Stratus: the first LEED certified winery
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.05
Until recently Niagara, Ontario wines did not amount to much, and the wineries less so, tending to phony chateau style. All this has changed- the wines are good, and Jackson Triggs broke the design barrier with its fabulous Kuwabara Paine McKenna Blumberg building. Now Stratus has created a "groundbreaking environmental design" with its new building by Niagara architect Les Andrew. It has geothermal heating and cooling, recycled materials, composting of vegetal waste, bike lockers and that new trademark, a company Prius. Even the winemaking process has been modified- instead of using conveyors and pumps to move the grapes and wine, they use gravity. Treehugger likes LEED that looks good- this one does. We have not tried the wine, but look forward to receiving reviewers samples. ::Stratus Wines via ::Globe and Mail
I'm no wine connaisseur (at ALL), but I do know Jackson Triggs wine is available widely in all of Canada, and is fairly well known.
It's also the official wine of Whistler/Blackcomb ski mountain. Whatever that means. (presumably it must therefore live up to some pretty reasonable standards to be served to the types that wear Gucci snow pants)