Founded in 1993

Over the years, the family owned “Gary’s Fruit Market” grew into a bustling destination of interest for visitors to Niagara-on-the-Lake and locals, as did the interest in wine from Niagara. Soon after the first Niagara wineries opened, Gary took the initiative to begin planting wine grapes and started the first of the family’s Niagara vineyards.

By 1988 Gary decided to experiment by making a small batch of Vidal Icewine. The Icewine was later entered into a wine competition where it won a gold medal. This achievement solidified the idea to open a winery in Niagara’s newly emerging wine industry. During the next 5 years the farm and the market underwent several changes to convert the property into a winery. Ready for business, on June 5, 1993, the winery opened with a capacity to produce up to 16,000 cases. Through hard work, the wines began to achieve many awards, nationally, and as well on an international level.

The grapes are harvested primarily from the family’s vineyards of just over 100 acres, planted with vitis vinifera and French Hybrid grape varieties. Following the exacting standards of the VQA (Vintner’s Quality Alliance) production has increased steadily since the winery’s opening, and currently stands at 100,000 cases. The winery’s production facilities have recently undergone a major expansion, although growth in production is carefully controlled to ensure that the family’s high quality standards are maintained. Today our winemaker Aleksandar Kolundzic is known to craft fresh aromatic white wines and deep age worthy red wines to please most palates.