Inniskillin, which is mainly noted for its icewine production, has played an important pioneering role in the modern Canadian wine industry.

Before embarking on the Inniskillin project, Ziraldo was running a grapevine nursery and Karl Kaiser, a trained chemist, was a home wine maker.

An existing 1920s barn, thought to have been inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was restored for the winery's use, and has become something of a landmark.

In 1983, Karl Kaiser and three other Ontario wineries all left grapes on their vines in an attempt to produce ice wine, in order to put the harsh Canadian winter to good use.

Inniskillin and their Niagara neighbour Ewald Reif lost their entire crop to hungry birds, while the two wineries Hillebrand and Pelee Island, situated in another part of Ontario, were able to harvest a minuscule amount of frozen grapes.

This winery was started in collaboration with First Nation locals, the Okanaqueen Tribe of the Inkameep people, which kept vineyards on their land and supplied grapes to Inniskillin Okanagan.

[7] Later that year Karl Kaiser went into retirement, but stayed on as a consultant for Inniskillin's ice wine activities, and Ziraldo left the winery and his position as president.