|
Wines of Canada
Canada’s wine industry has only recently come of age. This is largely thanks to a new generation of ambitious and dynamic wine makers, from both within the country and from abroad, who have spent the past couple of decades, upgrading Canada’s vineyards and wineries. They have had the vision to put quality before quantity and while there is still a long way to go; results to date, are extremely promising. Efforts are being directed, specifically at improving vineyard practices, cultivating more suitable vine clones and introducing new technology into the wineries.
Background to wine production in Canada:
Although grapes have been grown in both British Columbia and Ontario, since the 1860s, Canada’s vineyards were mainly planted with hardy, indigenous and hybrid grapes. Until fairly recently, it seemed a firmly held belief amongst the country’s grape growers, that international, “vitis vinifera” grape varieties could not survive the harsh Canadian winters.
Surprisingly, the oldest “vitis vinifera” only dates back to 1963. It was not until the 1980s that the wines of Canada really started to gain international credibility, when the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) classification system was established, in Ontario.
During the 1980s, Canada’s grape growers dug up many of their inferior vines and replaced them with such internationally popular grapes as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.
Main wine producing regions:
Canada’s vineyards are located, mainly in the south of the country, around the shores of the Great Lakes and in British Columbia. The two main wine producing regions are Niagara Peninsula, in southern Ontario and the Okanagan Valley, B.C.
Ontario accounts for approximately three quarters of all Canada’s vineyards. Although Ontario is on the same latitude as southern France, its climate is extremely different. Lakes Ontario and Erie, however, moderate the region’s harsh climatic conditions. This area is well known for its consistently good, quality white wines and more recently, some decent reds.
Canada’s other main wine-producing region, British Columbia, is located a few thousand miles away, in the extreme west of the country. Here, the area under vine is only about one tenth of the size of Ontario’s. British Columbian wine makers have been known to describe their task as “frontier grape growing”. This is because they have to contend with their northern desert region of sandy soils, arid summers and bitterly cold winters. Despite this constant battle, some of the region’s prime vineyard sites, around the Okanagan Valley, are relatively temperate and well suited to the vine.
Apart from the two main wine producing regions of Ontario and British Columbia, there are a few smaller vineyards, struggling to survive in ice-bound Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Main grape varieties:
Approximately half the country’s area under vine is currently planted with “vitis vinifera” international grape varieties. The remainder comprises hardy hybrids.
White grape varieties:
As well as Chardonnay, the main white grape varieties include Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Vidal and Ehrenfelser.
Red grape varieties:
Today, Merlot is probably Canada’s most successful red grape variety, followed closely by Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. As Canadian wine makers are becoming more experienced at matching vines with particular terroir, the latter two grape varieties are producing increasingly better quality wines. Shiraz and Cabernet Franc are also gaining in popularity.
In addition, hybrid vines, such as Baco Noir and Marechal Foch are capable of producing some interesting, full-bodied, everyday wines.
Wine styles:
Today, some of Canada’s most interesting wines are to be found in the dry table-wine category.
The style and flavour of Canadian wine tends to be dictated more by the individual wine maker than the use of any specific grape variety. Chardonnay is a prime example. Ontario’s “Thirty Bench” Chardonnay is often identified by its added flavour layers of oatmeal and fruitiness rather than the grape’s general characteristics of buttery oak.
Eiswein:
Canada is famous for its sweet, white Eiswein made from Riesling or Vidal grapes that have been picked while frozen on the vine. The grapes are then quickly pressed before they defrost so that the water content remains behind in the press, separating it from the rich, sweet juices that have been squeezed from the frozen grapes.
Eiswein has a character and style all of its own and is produced in both the country’s major wine regions of Ontario and British Columbia.
Because the alcohol content of this sweet, dessert-style wine is in excess of 15%, EU legislation classifies it as a fortified wine. Unfortunately, therefore, the sale of Eiswein as table wine is prohibited to EU countries, unless it is purchased as a gift. Eiswein, incidentally, has also become a popular gift within the Japanese business travel sector.
This anomaly of EU Regulations, however, is currently under review.
What does the future hold for the Canadian wine industry?
Nowadays, Canada’s wine producers are concentrating their efforts upon improving the general standards and quality of their dry, light and elegant wines produced from international grape varieties.
Wine production, in Canada’s main regions, is now serious business. An encouraging development occurred in June 2000, when Brock University, Ontario, opened a new wine teaching and research centre to support its recently established “Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute. The future of looks bright for Canada’s wine industry.
| 
