Investing in Our Planet – Earth Day Sustainability Spring Update. Happy Earth Day! Here are some of the ways we are investing in our planet based on the 3 pillars of Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario – environment, economy and community.
Environment
Our 700+ acres of vineyards are located on Pelee Island. This ecologically, biodiverse jewel is found in the middle of the Great Lake Erie. The story begins with the land; of limestone, Toledo clay soil, Carolinian Forest, and continues with the people.
To honour the land, we established a stewardship for a Red Cedar Savannah forest that is unique to Pelee Island. Restoration efforts have saved this forest from extinction and also allowed for new growth, as well as the acclimatization of dozens of unique habitats.
Currently, our efforts on Pelee Island have been focused on supporting the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC) Florian Diamante Nature Reserve wetland and visitor infrastructure project with more than $12,000 in cash and equivalent support in 2021.
We have continued this initiative in 2022 and invite you to ENTER TO WIN and join us for a weekend on Pelee Island to Explore Sustainability! Watch the 70-second video highlighting the NCC project, then enter. We will donate $1 for every video view up to $8,000!
Economy – Sustainable and Stylish Packaging
We believe in implementing innovative practices from the field to bottle.
- LOLA 250mL aluminum bottles have been a customer favourite since they were introduced in May of 2021. It’s the same premium VQA, Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario certified and VegeCert vegan certified wine you know, in a convenient, take-anywhere recyclable container.
- 3L Bag in Box Wines lessen the carbon footprint of wine distribution. Lighthouse Riesling VQA in the 3L Bag in Box format recently won the Best Wine in Box at Concours International, France.Â
- 97% of Pelee Island Winery’s production is packaged in lightweight glass or alternative packaging.
- Recycled material for packaging is used whenever possible.
- We continue to work towards less printing and feature more digital resources such as QR codes.
Community – Giving Together
At both our Kingsville Retail Boutique and our Pelee Island Winery Pavilion Tasting Bars, the price of a tasting is a donation of your choice to our chosen charity of the month. We began this in 2019 collecting for local area food banks. Your generosity was astounding and inspiring. We continue to operate tastings in this manner and highlight a chosen organization to raise awareness and funds for every month.
In March, through a combined effort of our staff team and our Tasting Bar visitors, we added a matching donation to raise a total of $6,900 for the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. In recognition of the many areas in the world that rely on humanitarian aid, we will be featuring the Canadian Red Cross again in the fall with the funds raised to be designated to where the Red Cross identifies the most need.
This April, we are continuing our support of the NCC’s work of wetland restoration on Pelee Island. In May, watch for our friends from the Windsor Essex Humane Society to return and in June, it’s all about Pride Community Windsor.
Combining your generosity with our digital media programming, we are grateful to be raising awareness and funds that are near and dear to your hearts and ours.
We continue to strive to bring the principles of sustainability into our organization and create best practices that are beneficial for our customers, our team members, our community and our continued investment to our planet. Your ongoing support is very much appreciated by us all.
Cheers!
Pssttt… Don’t forget! While you’re here to sign up for our Birthday Club and receive a $20 Gift Voucher for your birthday!