Pillitteri family celebrates winery’s 30th anniversary

The story of Pillitteri Estates Winery began generations ago in the heart of Sicily, but continued in Niagara-on-the-Lake when Gary Pillitteri arrived in the Niagara area with his father in 1948.

He and his family spent some time on Lakeshore Road, but Gary and Lena, married in 1960, “extended our family roots,” bought the Niagara Stone Road property and opened a farmers’ market 70 years ago, and then the winery 30 years ago.

“But first,” Gary said, “my wife and I had to clean up the pig farm here.”

Gary shared the story of their family, the hard work that led to the winery’s success and its 30th anniversary, with a small crowd of friends and family gathered in the BarrelHead pizza patio Friday.

The tractor parked on the grass beside the patio “was all I had to work with then,” he said.

The winery, he added, was designed to fit into the community, “because this is what we’re all about. I never dreamed 30 years ago that we’d be where we are today,” with Pillitteri wines sold in 30 different countries.

“And that’s not because of Lena and I, it’s because of our kids.”

Next for the couple, he said, is retirement, and spending it right here in the community they call home.