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Dandurand Wines and Pelee Island Winery Renew Partnership as Official Wine Partners of the Shaw Centre

The Shaw Centre, Dandurand Wines and Pelee Island Winery announce a three-year renewal of their existing partnership that will continue to provide conference attendees with world class selection of wines from Dandurand and wines from Canada’s best known and largest family-owned estate wineries.

Through this partnership Dandurand and Pelee Island remain the exclusive wine suppliers of the world-class meeting facility, with a presence at over 400 annual conferences, conventions, meetings and events, in front of almost 500,000 annual attendees and facility visitors. In addition to the exclusive supply rights, both Dandurand and Pelee Island will receive other advertising and activation opportunities within the facility.

“We’re very proud to have an outstanding relationship with Dandurand Wines and Pelee Island Winery,” says Josh Verch, Director of Marketing and Partnerships. Our partners at Pelee and Dandurand ensure we’re offering the best wines by presenting a menu of Ontario and international selections, which give a variety of options to present to our clients.”

“Our origins are an integral part of our strategy. They guide us towards the pursuit of our main goal: to create value for everyone. Through the years, we’ve managed to maintain an agile business with a human touch, all while developing the skills and practices you’d find in much larger, multinational companies.” Said Philippe Dandurand, founder of Dandurand Wines. Dandurand’s representation of 35 of the most prestigious wine producers in the world will allow the Shaw Centre to continuously stay on top of international wine trends and deliver an exceptional experience for attendees.

Three bottles of red and white wine with three filled glasses.
A bottle of white and red wine with two filled glasses.

“We are delighted to feature a selection of our well-crafted and award-winning wines at the Shaw Centre” quoted Walter Schmoranz, President & Winemaster of Pelee Island Winery. “Pelee Island Winery builds on a long tradition of grape growing and winemaking dating back to the late 1860’s. With over 700 acres of vineyards, we take our stewardship of the land very seriously. We are dedicated to creating the best quality wines in an ecologically conscious manner, on an international level from our own distinct viticultural region”.

Pelee Island Winery is a certified Sustainable Winemaking Ontario winery and will be showcasing their Sauvignon Blanc and Lighthouse Riesling as the featured Canadian whites along with their Cabernet Franc / Sauvignon and Shiraz as the featured Canadian reds. For those celebrating special milestones at the Shaw Centre Pelee also offers their Pelee Secco. Complementing the Canadian offering, Dandurand will be featuring the Folonari Pinot Grigio and Folonari Valpolicella as the main international wines. The two import wines are produced by the largest Italian supplier in Canada, and the #1 selling brand in Ontario. In addition to these featured wines, clients will have the ability to select from a number of award-winning wines offered by both Dandurand Wine and Pelee Island Winery.

A bottle of Prosecco with drinking glasses on each side.
A glass of Prosecco is poured.

This partnership will allow Shaw Centre to continuously offer local and world-class quality wines to its attendees. Clients have the opportunity to connect with Pelee Island Winery and Dandurand Wines to create the ultimate wine experience for their event.


About the Shaw Centre

Shaw Centre, previously known as the Ottawa Congress Centre was founded in 1983. The Centre was redeveloped into a new, larger facility with project funding from the Province of Ontario, the City of Ottawa and the Government of Canada which opened its doors in April 2011 as the Ottawa Convention Centre (OCC). In October 2014, the OCC entered into a 10-year partnership with Shaw Communications, rebranding the facility as the Shaw Centre. The state-of-the-art convention centre is a spectacular venue that induces economic impact by hosting conventions, conferences, meetings, and events. In 2021 we were honoured to receive the International Association of Conference Centres (AIPC) APEX award for “World’s Best Convention Centre”. The award is based on a comprehensive analysis of the centre’s performance based on customer satisfaction surveys. The building and its brand act as strong advocates for professionalism, environmental respect, conservation, sustainable living and corporate social responsibility. Each year the Shaw Centre welcomes over 500,000 guests to its facility and has hosted over 3,500 events since re-opening directly boosting Ottawa’s economy by over $500M in direct spending. The Centre is governed by a board of directors, managed by an expert team of professionals and operationally driven by inspired colleagues and selected suppliers whose main goal is to create extraordinary events. shaw-centre.com

About Dandurand Wines

Dandurand Wines which was founded in 1968, now with over 130 employees and 50 years of experience, is the largest family-run wine importation business in Canada. Dandurand represents 35 exclusive wine producers—leaders in their category—for a total volume approximating 4 million cases. It’s this vast and varied imported wine portfolio that makes Dandurand the undisputed choice of Canadian-wine-industry decision-makers. With offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, Dandurand maintains relationships with Canada’s various alcohol monopolies as well as the market’s main influencers. What’s more, Dandurand provides its partners with an experienced sales team in all ten provinces.

About Pelee Island Winery

Founded in 1979, Pelee Island Winery is established as one of Canada’s best known and largest family-owned estate wineries. Home to the birthplace of wine growing in Canada with the Vin Villa vineyards, Pelee Island’s viticultural history predates Canada itself. Pelee Island is home to 700+ acres of vitis vinifera vineyards. Here, in an internationally recognized microclimate created by its extreme southerly latitude and the moderating effect of Lake Erie, the vines of Pelee Island Winery enjoy Canada’s longest growing season and thrive in the island’s rich limestone-based soils. The combination of sun, soil, lake and latitude create ideal grape-growing conditions and provide the source of Pelee Island Winery’s Award Winning Wines.


For More Information

Josh Verch
Director, Marketing and Partnerships
Shaw Centre
613-294-1528
jverch@shaw-centre.com