Kaiser and Ziraldo tirelessly tested the new ground of Niagara with better vines and superior winemaking techniques, grafting old world wisdom in the new world terroir. An early mission statement captured this spirit — “Inniskillin: Not so much bound by tradition as inspired by it”. The first Inniskillin winery was far from glamourous — a converted packing shed at the Ziraldo family nursery — but the wines were excellent! Ziraldo and Kaiser received much attention for their quality wines. Then in 1984, Kaiser made the most of the extreme Canadian winter to produce his first Icewine — a pivotal point for Inniskillin. The world began to take notice. According to acclaimed wine expert Hugh Johnson, the turning point for Canadian Wine had also arrived:

“Their real break has been the discovery that Ice-Wine comes naturally to them. In 1991 Inniskillin’s Vidal Icewine won a Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo in Bordeaux. Now almost every winery makes Icewine – the best of astounding luscious freshness.”
Hugh Johnson, World Atlas of Wine, Fourth Edition, 1994, Simon & Schuster.

Ziraldo and Kaiser continued their hard work keeping standards high and producing wines that garnered the attention of the international wine world. This attention came through many awards, participation is wine shows such as Vinexpo and Vinitaly as well as the placement of Inniskillin wines on the shelves and wine lists of the finest wine stores and restaurants around the world. Inniskillin Icewine had even found its way to the cellars of the Imperial Palace of Japan.

Kaiser, the quiet master winemaker, toiling behind the scenes and Ziraldo, a one-man worldwide campaign for the excellence of Canadian Wines kept Inniskillin vibrant and viable. In pursuit of industry-wide excellence, Ziraldo was the founding chair of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA). After extensive research of existing appellation systems around the world and drawing on the technical expertise of his partner Kaiser and others, Ziraldo introduced the VQA system to the industry in 1989. This gave Ontario Wines a much needed level of credibility by setting high standards for quality and identifying appellations of origin for Ontario’s main grape growing regions. This system was also adapted in British Columbia, helping secure a stronger presence for Canadian Wines domestically as well as in the ever growing export market.

Inniskillin’s founders are also major supporters of wine research. An example is their involvement at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Inniskillin Hall, which houses the school's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), was named in their honour. As new generations of Canadian winemakers graduate, it’s widely-acknowledged that the achievements of Inniskillin’s founders are integrally linked to the burgeoning success of the Canadian Wine Industry. This has led to Canadian wines of unsurpassed excellence being enjoyed in greater numbers at more tables than ever before at home and around the world.

Inniskillin Okanagan
In 1994, Inniskillin established an estate winery in the rich terroir of the Southern tip of the Okanagan Valley Wine Region in British Columbia. During their travels, Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser had been actively promoting their Niagara Wines in the Western Canada market as well as watching the vineyard and winery developments in the Okanagan. They both had a strong desire to give Inniskillin a presence in the Okanagan and Kaiser was excited about the prospects of making wines there that would reflect its unique terroir. Commenced as a partnership between Inniskillin and the Inkameep indigenous peoples (Okanaqueen Tribe), the launch of Inniskillin Okanagan coincided with the 20th anniversary of Inniskillin’s first grape crush. Originally overseeing the winemaking from Niagara between trips to the Okanagan, Kaiser left the winemaking tasks to the capable Sandor Mayer in 1996 with the purchase of the current home of Inniskillin Okanagan Vineyards. Mayer was a natural as he developed the Dark Horse Estate Vineyard, combining his vineyard knowledge with his winemaking skills.

Inniskillin is proud to have continued to make great wines from two distinguished and distinct grape growing regions of Canada and to win awards and accolades for a full range of fine wines and stunning Icewines.

A New Era
The year 2006 saw the departure of both founders. Karl Kaiser eased into retirement while Ziraldo is concentrating his time and efforts to many wine industry initiatives including research, culinary tourism and his ever constant role of Canadian Wine Ambassador. Kaiser and Ziraldo are pleased and confident that the commitment to excellence remains the hallmark at Inniskillin and are ready to support (and advise) our current winemakers Bruce Nicholson at Inniskillin Niagara and Sandor Mayer at Inniskillin Okanagan.