Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute made local headlines for a new partnership with Canopy Growth Corporation that will foster student learning while preserving local, sustainable wine-making practices in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Beth Audet with The St. Catharines Standard reported on the announcement made at NC’s Wine Visitors + Education Centre – located at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in NOTL – that the College has assumed operation of the Concession 5 vineyard. The vineyard, located directly beside Tweed Farms cannabis greenhouse owned by Canopy, will be farmed by NC faculty and students according to sustainable protocols.
Steve Gill, general manager of the college’s Learning Enterprise Corporation, explains:
“It opens our wine students up to a new opportunity at a second Niagara vineyard, our partner benefits from a dedication to minimize the vineyard’s impact on their neighbouring greenhouse operations and the entire community gains a good neighbour in Niagara College through our steadfast commitment to maintain the vineyards with environmentally sustainable farm practices.”
Canopy, who purchased the vineyard in 2019 to prevent pesticide drift from their farming operation, had the goal of preserving the vineyard for winemaking. The partnership with NC’s Teaching Winery allows both the wine and cannabis operations to proceed without negatively impacting one another.
The first products of the Concession 5 Vineyard are expected to be Pinot Noir Rosé, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio and a sparkling wine this spring.
