Canadian wine
Encyclopedia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
. There is also a growing number of small scale producers of grapes and wine in southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The two largest wine-producing regions in Canada are the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and the Niagara Peninsula
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada lying between the south shore of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people...
of Ontario. Other wine-producing areas in British Columbia include the Similkameen
Similkameen
Similkameen is the name of a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia which has several possible local meanings:* the Similkameen River...
valley, the Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
region near Vancouver, southern Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, the Creston Valley, in the Kootenay area and the Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
. Other areas in Ontario include the shores of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
and in Prince Edward County
Prince Edward County, Ontario
Prince Edward County is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario.-Geography:Prince Edward County is located in Southern Ontario on a large irregular headland or littoral at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, just west of the head of the St. Lawrence River...
.
The Canadian wine industry also vinifies imported grapes and juice. These products are labeled Cellared in Canada
Cellared in Canada
Cellared in Canada is a term used to designate Canadian wine that is produced with varying quantities of Canadian and foreign bulk wine. These wines are often sold in government-run liquor stores in sections designated as "Canadian wine"...
and are not required to conform to the strict Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems in France , Italy , and Germany...
content regulations.
Icewine, which can be produced reliably in most Canadian wine regions, especially the Okanagan Valley, is the most recognized product on an international basis. Canada produced 75.9 million litres of wine in 2002 (0.3% of world production).
History
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
grapes from Europe with limited success. They found it necessary to focus on the native species of Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
and Vitis riparia
Vitis riparia
Vitis riparia Michx, also commonly known as River Bank Grape or Frost Grape, is a native American climbing or trailing vine, widely distributed from Quebec to Texas, and Montana to New England. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees...
along with various hybrids. However, the market was limited for such wines because of their peculiar taste which was often called "foxy". However, this became less apparent when the juice was made into Port- and Sherry-styled wines.
During the first half of the twentieth century, the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
and later consumer demand for fortified
Fortified wine
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...
and sweet wines hampered the development of a quality table wine industry. However, during the 1960s consumer demand shifted from sweet and fortified wines to drier and lower alcohol table wines. At the same time, there were significant improvements in wine-making technology, access to better grape varieties and disease-resistant clones, and systematic research into viticulture.
After the repeal of alcohol prohibition in Canada
Prohibition in Canada
The temperance movement reached its height in Canada in the 1920s, when outside imports were cut off by provincial referendums. As legislation prohibiting consumption of alcohol was repealed, it was typically replaced with regulation restricting the sale of alcohol to minors and imposing excise...
in 1927, provinces strictly limited the number of licences to produce wine. A nearly 50-year moratorium on issuing new winery licences was finally dropped in 1974. During the same decade, demonstration planting began to show that Vitis vinifera could be successfully grown in Canada. Other growers found that high quality wines could be produced if Vitis vinifera vines were grown with reduced yields, new trellising techniques, and appropriate canopy management.
In 1988, three important events occurred: the free trade
Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
The Free Trade Agreement was a trade agreement signed by Canada and the United States on October 4, 1988. The agreement, finalized by October 1987, removed several trade restrictions in stages over a ten year period, and resulted in a great increase in cross-border trade...
with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the establishment of the Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems in France , Italy , and Germany...
(VQA) standard, and a major grape vine replacement/upgrading program. Each of these events served in one way or another to improve the viability of the wine industry in Canada.
During the 1990s, Canadian vintners continued to demonstrate that fine grape varieties in cooler growing conditions could potentially possess complex flavours, delicate yet persistent aromas, tightly focused structure and longer ageing potential than their counterparts in warmer growing regions of the world.
Market share
Canadian wines have a less than 50 percent share of the Canadian wine market, making Canada one of the few wine-producing countries where domestically produced wines do not hold a dominant share. Wine in general has been increasing its market share against other alcoholic beverages (beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and spirits
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
): since the late 1990s wine has increased its market share from 21% to 28% and since 2007 wine sales have increased by 9.5% to $5 billion.
While there are many small Canadian wineries, the domestic wine market has long been dominated by two companies, Vincor International and Andres Wines. In 2006, Vincor International, which had grown aggressively in previous years by acquiring wineries in California, Australia and New Zealand, was itself acquired by Constellation Brands, a U.S. based company and one of the primary consolidators of the global wine business.
Exports
Some Canadian wine is exported to the United States, Europe and the Far East. Canada shipped US$4.9 million worth of wine to the United States in 2001. Icewine is a major export product for Canadian wineries. Much of the wine exported overseas is in the form of icewine. The largest importers are Asian countries, particularly China and Japan.Cellared in Canada controversy
In late 2009, local and international criticism of the "Cellared in CanadaCellared in Canada
Cellared in Canada is a term used to designate Canadian wine that is produced with varying quantities of Canadian and foreign bulk wine. These wines are often sold in government-run liquor stores in sections designated as "Canadian wine"...
" practice and the LCBO emerged. Under the "Cellared in Canada" label, Canadian wine producers can import
Import
The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...
pre-fermented grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
must
Must
Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...
from grapes grown in other countries to produce wines under their own wine label
Wine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...
. In Ontario, producers are allowed to designate these wines as being made or "cellared
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
" in Canada if they contain at least 30% local Ontario grapes. In British Columbia, growers do not need to have any local grapes at all in the wine. Grape growers in Ontario began protesting the practice as a threat to their livelihood claiming that thousands of tons of Canadian grapes are left rotting on the vine because producers are using imported grapes to make wine labelled as "Canadian". Wine producers who do not use the "Cellared in Canada" designation criticised the practice as tarnishing the reputation of Canadian wines and misleading consumers. Producers and growers in Canada have petitioned the government for several changes in the practices such as making the origin of grapes more clear on the wine label and increasing the visibility of 100% Canadian wines produced by members of the Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems in France , Italy , and Germany...
(VQA) in province run liquor stores. As of August 2009, the province stores of the LCBO featured less than 2.5% Canadian wine produced by VQA members with the vast majority of its wines produced under the "Cellared in Canada" designation with up to 70% foreign grapes.
See also
- Vintners Quality AllianceVintners Quality AllianceVintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems in France , Italy , and Germany...
- Cellared in CanadaCellared in CanadaCellared in Canada is a term used to designate Canadian wine that is produced with varying quantities of Canadian and foreign bulk wine. These wines are often sold in government-run liquor stores in sections designated as "Canadian wine"...
- Ontario wineOntario wineOntario wine is Canadian wine produced in the province of Ontario. Wines made from 100% Ontario grapes can qualify for classification under Ontario's appellation system, the Vintners Quality Alliance , depending on the varietal, the wine-making techniques employed, and other restrictions...
- British Columbia wineBritish Columbia wineBritish Columbia wine is Canadian wine produced in the province of British Columbia. Wines made from 100 percent British Columbia grapes can qualify for classification under one of British Columbia's two classification systems, depending on the varietal, the wine-making techniques employed, and...
- Quebec wineQuebec wine-History:When French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed the St. Lawrence River, he noted the presence of wild grapes on Île d'Orléans and for this reason named it Île de Bacchus, in honour of the Roman God of wine and drunkenness...
- Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture InstituteCool Climate Oenology and Viticulture InstituteThe Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, was established in 1996 and is a partnership with the Wine Council of Ontario and the Ontario Grape Growers Marketing Board, now the Grape Growers of Ontario...
- Ice wineIce wineIce wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape must to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more...
- Globalization of wineGlobalization of wine"Globalization is the expansion of brands across nations and into other continents. In food and wine it refers to the whole problem of making the product global. The primary issue is scaling production while reducing the costs of goods with processes. In marketing it refers to wearing the mantle of...
Further reading
- Tony Aspler. (1999). Vintage Canada: The Complete Reference to Canadian Wines, 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. ISBN 0-07-086043-2.
- John Schreiner. (2005). The Wines of Canada. Mitchell Beazly an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Limites. ISBN 1-84533-007-2.