Wine & dine around globe
Inniskillin co-founder is always on the go
“I was very fortunate with the icewine to travel in elite circles … meeting people, the cultures, the history.” DONALD ZIRALDO INNISKILLIN WINES
Canadian icewine pioneer Donald Ziraldo, co-founder of Niagara’s Inniskillin Wines, says although he used to travel the world 200 days a year “on a 24/7 wheel” it was hard to call it work.
Having left the company in 2006, Ziraldo now sits on a variety of boards and pursues his own winemaking interests. He was recently made an honorary citizen of his parent’s hometown of Fagagna in Friuli, Italy and, as a tribute to them, planted a Picolit vineyard. A Picolit wine will be in the LCBO next spring. It already carries his Equifera Icewine.
As managing director of the Senhora Do Convento winery in Portugal, Ziraldo still travels frequently. He spoke to us from his home in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
You’re always on the go; where have you travelled recently?
I was in Portugal doing the harvest at Senhora do Convento, which is property I manage for a Canadian mining company. The nice part is it has a 12th-century monastery on it and a brand new winery. How much time do you spend there?
I go back and forth because it’s become a project I’ve become very challenged by. This one sort of caught my attention because it’s my field — it’s a great challenge to bring back Port, and Portugal is a fascinating country.
Do you have a favourite vacation spot?
My passion is skiing and I have a place in Aspen. I’ve wandered all over the world skiing over the years but Aspen is my go-to destination for a vacation. I try to turn off the business, even though I still sell icewine (laughing) on the gondola.
Is there a dream list of places you want to visit?
I guess there are places I haven’t been … the only country I have not visited is India. Victoria, my wife, took me to Thailand and I’d been to Bangkok for business, but she’s a scuba diver, so she’s taken me to Mexico and to Thailand.
Where in India would you like to go?
I’m not really sure. I’m quite fascinated by the country. I think they might be a better business partner than China. I’ve been to China, tried China — it’s been an interesting experience.
Wine tourism continues to be popular; where should people go?
Wine tourism, oddly enough, was invented by the North Americans. We’re blessed to be near Niagara Falls. I was just at a tourism conference where I spoke about Flora Niagara, which is going to be a $300to $400-million-dollar floral exhi- bition that was last in Thailand and the Netherlands. A very large component of it will be culinary tourism, so the wine tourism/culinary tourism;they’re almost synonymous. Of course, Niagara has become a great destination, I’m going to promote that because it’s my backyard.
What is the most unlikely place you’ve visited in relation to where grapes are grown and wine is made?
In Santorini, there are volcanic dishes — they are like large, twometre volcanic rocks that are shaped like a bowl. Grapes grow there, so these things literally grow in two-metre circle-shaped bowls. It was pretty amazing: the grapes are literally crawling along the ground. That was a pretty unique location.
Do you have a must-have item when you travel?
My BlackBerry. My briefcase … and laptop.
I love to work and read books online, and I do a lot of blogging and stuff, so I’m sort of attached to a computer.
I love working while I’m travelling because I get away from the run-ofthe-mill business. When you’re locked in on a plane for 14 hours on your way to Australia or Japan, that’s a must-have for me to keep busy. I get a lot done because there are no distractions. Travel clothes? Well, my work-out gear for sure. Couple of suits — I travel light, usually do a carry-on bag. I’m Italian, so I like clothes, but I travel light and it gives me an excuse to buy things, especially if I’m in Italy.
What was your worst travel experience?
I’ve had a lot of weird experiences but bad experiences? It’s probably been the opposite, because being in the luxury global wine category that we created with the icewine, we were very blessed to take this unknown region in Canada and create this luxury brand.
(Here at) home, people get enthusiastic about Burgundy in France and California. But in Asia, it’s like being a rock star: sommeliers want
their shirts signed by me.
Several famous chefs and sommeliers have been hired to make the dining experience on airplanes more enjoyable. How do you rate airplane food and wine?
I just made a deal with American Airlines to take the Senhora do Convento Port, so I’ve always worked with them.
I honestly think everybody in North America should go and take lessons from the airlines, and everybody else, on service in Asia, because if you’ve travelled Thai (Airways) or Cathay Pacific, it’s quite extraordinary.
How does travel inspire you?
I think the different cultures — I love it. (But) I love coming home; I really appreciate what we’ve got here.
I was very fortunate with the icewine to travel in some pretty elite circles and it was just meeting the people, the cultures, the history.
I really don’t want to talk to any Canadians or Americans when I’m travelling. I purposely go out of my way — I speak Italian and French, so in those countries, I get by — but I purposely go and meet the people and the culture, so that I get a real sense of the true nature of the country that I’m in. I don’t like being a tourist.