The latest, most explosive phase in the ‘Cellared in Canada’ wine debate may well be drawing to a close, after well and truly flaring up in recent months.

For anyone who may not have picked up on the discussion, here’s a quick recap. Wine in BC can be sold in liquor stores on the ‘Canadian Wine’ shelves, even if it’s produced entirely from low-cost, foreign juice from places such as Chile, South Africa and California. In Ontario, the amount can’t be ‘bulked’ by more than 70 per cent, with the remaining 30 sourced from home-grown grapes. The real issue, however, is what many regard as misleading ‘Cellared in Canada’ labeling.

Recently, and after sustained pressure from the press and public, two of the biggest players in the market, Vincor Canada and Michael Peller Ltd, have promised to change their labeling policy. Consumers may soon be able see, far more clearly, what they’re getting.

For Michael Pinkus—aka Grape Guy and one of Canada’s leading wine writers—the subject has been something of a personal crusade. ‘Cellared in Canada’ has always been a background issue of Canadian wine. “It’s been there, but nobody said or did much about it,” says Pinkus. “It was seen as a necessary evil.” Everything came to the fore when Vincor decided to push the envelope and create a wine called ‘Esprit’—the official wine of the Canadian Olympics for Vancouver 2010. They made it a ‘Cellared in Canada’ product, thus a non-Canadian wine to celebrate the Canadian games.

“Once word of that got out, the ball started to roll,” Pinkus recalls. “Canadians are seen as a pretty laid back, easy-going people, but this just rubbed many the wrong way—some decided to look further into this issue and found out this practice has been going on the whole time. That sparked websites and Facebook pages, and—with the web being what it is—the issue grew. How could this American company treat us this way? How could our own vintners dupe us? Suddenly, it became more apparent that the dam of foreign wine, masquerading as Canadian plonk, was going to burst. It was just a matter of time.”

Pass it around

The happy and consistent truth carried through the entire saga is that authentic Canadian wine is good, sometimes great—even if provincial monopolies prevent Canadians from passing it around as they should.

John Szabo, Canada’s first Master Sommelier, says, “Quality has sky-rocketed over the past decade or so. I would easily put some Canadian wines on the table with similar varietals and price points from any part of the world. In Ontario, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc all perform strongly, so does Cabernet Sauvignon (although you have to be careful where you plant it). In BC, it’s a shorter, but much warmer growing season, particularly down in the southern part of the Okanagan Valley where Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and even Zinfandel do well. In the northern parts, it’s back to Rieslings, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.”

Szabo adds that Prince Edward County in Ontario, with its limestone-rich soil, is currently Canada’s most exciting wine region. “In the past five or six years, things have really got underway there. The 2007 vintage that’s hitting the shelves now represents the first time that all the factors came together—a great growing season, relatively wellestablished vines and a critical mass of producers who know what they’re doing. Look out for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Rosehall Runn and Norman Hardy.”

Following a trail of hot tips started by Szabo, we also hooked up with Tony Aspler. Tony, ‘the Wine Guy’, has been writing about wine for 30 years and founded the Ontario Wine Awards in 1995. He obliged us with a hand-picked selection from each Canadian wine region, complete with tasting notes:

Ontario

Le Clos Jordanne Grand Clos Pinot Noir
Simply the most Burgundian-style Pinot grown in Canada. Think Gevrey-Chambertin.

Hidden Bench Chardonnay Estate 2006
Deep golden colour; concentrated butterscotch nose; Californian-style Chardonnay, nutty, butterscotch flavours with tropical fruit and orange notes. Mouth-filling caramel finish.

BC

Laughing Stock Blind Trust Red 2007
Claret style with rich red and blackcurrant flavours, sweet juicy fruit, very elegant.

Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Shiraz 2006
The bouquet of the 2006 Grand Reserve Shiraz displays blackcurrant and intensely spicy aromas layered with hints of cherry and profound black pepper. On the palate, cherry and currant flavours are well integrated with soft tannins.

Quebec

Chapelle St. Agnes Riesling Icewine 2004
Intense tropical fruit and honey flavours with great balancing acidity.

Vignoble Les Pervenches Seyval-Chardonnay
Buttery, green apple flavours, with wellintegrated oak.

Nova Scotia

Benjamin Bridge Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Golden colour with a green tint; beeswax, gooseberry and sweet nose, very intense; full-bodied sweet gooseberry and elderberry and lime flavours; tart finish.

Gaspereau Vineyards Riesling 2007
Flavour of peach, apricot, and lime carried on lively acidity with a touch of residual sweetness.

Get excited

There’s plenty to be excited about, particularly as Canadian micro-wineries become more and more established. On the business front, there could be global opportunities to build the Canadian wine brand, too. “Producers should take the same tack as New Zealand, a country with relatively small production and high costs,” Szabo says. “There’s no point hitting the low-end bulk market. For high-end wine, I would go through the sommelier networks and get the wine in top international restaurants because it’s fantastically food-friendly. We should bring in groups of sommeliers and wine buyers to Canada on propaganda tours, like every other country does.”

Needless to say, it all needs to be Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) wine. VQA is the appellation system that guarantees Canadian provenance. As Michael Pinkus says, "If it doesn’t say VQA, it ain’t okay".