of Icewine, and the slogan ‘A toast to the world from Canada’ embodies everything we want our Icewine brands to portray.”

 

The project was initiated and came to realization through discussions between Pillitteri and Niagara College representatives that began in the Fall of 2009. The students began their creative work in February 2010.

 

“This was a great opportunity for our students to take the skills and knowledge they’ve developed in the classroom, and apply them in a real-world scenario for one of Canada’s leading wineries,” said Craig Youdale, Niagara College Chair of Culinary and Wine studies.

 

Pillitteri Estates Winery is a family run and operated business founded in 1993 and is situated on 53 acres of vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Since its short inception the winery has experienced tremendous growth and has established itself as a leader in the industry. It currently exports to 29 countries and is the largest estate producer of Icewine in the world. Pillitteri has won over 400 international and domestic awards, reflecting the winery’s commitment to produce premium VQA wines.

 

Niagara College is one of Ontario’s 24 publicly-funded Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, with 8,000 full-time students. Niagara College offers more than 90 diploma, baccalaureate degrees and advanced level programs at campuses in Welland, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, applied health and community safety, and the College is home to the globally-recognized Niagara Culinary Institute and Niagara College Teaching Winery. In 2008, Niagara College launched an unprecedented $90 million campus redevelopment project, which is scheduled for completion in 2011.