Scholarship created in honour of late Niagara winemaker Paul Pender

The late award-winning Niagara winemaker Paul Pender is being honoured with a new scholarship to support diversity in winemaking at Niagara College.

The fund is being created by Moray Tawse, owner of Tawse Winery in Vineland and Redstone Winery in Beamsville where Pender held the role of Director of Viticulture and Winemaking.

Tawse has made a donation of nearly $200,000 to form “The Tawse Winery Paul Pender Memorial BIPOC Student Award”.

The fund will go towards an annual $10,000 scholarship for BIPOC students in the Winery and Viticulture Technician program, from which Pender graduated from in 2006.

READ MORE: Late Niagara winemaker Paul Pender awarded Karl Kaiser Canadian Winemaker Award

The hope for the fund is to make the program more accessible to those that have historically been underrepresented in the industry.

Pender lost his life in February of 2022 at 54-years-old when OPP found his body outside his cottage in Selkirk, Ont.

Thirty-one-year-old Bradley House of Hamilton was later arrested and charged with second degree murder in connection with the winemaker’s death.

Known for his welcoming and positive approach to mentorship, and the scholarship is set to continue Pender’s legacy of advancing upcoming winemakers through meaningful support.

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