Canadian wines become world-class

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Dramatic changes to Canada’s wine industry have taken Canadian wines from not-very- good status to world class in little more than two decades.

“There’s been an extraordinary sea change in the last 20 years,” says wine author and columnistTony Aspler. “Canadian wines now can stand on the tables of the world without a blush.”

Canadian wines, in the past, were made from grape varieties like concord and niagara which were fine for making grape juice, but not wine. “Frankly, I would rather drink the glue they stuck the labels on (with) than drink those wines,” says Aspler.

4 reasons why wines improved

Several things occurred which spurred an improvement in Canadian wines.

In 1988 Canada signed a free trade agreement with the United States that eliminated subsidies from Canadian wines and so they had to compete with the rest of the world.

Then, several provinces paid farmers to pull out poor grape vines and put in new varieties better suited to making wine like the noble European varieties of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. In the province of British Columbia two-thirds of the vines were pulled out and replaced.

A Wine Content Act was passed in the province of Ontario proscribing the use of the inferior labrusca grapes for making wine.

And perhaps most important, was the introduction of the Vintners’ Quality Alliance which was an appellation system for British Columbia and Ontario. “That set minimum wine- making standards,” says Aspler.

Ice wines know internationally

Canadian ice wines became known in 1991 when one produced by Inniskillin in Ontario won a prestigious international prize in Bordeaux, France for its Vidal ice wine. And other wines are becoming known as well.

Different provinces have different offerings

Canada’s best wines, according to Aspler include sweet, dessert wines from the province of Quebec, especially ice cider. Nova Scotia produces good sparkling wines with high acidity. Ontario makes good riesling, chardonnay, and pinot noir. The westernmost province of British Columbia has some really hot weather near the border with the US and it produces some excellent cabernet sauvignon, shiraz blends and merlot. “The wines that are being produced today are certainly world-class,” says Aspler.

Not much Canadian wine sold abroad

Not much is sold outside Canada. Canadian wines are not inexpensive when compared to Chilean, Argentinian or Portugese wines. “We don’t have the economies of scale to produce wine on a mass scale,” he adds.

However there is increasing interest for example in Japan. Tokyo has an entire store stocked exclusively with Canadian wines. At home, Canadians are increasing drinking domestic wines and enjoying them more and more.