Stratus: the first LEED certified winery

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