Grape Growers of Ontario

July 30, 2009

Peter Mansbridge to speak at 2009 Scotiabank Celebrity Luncheon

St. Catharines, ON (Thursday, July 30, 2009): The Grape Growers of Ontario, in partnership with Scotiabank, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the Niagara Wine Festival, are pleased to announce that one of greatest broadcast journalists in Canadian history - Peter Mansbridge – will be the speaker at the 2009 Celebrity Luncheon which kicks off the 58th annual Niagara Wine Festival. The event will take place at Club Roma in St. Catharines on Wednesday, September 16th at 11:30 a.m.

Peter Mansbridge is the anchor of The National, host of Mansbridge: One-on-One as well as an internationally renowned public speaker and well-known author. In 2008 Mansbridge was named an ‘Officer of the Order of Canada’ for his contributions to broadcasting, commitment to helping Canadians better understand their country and for his dedication to literacy and Canada’s youths.

Bill George Jr., Chair of the Grape Growers of Ontario, said, “We are delighted to continue the tradition of celebrating Canada, with the best of our National celebrities and the best of our locally grown wine.” Debbie Zimmerman, CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario said, “We are pleased to have Peter Mansbridge join us and share in celebrating Ontario’s world-class grape and wine industry.”

“We look forward with great anticipation to having Peter Mansbridge speak at the 26th annual Scotiabank Celebrity Luncheon,” said Larry Graber, Scotiabank’s Agricultural Banking Relationship Manager. “We’re delighted to have such a well-known speaker joining us,” Graber continued.

“Ontario grapes provide a world of possibilities: high quality wines, jobs and tourism opportunities. The success of the Greenbelt depends on the success of the Niagara grape and wine industry, so we are proud to once again sponsor this year's Luncheon. Hopefully we’ll be able to take Greenbelt grapes National with this year's speaker, the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge,” said Burkhard Mausberg, President, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation.

Barry Katzman, Co-Chair of the Niagara Wine Festival, said, “We look forward to welcoming Peter Mansbridge, a well respected Canadian media personality, to the annual Luncheon which signals the official start for this year’s Niagara Wine Festival.”

Ticket order forms are available here or by calling the office at (905) 688-0990.

The Grape Growers of Ontario is the official organization that represents over 600 grower members of 17.1 million vines on 15,000 acres in the province’s four viticulture areas: Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island, Lake Erie North Shore and Prince Edward County.

For more information contact:

Debbie M. Zimmerman, CEO

(905) 688-0990 ext. 225

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