Recalling the joy his father and son had found tapping into their rural Italian roots to revive a small vineyard in the 1960s, John Pennachetti Senior knew that abandoned orchard set against the Niagara Escarpment’s limestone cliffs had the potential to be something so much more for his family.

Today, more than four decades after John and his sons took a chance and planted some of Niagara’s first Riesling and Chardonnay vines on that plot of land, Cave Spring Vineyard serves as a constant reminder of the good things that can happen when we honour our past to forge a new future.

At Cave Spring Vineyard, working toward true sustainability means viewing everything we do through the lens of rigorous environmental stewardship. Being Sustainable Winemaking Ontario’s first winery to achieve certification in both our vineyards and cellars was just the beginning. With that milestone complete, we dug even deeper to identify how we could exceed those exacting standards.

We don’t just select vineyard sites and varieties that allow us to minimize intervention. We also leverage and protect the unique attributes of the Niagara Escarpment’s soils, springs and slopes. By continuing to ask, “What can we do next to shrink our carbon footprint?” our goal is to excite and engage others in making similar changes. From becoming the first winery in the world to tap into innovative wastewater treatment technology to making barrel selection decisions that preserve forests and reduce emissions, we see each day as a new opportunity to be better stewards of the environment.