Pillitteri Estates Winery proudly continues a family tradition of viticulture and winemaking excellence. For Gary Pillitteri, the opening of Pillitteri Estates Winery in June of 1993 was the culmination of a lifetime dream. Since arriving in Canada from his native Sicily in 1948, Mr. Pillitteri was able to achieve his life long dream of opening a winery using his many years of experience as a grape grower in Niagara and as an amateur winemaker.

The turning point had taken place five years earlier when Gary won a gold medal for his Icewine in Niagara’s amateur wine competition. He knew then that he could make his dream come true. But he had been thinking about early retirement and could only build a professional and high-quality winery with the expertise and full commitment of his family. Pillitteri Estates Winery is truly a family enterprise: Gary’s son Charles is Vice-President of Sales, daughter Connie is Vice-President of Operations, daughter Lucy is Vice-President of Retail Sales and Marketing and son-in-law Jamie Slingerland manages the family vineyards.

The grapes are harvested primarily from the family’s 200 acres of vineyards, 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 600,000 litres (66, 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.

The family’s winemaking philosophy is quite simple: "To produce the finest wines possible from the highest quality Niagara Peninsula grapes." The strategy, however, is much more complex. Each vineyard and wine is treated individually since each has its own ’personality’ that must be expressed. "Our goal is to produce consistent, quality wine for our consumers: rich, full-bodied reds; fragrant and lively whites; and luscious Icewines, all in a variety of styles to suit every palate."

This approach has earned Pillitteri Estates Winery a reputation for excellence. In the past twelve years the winery has been honoured with more than 400 medals, at both domestic and international competitions. These include the coveted Civart Trophy from the Challenge International du Vin, in Bordeaux, France, two Gran Medaillo d’Oro from Vinitaly, Verona, Italy and a rare Double Gold Medal from the American Wine Society in the United States. Pillitteri achieved international acclaim in 2005 by winning North America’s only medal at Effervescents du Monde in addition to receiving their highest honour with a rare Grand Gold. 2006 began as a stellar year as the winery captured some of the most coveted awards, including two Grand Golds at Vinitaly, a Bacchus Gold at Spain’s Bacchus Wine Competition, and domestically was awarded a prestigious "Best Red" at Cuvee for its VQA 2002 Cabernet Franc Family Reserve.

Pillitteri’s Winemaster Marc Bradshaw first brought his expertise, enthusiasm and unique personality to the Winery in the spring of 2004 as Vintage Winemaker. By August 2005, Marc was named Assistant Winemaker. Marc, an Aussie native, completed his Doctorate at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia in 2001. During this time, Marc began his itinerant lifestyle by trekking to Europe in 2000, to serve as a Research Chemist at Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Montpellier, France. In 2002, Marc journeyed to South Africa working as a Wine Chemist Consultant for Meerlust Estate Winery in Stellenbosch. Nomadic Marc then made his way back home where he served in both the laboratory and cellar at Bidgeebong Winery in Bomen, before venturing on to the Rheingau in Germany come 2003, where he worked at Joachim Flick Weingut as a Cellar Rat. Marc returned to home to work in 2004 at Pettavel Winery in Geelong, Australia. Marc accepted the position of Winemaster in the summer of 2006.

From Gary’s first Gold Medal to the winery's most recent honours, Icewine continues to be the Pillitteri flagship wine. In fact, Pillitteri Estates Winery is the largest estate producer of Icewine in the world and one of the most innovative, creating a wide variety of Icewines, using the Vidal, Riesling, Gew¸rztraminer, Chardonnay, Cabernets , and the first commercially produced Shiraz Icewine. Pillitteri Icewine is exported to more than twenty-six countries worldwide.

The family’s commitment to producing VQA wines of exceptional quality and character is demonstrated in each bottle bearing the Pillitteri name. Although rooted in family tradition, Pillitteri Estates Winery has been at the forefront of growth and expansion that has brought the Niagara wine region to the attention of the world.