ONTARIO'S ELEGANT WINES
December 31, 2007

Only a few years ago most wine enthusiasts would drink nothing but imported products. Few considered Ontario wines worth the effort to buy and consume. The perception started to change gradually from 1972 onwards with Inniskillin Wines coming on stream, and producing wines that were superior to anything that had been vinted before in the province. This originally small winery was granted the first winery license since the prohibition by the then chair of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario retired General Kitching. At first Inniskillin made hybrid varietal wines like Marechal Foch, de Chaunac, Chambourcin, Vidal just to name a few. Vitis vinifera wines figured very seldom as their availability was very spotty.

Chateau des Charmes raised the bar making and marketing exclusively vitis vinifera grape wines, and today Ontario wines routinely win enviable international awards in reputable wine competitions.

Modern Ontario wines bear no resemblance to those produced in the 1980's and before. Today, grape growers know that they must first and foremost select vitis vinifera grapes such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Aligote, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Merlot, to name just a few, or plant hybrids (Marechal Foch, de Chaunac, Chambourcin, Leon-Millot, Seyval Blanc, Vidal), and keep yields low. Wineries pay grape growers according to the sugar content; this forces farmers to wait until the grapes are ripe.

VQA (Vintners Quality Assurance), a regulation and control body active in Ontario and British Columbia, established strict rules and regulations in an attempt to improve the quality of wines bearing the VQA label. By and large these efforts resulted in wines of high enough quality and flavour characteristics to win gold medals in prestigious wine competition venues such as Vinexpo in Bordeaux and Vinitaly in Verona, International Wine Fair of Verona, and Vinexpo in Bordeaux - two of the most important and prestigious wine competitions in the world.

Ontario enjoys a relatively cool climate and wines bear the characteristics of grapes grown in northern climes. These wines are light, aromatic, and exude pleasant fruit smells, reminding one of berries, pineapples, dried fruits, in icewines).

Ontario grapes ripen in sunshine and heat during the day, and are exposed to low temperatures during the night, thus the development of aromatic components. In hot countries with uniformly hot days, grapes ripen without developing sufficient levels of acidity. Such grapes yield flat wines.

Pending on vintage, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, and now increasingly Vancouver Island and Ontario's wineries, produce excellent white and red wines. Icewines (trademarked spelling of Canadian) are a separate category and class of their own. They have now won enough medals to fill a small museum, and enjoy an excellent reputation not only at home, but also in many other countries, particularly in the Pacific Rim and lately in Europe.

Ontario and British Columbia governments permit wineries to import bulk wine and blend with local product. These wines are not allowed to carry the VQA label and consumers should be aware of this. You can, with confidence, buy locally produced wines, but you must consider the reputation of the winery and the quality of the vintage (2001 in Ontario was very poor). Of the recent vintages, 1995 was outstanding, 1996 poor to acceptable, 1997 and 1998 good to very good. 2002, 2003 and 2004 were all fine.

The following VQA wines on L C B O's general list are likely to please your palate:

Aligote, Chateau des Charmes (CSPC 284950),
Trius Chardonnay,Hillebrand Estates (291484),
Johannisberg Riesling,Konzelmann (200501),
Riesling, Vineland Estates (167551),
Cabernet Franc, Pelee Island Winery (433714),
Tr i u s, Hillebrand (303800).
Cabernet franc, Vineland Estates

NOTE: The best wines are sold in winery boutiques. They are produced in very small quantities and fail to meet quantity requirements for general distribution. Such wines are best purchased after tasting them on the premises. Very small wineries sell their wines exclusively through their boutiques.

Hrayr Berberoglu took early retirement after lecturing on restaurant management and conducting wine, beer and spirits seminars for over a quarter of a century.

Now he consults and writes to increase wine, beer and liquor awareness. He conducts seminars and would be pleased to consider your requests. To peruse the list of his published books and order please contact him at hirayrberberoglu_3@sympatico.ca

Hryar Berberoglu www.littlefatwino.com