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Inniskillin is a Canadian winery located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Inniskillin, which is mainly noted for its icewine production, has played an important pioneering role in the modern Canadian wine industry. Since 1994, Inniskillin also operates a winery in Okanagan, British Columbia (Inniskillin Okanagan) in addition to its original location (Inniskillin Niagara). == History == Inniskillin was founded by Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser and saw its beginnings in 1974. Before embarking on the Innskillin project, Ziraldo was running a grapevine nursery and Karl Kaiser, a trained chemist, was a home wine maker. The first vines were planted in 1974, and since the duo had the ambition to make better-quality wines, their vineyard was planted with traditional European grape varieties, of the ''Vitis vinifera'' species, chosen from those cultivated in colder European regions. Their first vineyard, of was planted with Riesling, Chardonnay and Gamay.〔(Inniskillin: History - Milestones ), accessed on July 7, 2008〕 At that time the wine industry in the Niagara consisted of five bulk wineries growing American ("non-vinifera") vines, and no winery licenses had been issued since 1929. Inniskillin's license in 1975, which Ziraldo successfully lobbied for, was therefore the first post-prohibition license issued in the region. The company Inniskillin Wines was formally incorporated on July 31, 1975,〔(Inniskillin: History ), accessed on July 7, 2008〕 and the first harvest occurred three years after their first vineyard was planted, in 1977. While waiting for their ''V. vinifera'' vines to yield grapes, they produced some wine from hybrid grapes.〔(Wine Business Monthly, September 1, 2000: Inniskillin Leading Icewine Craze )〕 In 1978, Inniskillin moved to its present location on the Brae Burn Estate. An existing 1920s barn, thought to have been inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was restored for the winery's use, and has become something of a landmark.〔 The initial production consisted of white and red table wines, but another significant development started a few years later. In 1983, Karl Kaiser and three other Ontario wineries all left grapes on their vines in an attempt to produce ice wine, in order to put the harsh Canadian winter to good use. Inniskillin and their Niagara neighbour Ewald Reif lost their entire crop to hungry birds, while the two wineries Hillebrand and Pelee Island, situated in another part of Ontario, were able to harvest a minuscule amount of frozen grapes.〔(Appellation America, December 26, 2007: Kings of the "Ice": Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser )〕 In 1984, Kaiser used nets to protect Inniskillin's grapes and were able to produce the winery's first ice wine. This wine was made from Vidal grapes harvested at the Brae Burn Estate and was in fact labelled "Eiswein", the German and Austrian wine term. Thus, Inniskillin was one of the first Canadian wineries to produce ice wine, and the first to do so in commercially significant quantities. The international breakthrough of Canadian ice wine came in 1991, when Inniskillin's 1989 Vidal ice wine won the ''Grand Prix d’Honneur'' at Vinexpo.〔 The two founders of Inniskillin practised a division of labour. Kaiser handled the winemaking, and Ziraldo handled the marketing and was president of the company. Ziraldo was also instrumental in creating the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) and was the organisation's first chairman. In 1992, Inniskillin Wines merged with Cartier wines (one of the old wineries of the region, founded in 1889) to form Cartier Inniskillin Vintners Inc. In 1993, Cartier Inniskillin Vintners Inc. merged with T.G. Bright & Co. Limited (founded in 1874 as the Niagara Falls Wine Company) under the name Vincor International Inc.〔(Vincor International: History ), accessed on July 7, 2008〕 Inniskillin wines continued as a subsidiary of Vincor, with the wines labelled as before and Ziraldo and Kaiser in their old roles. In 1994, Inniskillin started activities at a subsidiary winery in Okanagan, British Columbia, under the name Inniskillin Okanagan. After that, the original winery was referred to as Inniskillin Niagara. This winery was started in collaboration with First Nation locals, the Okanaqueen Tribe of the Inkameep people, which kept vineyards on their land and supplied grapes to Inniskillin Okanagan.〔 In 1996, Inniskillin expanded their Okanagan activities by buying an existing winery in Okanagan, Okanagan Vineyards, as well as the Dark Horse Vineyard.〔(Wine X Magazine: Okanagan BC ), accessed on July 7, 2008〕 In April 2006, Constellation Brands bought Inniskillin's parent company Vincor International Inc., which became Vincor Canada.〔(Wine Spectator, April 3, 2006: Constellation Buys Vincor for $1.3 Billion )〕 Later that year Karl Kaiser went into retirement, but stayed on as a consultant for Inniskillin's ice wine activities, and Ziraldo left the winery and his position as president.〔(Wine Spectator, November 27, 2006: Inniskillin Winery Founders Call It Quits )〕〔(Inniskillin, October 30, 2006: Karl Kaiser eases into retirement )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Inniskillin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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