Vin Villa was built by Thaddeus Smith in 1868 and was the first commercial winery built in Ontario.

The historical marker at the site reads:

His wine cellar was cut out of solid rock 12 FT. deep, by 40 FT. wide and 60 FT. long and was covered over by two enormous stone arches. The basement was built over the wine cellar and the entrance was made large enough for horses and wagon to enter with a full load of grapes. Over the basement a 1 1/2 story, southern style mansion was constructed and the entire building was built by stones hewn out of the wine cellar. It was full of artifacts and antiques and housed many families of the island. It was destroyed by fire in 1963 and the stately remains still look searchingly out from Pelee's north shore.


Sadly we were not allowed any closer to the ruins at this time.