13th Street Winery is proud to be Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario certified.

“At 13th Street Winery, we consider sustainability to be a dynamic, wholistic, and quite often complex approach to interacting with our environment and doing business, which at the same time, represents a diligent commitment to the simple, time honoured agricultural principles of responsible stewardship of all that is entrusted to our care.”  Doug Whitty, President – 13th Street Winery & Whitty Farms

“Ontario Craft Wineries (OCW), together with the Grape Growers of Ontario (GGO), created the Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario Certified program for Ontario’s grape and wine industry to identify the vineyards and wineries that are environmentally friendly. “ (Ontario Craft Wineries)

Certification is voluntary and involves recording sustainable practices that are verifiable through an annual, independent third-party audit.

Sustainability certification encompasses:

  • Environmental Sustainability including water conservation, energy efficiencies, recycling, reducing and reusing
  • Economical Sustainability incorporating the production of VQA Ontario wines and local material sourcing
  • Community Sustainability including community leadership, social responsibility and being a good neighbour

Sustainable Ontario Certified Wineries and Sustainable Ontario Certified Wines are easily identified by the green leaf icon.

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13th Street Winery is committed to Environmental, Economical and Community based sustainability through continuing to implement and refine our operation and management practices within all vineyard and winery activities.

Some specific examples of technologies and best management practices we have implemented include:

  • A geo-thermal system for heating and cooling to reduce energy consumption and output
  • A rainwater collection system capable of storing 30,000L to irrigate on property landscape
  • An on-site wetland treatment centre in order to filter our winery waste water
  • An Environmental Farm Plan reviewed and certified by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)
  • Repurposing of an old barn as a roosting structure for migratory birds that feed on vineyard damaging insects
  • A single stream waste and recycling program that are specific to our winery waste
  • Viticultural decisions that limit soil compaction and fuel consumption
  • Applying drought tolerant landscaping decisions in order to reduce water consumption
  • Implemented automatic lighting and photocell technologies

The Expression Project

  • As part of our commitment to our community we established the Expression Project in 2021. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of our Expression Series wines will be used to support young Canadian artists.
  • The 13th Street Winery Expression Award, in memory of artist Karoly Veress, as part of the Expression Project. This award will be granted annually to a promising young artist enrolled in the OCADU Sculpture/Installation program to help launch their professional career. The award recognizes excellence in contemporary abstract sculpture with a preference for work produced in bronze and will be awarded annually beginning in 2022
  • The Brock University 13th Street Award which be awarded annually to a second-year student in the Visual Arts Department at Brock University who demonstrates academic excellence.

Some of our Sustainability Objectives include:

  • Reducing both fuel consumption and soil compaction within the vineyard through additional investment of vineyard equipment capable of conducting multiple jobs with a single pass
  • Continuing to conduct annual waste, water, energy and supply-chain audits to look for opportunities to reduce excess as well as invest in technologies to improve production efficiencies
  • Investing more time in educating both our team and our customer base on the importance of sustainable business practices – It is a dynamic and ever changing process! Always something more to learn and improve on
  • Lobbying for new policies and strict regulations regarding sustainable practices and regulations for our industry

Follow us on social media for updates and further information on our commitment to Sustainability.

Instagram @13thStreetWinery

Facebook @13thStreetWines