News Industry Updates Cultivation
Canopy Growth leases vineyard to Niagara College

Canopy Growth Corp. is looking to cultivate stronger relations with Niagara College.

On Feb. 10, the company announced that it will be leasing its Niagara-on-the-Lake vineyard property to Niagara College’s Teaching Winery. The Concession 5 Vineyard, which Canopy Growth acquired in May 2019, is located next to its Tweed Farms greenhouses. The college will be taking over its operations as an environmentally and socially sustainable operation that will provide new learning opportunities for the College’s wine students.

“Ensuring the vineyard continued to operate in a sustainable manner was very important to Canopy Growth as well as the community of Niagara-on-the-Lake,” said Jeff Ryan, vice-president of Government and Stakeholder Relations at Canopy Growth. “This partnership maintains the historical use of the property and we could not be more satisfied that it will become a hub for learning to be enjoyed by Niagara College’s students for decades to come. ”

Steve Gill, general manager of Niagara College’s Learning Enterprise Corporation – including the Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery and Teaching Distillery – noted the importance of the wine and cannabis production sectors working together in Niagara and pointed to the new partnership as a testament to what can be achieved.

“This partnership is a win-win-win,” said Gill. “Our wine students gain experience at a second Niagara vineyard, Canopy benefits from our dedication to minimizing impact on its greenhouse operations, and Niagara-on-the-Lake residents gain good neighbours through our commitment to maintaining the vineyards with sustainable farming practices.”

Gill added that the new space will become a secondary production site for the Teaching Winery. It will exclude any chemical herbicides or insecticides and will instead rely on mechanical and cultural means to control weeds and insects.

Niagara College’s Teaching Winery is the first and only commercial teaching winery in Canada. It is located at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, along with the NC Teaching Brewery and the NC Teaching Distillery, which were also the first of their kind in Canada.

Niagara College also made history in 2018 by launching Commercial Cannabis Production graduate certificate program in fall 2018 – the first of its kind in Canada. The program was designed to meet significant demand for qualified and professional workers in Canada’s pioneering cannabis industry.