Page 63 - Grapevine SeptOct 2021

International News

“To Kalon” on the label (or considerably bigger era varieties and improved winemaking techniques
bucks for a Pinot Noir identified as “La Tâche”), that the emergence of a wine industry focused on
you’ll want some pretty solid guarantee that you high quality began to emerge.
are actually getting what you’re paying for.
The Vintners Quality Alliance Act,1999 designat-
For winemakers, some wine laws can present ed VQA Ontario as Ontario’s wine authority on
compliance challenges. I’ve talked to more than June 29, 2000. Broadly speaking, the mandate of
one European winemaker who almost envies the VQA Ontario is to enforce the province’s appella-
amount of freedom given to their American coun- tion of origin system, control the use of specific
terparts. Want to plant (more) Albariño in Lodi? No terms, descriptions and designations, and set out
problem. Want to plant Albariño in Chianti Classico mandatory winemaking practices pursuant to each
or Burgundy? Not so fast….One winemaker here specific VQA region and sub-region. Winemakers
in Ontario actually gave up his winery in Tuscany have some flexibility when it comes to grape vari-
because he couldn’t deal with Italian bureaucracy. eties - so long as they are either Vitis vinifera or an
This is pretty stunning testimony given the bureau- approved hybrid (eg., Vidal), and there is no restric-
cracy level in Ontario. tion as to what variety needs to be planted where.

Though still considered a “young” wine producing There are the other usual checks and balances
country, Canada today has a thriving wine industry around things like brix levels at harvest for specific
situated largely in Ontario and British Columbia. types of wines and the pedigree of fruit for partic-
Wine has been produced in this country for over ular regional designations (the requirements for a
200 years, with the first commercial winery estab- wine labeled as VQA Ontario will be more relaxed
lished in Ontario in 1866. However, it wasn’t until than for a wine identified as an Estate Grown
the 1970s, with the expanded planting of Vitis vinif- Chardonnay with the designation VQA Beamsville

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