Vignoble Carpinteri: wine and so much more

Tony Carpinteri left his native Italy in the 1970s to settle in Matane. Only 18 when he arrived, the Sicilian held a number of jobs in the food making and restaurant sectors—all of them earning him quick and rising success.

Armed with these achievements and the kind of determination that drives only the most brave-hearted of entrepreneurs, Mr. Carpinteri set out to introduce a little bit of his homeland to his adopted country. So, in 2004, he bought a strawberry field in Saint-Ulric, a community a few kilometres outside of Matane.

Nothing out of the ordinary in that, you might say. Except, in this case, Mr. Carpinteri's plan was to use this land to plant 9,000 feet of hybrid grapevines in a region known for its harsh winters but that also enjoys a microclimate just right for the cultivation of grapes. With that one bold move, the visionary brought Canada's northernmost winery…well, to fruition.

Anyone who might have questioned the viability of such an enterprise would be hard pressed today to explain the 15,000-some bottles of quality wine produced each year by Vignoble Carpinteri or the 600 or so visitors it welcomes each day during peak season to tour the winery and its facilities.

Grapes… getting the full treatment!

But beyond winemaking, Vignoble Carpinteri has used its success as a vineyard as a springboard to establish a second enterprise: a wine therapy spa. “We wanted to create something unique in Canada using the by-products from our vines,” explains Tony Carpinteri.

So the company's founder left nothing to chance by having a huge 19th century-style, Tuscan-inspired villa—designed and furnished by him—built on the site. The centrepiece of the five-hectare vineyard, this villa is the gathering place for visitors and guests of the spa. One area of the building is devoted entirely to the well-being treatments, while guests may extend their stay by checking in to one of the villa's six suites in order to continue enjoying the facilities and the many benefits of the grape in a comfortable, enchanting setting. Indeed, wine therapy–with its wide range of treatments using grape pumice, unfermented grape juice, grape seed and wine—is the logical extension of the vineyard's activities, believes Mr. Carpinteri.

The Carpinteri family's offerings include spa treatments, cooking workshops with the hosts, tours of the wine warehouse and, of course, wine tasting. With the addition of the spa, the vineyard is now able to welcome visitors 12 months a year, to the huge delight of regional tourism stakeholders. The hope is that this one-of-a-kind, highly-distinctive product will draw even more enthusiasts of culinary, discovery and high-end spa tourism—as well as more visitors from outside Quebec.

“The Romans, who understood very well the virtues of the grape and its many benefits for the skin, were part of our inspiration in creating Villa Carpinteri,” adds Tony Carpinteri

A bountiful harvest!

Vignoble Carpinteri has therefore won its winegrowing wager and is now pushing the envelope with its cutting-edge spa therapies. In fact, at present there are only about 10 spa centres in the world offering these types of treatments. The initiative has allowed the vineyard to create eight new jobs in the area and help diversify the economic fabric of a community that has certainly not been spared the effects of the recession. And it is precisely to foster this economic diversification and growth that Canada Economic Development decided to lend its financial support to Vignoble Carpinteri.

Let's all raise a glass to Mr. Carpinteri and to his enterprising spirit!