Does Canada produce any Wine?, if so is it exported to Europe?!
Does Canada produce any Wine?, if so is it exported to Europe?
Answers:
Yes Virgina, there is a Santa Claus...and wine -making in Canada.
Although not a big player in the wine world, Canadian wines have made great strides in recent years. Notable wine writers such as Oz Clarke, Jancis Robinson, etc have started including enthusiastic reviews of Canadian wineries in their wine guides.
The premium wine-making regions are:
British Columbia ( Okanogan Valley ) making a wide variety of quality wines from primarily vinifera grapes - particularily good are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Riesling. Coming on strong are Bordeaux -style blends. As with many other countries, quality can be variable so it is helpful to know the producers.
Ontario ( Niagara region ) is the largest quality wine producing region with a very wide selection of wines. Very noteworthy are Niagara Icewines which rival the best of Germany's offerings.
The Canadian wine industry has introduced an AOC/DOC system of quality control - the Vintners Quality Alliance
( VQA) which oversees the standards and practices for producing quality wines. The system is not perfect as it recognizes wines primarily made from vinifera grapes to the exclusion of almost all hybrids or lambrusca varietals.
With regard to availability in Europe - they may be difficult to find with exception to Icewines which are exported, but quantities are limited and prices high due to production methods.
The global drinks giant Constellation Brands purchase of Vincor ( Canada's biggest wine distributor ) will likely mean more Canadian wines reaching European markets in the future but for now....happy hunting.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the wines of my home province of Nova Scotia - specifically the internationally acclaimed icewines of Jost Vinyards & Domaine de Grand Pre. These wineries also produce lovely New York Muscats which are garnering attention as our industries 'signature' wines.