Donald Ziraldo, who was instrumental in establishing CCOVI, will be inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame in November.

Donald Ziraldo, an adviser to Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), is one of four individuals announced as the latest inductees into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Ziraldo is a pioneer of the Canadian wine industry, putting domestically produced wines on the map in Canada and around the world. He is being recognized as the co-founder of Inniskillin winery, the driving force behind the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) program and for his instrumental role in establishing CCOVI. He is a member of CCOVI’s executive and advisory committee and also co-chaired the capital campaign that founded the wine institute.

“It’s a great honour,” said Ziraldo, “and an acknowledgement to an agriculture sector – viticulture – that takes a product from the soil, through the processing stage, packaging and creates a value-added finished product: wine.

“I believe this value-added concept will be important to the future success of agriculture and it respects the provenance of the food farmers grow, which is very important to the consumer,” Ziraldo added.

The Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame honours and celebrates Canadians for outstanding contributions to the agriculture and food industry. The induction ceremony will be held Nov. 3, 2013 at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

“This is a well-deserved honour for Donald,” CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis said. “It recognizes the pivotal role he played in shaping the current Canadian wine industry and his foresight in seeing the value research plays in developing an industry by establishing CCOVI.”

Ziraldo was also recognized earlier this year with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal. The award recognized 60,000 extraordinary Canadians on the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s ascension to the throne.