Features Fruit Production
Matos Winery opening creates opportunity

June 27, 2011,
Charlottetown, PEI – The opening of the new Matos Winery in St. Catherines is a
boost to Prince Edward Island’s farm industry and to tourism, and good news for
the Island economy, says Allan Campbell, Minister of Innovation and Advanced
Learning.

June 27, 2011,
Charlottetown, PEI – The opening of the new Matos Winery in St. Catherines is a
boost to Prince Edward Island’s farm industry and to tourism, and good news for
the Island economy, says Allan Campbell, Minister of Innovation and Advanced
Learning.

“As MLA for Kellys
Cross-Cumberland, I’m pleased to take part in the official ribbon-cutting for
the Matos Winery,” said MLA Valerie Docherty, who attended and brought
greetings on behalf of Minister Campbell.

“But there have been
several years of careful planning, research and hard physical labour invested
in this project. With the first bottles of Matos wine ready for sale, we have a
locally made product that will compete with imported wines in our liquor stores.
Hopefully Matos wine will soon find its ways into markets outside of Prince
Edward Island.”

Matos Winery is owned
and operated by Jaime and Heather Matos, two veterans of the home winemaking
industry who decided that there was an opportunity for a quality Island-made
wine using grapes adapted to the soil and climate of Prince Edward Island.

Jaime Matos, who grew up
on a vineyard in his native Portugal, said the selection of the right location
and the right grape varieties is critical to making Matos Winery a success.

“Our vision is to grow
and introduce new products and continue to produce great quality wines,” said
Heather Matos. “The challenge with producing wines in this climate is that it
is a short season and you have to be very careful of the types of grapes you
plant.”

The wine from Matos’s
2010 harvest has just been bottled, with more than 7,000 bottles produced. They
expect to produce 87,000 bottles by 2014, increasing to a 95,000 annual output
by 2016 as the vines mature.

At full operation, the
winery will employ two people year-round and a larger staff of roughly four on
a seasonal basis. The Matos also offer vineyard tours, tasting and an on-site
gift shop.