Cave Spring Vineyard

About Cave Spring Vineyard

Wine is said to paint a picture on the palate of the place where it was born. As Cave Spring Cellars celebrates thirty years of winemaking excellence, it is with a sense of deep appreciation for the place our wines are born. Cave Spring has established itself as one of Canada’s most acclaimed wineries. The distinct soil and climate of our vineyards on the Beamsville Bench have and will always play a critical role in the ongoing journey of crafting elegant and distinctive cool-climate wines.

Great winemaking finds its origins through a marriage of vision, passion and patience. More than three decades ago, the Pennachetti family helped to pioneer the cultivation of noble European grape varietals on the Niagara Peninsula with the planting of their first Riesling and Chardonnay vines at Cave Spring Vineyard. In the years since, Cave Spring Cellars has established itself as one of Canada’s most acclaimed wineries, earning a reputation for crafting elegant and distinctive cool-climate wines in the heart of Ontario’s wine country.

Representative Biography

Gabriel Demarco, Winemaker and Viticulturist

Gabriel Demarco (B.A., Hon. B.Sc.) is a graduate with Honours of the prestigious Oenology and Viticulture Institute (OEVI) at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, located at the heart of Canada’s Niagara Peninsula.
Born in London, Ontario, in 1980, Gabriel’s path to winemaking was by no means direct. After a period roaming the globe, he attended McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he studied theatre arts and history. During his studies, Gabriel joined the Canadian Naval Reserve to finance his studies and travel the world while serving his country. After completing his B.A. at McMaster, he moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he continued his studies, earning a Hon. B.A. in Performance from the University of Winnipeg.
By 2005, Gabriel was a working actor in Toronto, Ontario. Although wine was always a part of his family’s culture, he began to realize the depth of his passion for wine at this stage of his life. While working as a server at Jump – a cornerstone of the city’s culinary scene and part of the celebrated Oliver & Bonacini group – Gabriel was bitten by the wine bug. Facilitated by O&B’s exceptional training regimen, he added the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Advanced Wine Certificate to his resumé, becoming an integral member of O&B’s wine team.
Realizing that his true professional passion lay in winemaking, Gabriel entered the Oenology and Viticulture (OEVI) program at Brock University in 2009. By the summer of 2010, Gabriel was hired by Cave Spring Vineyard’s founding winemaker, Angelo Pavan, to intern in the winery’s eponymous vineyard. Upon graduation in 2013, Gabriel’s ambitions began to materialize when Pavan, whose work he had admired for years, hired him as a full-time winemaker. Continuing to groom under
Pavan’s tutelage, he quickly progressed to the position of Assistant Winemaker in 2014.
Seeing Gabriel’s intuitive understanding of viticulture and its centrality to the expression of terroir, Pavan turned the reigns over to Gabriel in 2018. As Winemaker and Viticulturist, Gabriel oversees all aspects of winegrowing with a relentless drive to refine the distinctive style that the winery has established in Niagara over the decades. He is also the driving force behind Cave Spring’s passionate and evolving commitment to sustainability and an enthusiastic collaborator in the marketing and promotion of Cave Spring Vineyard wines in Canada and beyond.
In addition to his winegrowing responsibilities, Gabriel is committed to the continued development of the Ontario wine industry, sitting as Chair of the Vintners Quality Alliance of Ontario’s Standards Technical Committee.

Why We're Cool

For more than 25 years, the combination of precise work in the vineyards and a measured touch in the cellars have made the Chardonnays from Cave Spring Vineyard standard-bearers for a style that emphasizes finesse, agebility and, perhaps above all, the steadfast belief in making Chardonnay that is true to its cool-climate origins. Today, among its more than 66 hectares of vineyards the winery farms 12 hectares of Chardonnay that are the source of 100% of the winery's production of this noble grape.