Veritable
Viticulturist
Born in Pisticci, a small
town in the Province of Matera, Italy, Grace Cisterna, as a child, immigrated
to Canada with her family, 1952, following the trail of an uncle who had
earlier immigrated to Canada. After completing her formal schooling, she
married Angelo Locilento, and began working as a hairdresser. By the time
she owned her own salon, she chose to stop working in order to raise three
sons. By 1985, she returned to work but this time joining her husband’s
company, Vin Bon Juice Co., a distributer of fresh juice for the home wine-making
business that was booming. The business acumen she learned from managing
her husband’s flagship store prompted her and her husband to establish
their own Ontario winery. Calling it Cilento Wines Ltd., Grace took over
as managing director and has never looked back. By 1995, Cilento Wines
had its first vintage. Today, Grace is proud that the wine company she
and her husband established in the City of Vaughan, Ontario, is already
producing winning wines worldwide. She now has completed a series of certificate
and diploma courses, furthering her hands-on education in viticulture,
wine tasting, and the overall study of wine. If Grace has anything to do
with generating international respect for Canada’s wine industry, Cilento
Wines will command the same prestige and respect as wines produced from
the Italian vineyards where she was born. In this view, Mayor Lorna Jackson,
right, City of Vaughan, Ontario, has just presented Grace and Angelo Locilento
with a certificate following the official opening of the 36,000 square
foot Cilento facility in Woodbridge, 1995. [Photo, courtesy Cilento Wines]