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Vendor Feature: Pillitteri Estates Winery

Happy Thursday everyone! We were blown away by your support last Saturday as it was an excellent market day. The weather held out for us and it looks like it will do the same again this weekend - how wonderful! Today, after some time, we have another vendor feature for you and are pleased to introduce you to Pillitteri Estates Winery and their sales representative Terry Weese! Terry is at the market every other week, and will be there this weekend so don't miss this opportunity to say hello.

Live Music at the Market!

Having music at the market is such a treat! While we unfortunately didn’t have live music after all last weekend due to unforeseen circumstances, this weekend we are looking forward to having Coming Up Roses join us, a London musical duo. This will be the second last time for live music at the farmers’ market, so make sure to come down and enjoy the music!

We will also now have live music *inside the market as well! Every Thursday and Friday, a local musician will play for us upstairs on the Mezzanine from 11:30am to 1:00pm. Today’s musician is Larry Smith!

You can enjoy their music on October 22, 23, 29 and 30; November 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, and 27; and December 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, and 24.

Meet Pillitteri Estates Winery and Terry Weese!

Pillitteri Estates Winery was founded by Gary and Lena Pillitteri in June 1993, and is continued by three generations of the Pillitteri Family. The business started as a roadside fruit stand in the 1960’s called “Gary’s Fruit Market” located in Niagara-on-the-Lake; when the interest in wine from Niagara grew and the first Niagara wineries opened, Gary took the initiative to start the first of the family’s vineyards and planted wine grapes. In 1988, Gary decided to experiment and make a small batch of Vidal Icewine, which won a gold medal! This solidified the idea to open a winery and five years later, after many changes and much hard work, Pillitteri Estates Winery opened on June 5, 1993!

Pillitteri produces 100% local Niagara VQA wines that have received over 1000 wine awards from around the world! Their mission is to create a legacy that respects the family’s Italian ancestry and Canadian roots, and their wine making philosophy is to “produce the finest wines possible from the highest quality Niagara Peninsula grapes. Each vineyard and wine is treated individually since each has its own ‘personality’ that must be expressed,” they write.

Pillitteri is the official wine partner of the Canadian Olympic Team and is a certified Sustainable Winemaker of Ontario – they are committed to our environment and community, and proudly promote Canadian winemaking. Pillitteri’s full-bodied reds; fragrant, lively whites; and luscious Icewines are available at the winery retail shop, liquor stores in most provinces, online, in restaurants and at farmers’ markets!

Terry Weese, the sales representative who sells Pillitteri Wines at our Farmers’ Market, has been with the winery for 5 years, selling at quite a few different markets. She writes that she has “thoroughly enjoyed every moment” and says the hard work is all worth it! Terry loves chatting with her customers and we know our market family would not be the same without her presence. She brings eight wines to our market and knows the details of every one of them. We are assured that tasting the wine is part of her job! If you’re wondering which one is right for you, just ask Terry for a recommendation.

This year, Terry is at our farmers’ market every other week, and this weekend happens to be one of them! Make sure to stop by and say hello and try Pillitteri’s wonderful wine!

Who Can You Find at the Farmers' Market this Saturday?

This is the list, folks! See who you can find at the Farmers’ Market this Saturday, October 24th! Click on their names to find information on pre-orders and to learn more about their farms and businesses!

Check out their websites for more information about their products and to see what’s in season/currently available!

Live Music (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.): Coming Up Roses

Extra: 519Pursuit Sock Drive and, as always, Mark’s Fine Meats will have sliders!