[1][2] In the spring of 1974, Ziraldo was determined to start a winery after he and Karl Kaiser, an Austrian-born wine-maker who had immigrated to Canada a few years earlier, found the wines in Ontario to be "undrinkable".

[4] Their most well-known accomplishment was winning the coveted Grand prix d'honneur at Vinexpo, France in 1989 for the Inniskillin Vidal icewine.

[2] Kaiser and Ziraldo's first attempts to make Icewine failed miserably due to a flock of hungry starlings devouring the grapes.

[8] In 2011, Ziraldo was asked to manage a Port winery in the Douro Valley, Portugal, under the brand Senhora Do Convento.

[11] In 1998, Ziraldo was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest tribute paid to its citizens, and he also received an honorary Doctorate of Laws (LL.D.)