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How we’re helping make change

We are proud to be the wine for so many Canadians. But we acknowledge there is work to be done within the Canadian wine industry to foster a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world for every Canadian. It’s a long road ahead and we’re ready to do the work. These are our commitments to making an inclusive wine world a reality.

COMMITMENT 1

Keeping ourselves accountable

 

Accountability

With every creative endeavour we pursue, we choose to be guided by the advice and opinions of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teams inside our organization and out. We value these opinions immensely and will continue to seek them out to inform our decisions at every step.

We have a long journey of education and hard work ahead of us to create a more inclusive world, but we’re dedicated to making it a reality.

We’re continuing to educate ourselves and we’re consulting with a Chief Equity Officer to vet our own biases and inform us along the way.

COMMITMENT 2

Amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous, and all people of colour and increase their representation in the wine world.

 
 
 

Raising Voices

As a starting point, we’ve partnered with Vinequity to help ensure that people who identify as BIPOC are given equitable treatment and access to opportunity to grow and thrive in the Canadian wine industry.

We’re also doing more to help diversify the ranks of the wine industry, especially in leadership roles. To achieve this much-needed goal, we’re collaborating on a scholarship program that will provide marginalized communities with access to high quality wine education and support. Other initiatives are already in the works.

COMMITMENT 3

Support diverse Canadian creators

 
 
 
 
 

Featured Artists You Should Know

We’ve always been proud of the work we’ve done to support Canadian music. But we need to do more to help support artists and musicians from underrepresented and marginalized communities and use our privilege to amplify their voices.
Here’s an artist you should know.

Emanuel

He’s the first ever artist to be chosen for Spotify’s On The Radar program in Canada and is the voice behind the music in our new campaign. This Canadian singer/songwriter is undeniably talented and impresses with his smooth, soulful vocals and emotionally charged music. Stream his new EP “Alt Therapy Session 2: Transformation” and his moving single “Black Woman.”

To help amplify even more voices, we’re making a $10,000 donation to Nia Centre for the Arts, Emanuel’s charity of choice. Nia Centre is currently building Canada’s first professional arts centre dedicated to Black art.
Stream Album

And take a behind-the-scenes look at Emanuel in studio as he reimagines Jimmy Cliff’s “Wonderful World, Beautiful People,” the stirring soundtrack to our launch videos.
Watch Video

Using our Niagara Winery amphitheatre and social media channels, we’re sharing the stage (literally) to help more people be seen and heard. A listing of upcoming performances at our amphitheatre will be released this spring.

Featured Creators

We’ve created the Artists You Should Know program to share incredible artists who will be hosting galleries at the Niagara Estate winery. We’re dedicating the Great Hall to these galleries so that Canadian artists from historically underrepresented communities can share and sell their work with all our visitors.

If you’d like the chance to be featured in our Artists You Should Know series, tag us in a post with your art on Instagram with #JTArtCall.

Maia Faddoul

Maia Faddoul has passion for bright and colourful imagery. Her work often illustrates messages of intersectional feminism, empowerment, social justice, and her experience growing up with an immigrant background. She currently works out of her Montreal studio.

Visit Portfolio>

Andrew Jackson 

Andrew Jackson’s work explores the themes of selfhood, representation, and narration within intimate and personal interventions. He is co-founder and co-director of ReFramed, a British-based arts organization designed to create opportunities for racialized communities to engage with the visual arts.

Visit Portfolio>

Kellen Hatanaka 

Kellen Hatanaka is an artist from Toronto, Canada. His vibrant, figurative work is centered around heritage, tradition, identity and representation. He was awarded the Governor General’s award in 2016 along with Jon-Erik Lappano for their book, “Tokyo Digs a Garden.”

Visit Portfolio>

COMMITMENT 4

Representation in our creative & marketing

 
 
 
 
 

Representation Matters

For too long we haven’t celebrated everyone who enjoys our wine. We’re committed to ensuring more diversity within our own content and marketing campaigns. From the talent on screen to the people behind the camera, we know we need to do more to bring everyone to the table.

Watch Now

 

We've started by expanding our ambassador program to incorporate more diverse opinions and perspectives. We've created inclusive wine reviews that speak to more Canadians, and we also built a new library of wine GIFs, so that everyone who enjoys wine can see themselves reflected in memes and online culture. And we’re only getting started. You can find our new GIPHY page here.