Where to start? Orazio (Gary) Vincenzo Pillitteri is a nonagenarian — he just turned 90 this spring. Seventy-eight years ago, he arrived in Niagara with his father to escape political persecution in his native Sicily. 

To say he has prospered is like saying Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. plays house league.

He and four generations of his family are passionate about wine-making. Their Pillitteri Estates Winery is one of Canada’s most prolific wineries, selling wines throughout the country and around the world.

He is, first and foremost, a farmer. 

Along the way he worked at General Motors for 18 years as a tool- and die-maker. He pioneered pizza in the Maritimes in the 1960s. He even had his own television cooking show.

He served as a Niagara-on-the-Lake alderman for a term and then in the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament for Niagara for three parliaments, including as vice-chair of the country’s finance committee. He says he was born a Liberal and virtually all Liberal leaders for the past four decades have sought his counsel.

He has personally and professionally won hundreds of awards and citations for his work, his community contribution and his wines. 

He spoke to The Lake Report on a quiet, sunny afternoon, over a glass of wine at the winery’s BarrelHead Restaurant. He walks gently, with a cane to support his step. He carries his head high, and greets everyone, staff and visitors alike. He loves his life and his world.

You came to Canada in 1948, at the age of 12, with your father and ahead of the rest of your family. What was your life like in Sicily, just after the Second World War?

Sicily was mostly spared from the war. But we were a little scared as a community. We huddled families into bigger houses. We had a bigger house in the country. And we huddled two, three, four, five families — as many as we could get — sleeping on the floor, all over. We thought that in larger groups we would be spared the war. And we were. Mostly.

Why did your family emigrate?

My father was a viticulturist. He had a big interest in what was happening in his own community, so he finally started running in politics. I will always remember at the kitchen table, from the time I was seven or eight years old, it was politics, politics, politics.

And politics are played rough over there. They couldn’t get to my father because he was so outspoken. They started failing us — his children — at school. A friend warned my father that his opponents could ruin his children’s future if he stayed.

He brought me with him to Canada, because I was the first to be attacked by the school. My mother and the rest of the family came to Canada over the next few years. By 1952.

What was Canada like for a new immigrant, in the aftermath of the war? Were you welcomed with open arms?

We arrived in St. Catharines, but there was nowhere my father could mix into the community. We moved to Hamilton. That was 1949, ’50 and ’51. We came back when the rest of my family came to Canada, by ’52. In ’53, we bought a small farm on Lakeshore Road. 

It was hard for a boy. You had to become English really fast. I changed my name to Gary to sound English. My real name is Orazio. Can you imagine? They would have called me “horse.”

Nowadays, I choose to have a little accent so I can sell wine better.

You lived and worked for a few years in Nova Scotia, a part owner of a restaurant, with your own TV cooking show. That’s a far cry from your farming background. Why?

I’ve never been complacent, accepting what was in front of me. I wanted to see what was out there in Canada. Lena and I got married in 1960. I was working at General Motors at the time. I quit. We went to Halifax to help my brother introduce pizza in the Atlantic provinces. We did that. I came back to Niagara and bought this farm in 1965. Fifteen acres. Mostly fruit trees. And I worked at GM again. 

In 1974, you opened Gary’s Farm Market here on Niagara Stone Road. How did you discover you wanted to make wine?

Once we opened the Farm Market, I quit GM again. I was a tool- and die-maker for almost 18 years. On and off. The Market gave me an opportunity to be more self-independent. It gave me income and helped us pay for the farm. We had some Labrusca grapes. We had another small property on East-West Line. We started planting some French hybrid and other vinifera grapes. I was making my own wines all that time. It was in my blood.

Then one year, my son-in-law Jamie Slingerland entered one of my amateur icewines in a competition. He came to me and said: “Daddy, you won the competition.” It was the beginning.

Then in 1988, when I first was running in the federal election, my friends asked me what I would do if I lost (I did lose that election). So, that fall, we left some Vidal grapes with the netting. And that’s when I started with icewine.

In the 1980s, you served locally as a town alderman and later for over a decade as a Member of Parliament. What made you want to jump into politics?

I was good friends with Wilbert Dick. When he entered politics here in town, running first for regional council and later mayor, he asked me to join him. I told him I was way too busy with family and business. But the next election, he entered my name without even telling me. We won. But I had lots of opposition. I was just too progressive.

During all that time, I was an active Liberal. A Liberal at heart. I was an advisor. And an organizer. Even Pierre Trudeau asked me when I was going to run for the party. I lost that first election but was successful in the next three elections. 

You served many years on the finance committee of Parliament. What were the big issues you wanted Canadians to address during your tenure?

Free trade was a big issue at that time. I believe in free trade. I thought we had to understand that we lived under the same umbrella as the United States. But they owned the umbrella.

And here we are again. I admire the kills of this government of Carney. We have the right man and he’s doing the right thing. We’re buying some of the jobs. But we have to protect them.

It’s clear that your family has been a cornerstone of your winery’s success. You have four generations working with you. But the Pillitteri family is scattered gainfully all around the Niagara region. It must be very satisfying to have everyone around you. Tell us about your wife Lena and your family team. 

My wife Lena has been devoted to me and all my whims. I was 24 and she was 17, from the old country. She followed me along every road and every alley. I’m from an old culture. I married my wife because I love family. My three loves are family, politics and agriculture.

Nine of my family work here at the winery, four generations. My great-grandson is a busboy at the restaurant. But we have doctors and lawyers and teachers too, all around Niagara. Except one. He’s playing hockey in Germany, but he’ll be back.

In fact, I really don’t do anything now. I live right next-door to the winery. I stay up late and watch CPAC. Get up late. And spend my days supporting everyone here at the winery. And I know everything. Don’t forget I have keys for everything … and I know everyone.

What’s your favourite wine?

They are all my children. It is the Exclamation series, our top wines. I don’t drink much anymore. If you don’t drink a lot, you might as well drink the best.

Now the hard part — what is the highlight of your illustrious career?

As an immigrant, I wanted to be equal among equals. And having been elected as a Member of Parliament. That was a highlight. I still find it hard to believe I did it.

Meeting the Pope was a highlight. Having Pierre Elliott Trudeau personally urging me to run.

But my real highlight is my family. I am blessed. Seeing them as part of my lifelong dream is wonderful.

If you were a politician again, what issues would you want to address in NOTL? In Canada?

Simple. Don’t favour development and don’t favour the status quo. Get the zoning right and then keep it. Work for the community, not just your interests. And make room for the children. Leave room for them to make mistakes too.

I have been involved in this community for 78 years. Don’t tell me you are an expert now or tell me what I need. We made it what it is.

I understand you still enjoy golf.

I play every Saturday morning with my friends. Then we come back to BarrelHead for a few beers and pizza. What could be better?

The Lake Report’s conversation with Gary Pillitteri has been edited for length and clarity.