Wine producers in Prince Edward County have found a neat way of side-stepping restrictions on on privately owned wine stores in Ontario. By opening a store where you can only taste, but not buy, wines made in the county, wine producers want to highlight the problems many Ontario wine producers face in selling their wine. Directions to the various wineries nearby are presumably provided.

Full Article here

I’ve been waiting for this one to be released for quite while, but it was worth it. Overall this shows more complexity than the 2005 non-Reserve and the 2004 Reserve. Unlike both the oak does not overpower the fruit, but compliments it nicely. On the nose there’s a host of different fruits, most strongly prunes and cherry, and some toasted/puffed wheat character common to the better quality hybrids. I could detect no grassy or herbaceous character that one can find in lower end Ontario Bacos. There’s very little detectable tannin here. Intensely dark and purple, as is typical of Baco Noir. Finish is smooth, with the acidity pronounced but not overpowering. An extremely food friendly wine, best to serve with strongly flavoured dishes; braised meats, game, red-sauce pastas with goat cheese, cured hams and sausages.
Highly recommended.

Another Globe and Mail article about “All-Canadian” wine lists at restaurants.

Restaurants profiled are Feenie’s in Vancouver and Allen’s on the Danforth, here in Toronto. Unfortunately people still tend to want international wines:

To be fair, patrons sometimes complain. “People do still want wines from other regions, but most now know what we are about and either get with the program, go somewhere else or drink one of our 140 beers or 350 whiskies,” he said. Of Allen’s approximately 80 wines, four currently hail from British Columbia.”

In yesterday’s Globe and Mail, a glowing description of this year’s vintage (so far):

You didn’t have to be Roman to believe in Bacchus this summer. You just had to be an Ontario grape grower.

The god of wine performed miracles in the province as precious clusters worked their way to perfect, mildew-free ripeness in what is being billed as the best vintage in local history.

“This is unbelievable, the best harvest I’ve seen in 25 years that I have been in this industry,” said Allan Schmidt, president of Vineland Estates Winery in Vineland on the Niagara peninsula. “It’s just been simply ideal.”

Here is a press release worth publishing from the Prince Edward County Wine Producers:

Fairness for Wine Growers, Choice for Consumers 

Prince Edward County has recently received official status as an Ontario Viticultural Region. This is an important milestone in the renaissance of agriculturally based economic development of this area.

Ontario’s wine laws and regulations stifle the potential of Ontario producers who are dedicated to bringing real locally grown wines from this exceptional terroir to you.

Only in Ontario can the wineries with pre Free Trade Agreement licenses sell products that contain up to 70% foreign wine and call it domestic “cellared in Ontario” wine.

Only in Ontario do a small group of corporate wine giants have the right to operate “independent” wine stores co-located with super markets. Much of the wine sold in these stores is “cellared in Ontario” wine.

Only in Ontario are the new, entrepreneurial farm based wine producers restricted to selling their 100% Ontario wine only at the LCBO or at the winery itself.

Prince Edward County Winegrowers should be permitted to sell their wines at local Farmers Markets or in co-operative stores. The LCBO should embrace the smaller wineries that produce 100% Ontario grown wine by creating “regionally identified shelving that contains locally grown wine: Wines of Prince Edward County, Wines of North Shore Lake Erie and Wines of Niagara.

Consumers have the right to make informed choices, and producers must have the right to market access. If you agree, tell the Premier of Ontario.

An amazing Pinot Noir, totally classy. Has a nose of silky raspberries, leather, and a little beet root, and that hard-to-put-your-finger-on trademark Niagara Peninsula thing. Nicely done oak. Strong tannins which will soften over time. You can drink this wine now, but it will benefit from several years in the bottle.

This wine won gold in the Pinot Noir category at Cuvée 2007.  The numbers for this one are all close to perfect; total acidity of 5.4%, picked at 21.8 brix, low yields (1-3 tonnes per acre), 30% new French oak (not too overwhelming), left unfiltered to give a smoother and more nuanced feel.
Overall 2005 seems to be the year for Pinot Noir and Riesling.

A nose of bubblegum, candied fruits, cream soda, honey, with a nice mineral edge. A nice gewurz for the summer time.

Dark burgundy colour. Nose of preserved plums, barberry, slightly oxidized, a hint of flint/gunpowder, and a subtle tomato note. Fruity, with soft tannins. A touch young, should be more even after a couple years.

The Ontario Wine Industry hit new heights this year: more new wineries, more international accolades, and official recognition of Prince Edward County as a wine growing region.

But these positive developments mask serious problems with industry policies- including serious tax inequity, unfair retail distribution regulations, misleading labeling and deceptive LCBO shelving practices.

The Ontario Wine Producers Association (OWPA) continues to press the Government of Ontario to make policy changes that support producers of 100 % Ontario-grown wines and to protect consumers from misleading information that confuses Ontario wines with blended, foreign-content wines.

The OWPA is calling on all Ontario political parties to take a stand on implementing policies to help producers of 100% Ontario grown wines overcome the inequities and economic restrictions they face.

The parties and their candidates in all wine growing regions will be asked where they stand on the following resolutions, passed at the OWPA annual general meeting held in the Niagara region in May.

The Ontario Government should:

1. improve retail distribution opportunities for wineries making exclusively 100% Ontario- grown wines.
2. Allow100% Ontario-grown wines to be eligible to sell their products in farmers’ markets
3. Tax 100% Ontario-grown wine or fruit wine sold to restaurants and other licensees at the same rate as VQA products.
4. Ensure that wines sold in Ontario are clearly and honestly labeled as to their content.
5. Abolish the misleading “Cellared in Canada” category and replace it with “International Wine - Cellared in Canada”
6. Uphold the commitment to increase Ontario grape content percentages as negotiated two years ago between the Government, the Grape Growers of Ontario and the Wine Council.
7. Foreign content allowable should drop to 50 %, down from the 99% allowed in the 2005 Vintage.
8. Clearly indicate on the label of a blended wine the percentage of foreign wine and country (or countries) of origin of that wine.
9. Require the LCBO to end the practice of shelving VQA wines on the same shelves as blended wines with foreign content; and place blended foreign- content wines in a new section titled “International Wines: Cellared in Canada.

Wine consumers in Ontario are confused. Misleading labeling, the inter mingling of VQA wines on the LCBO shelves with foreign content wines, and the use of the term “Cellared in Canada” for wines that only have 30% domestic content- or that have been watered down- have done great damage to the reputation of Ontario as a wine producing region.

The Ontario government is putting a great deal of effort into convincing consumers to buy Ontario agricultural produce. At the same time, wine sold at supermarket outlets (which are owned by wine industry conglomerates) are selling products that contain up to 99% off-shore fruit. These products are being taxed at a lower rate than wine made from 100% Ontario fruit. Why is the Government of Ontario subsidizing bulk imported wine, while penalizing Ontario fruit growers through higher taxation?

It is time for Ontario to change its Wine Content and Regulations Act and to stop consumer deception. Let’s give consumers the information they need to make informed choices when buying wine.

Contact: Ontario Wine Producers Association at www.ontariowineproducers.ca or call Bill Milliken 613 297 4489

Dark purple, almost black in colour. The nose is a bit shy for a Baco — light black raspberry, earthy tones, subtle well integrated oak. Soft tannins, with an excellent acid balance (much softer acids than one would expect from a hybrid in general).

This is an entirely different take on Baco Noir than e.g. Henry of Pelham’s — it is less extracted, less oaked, less acidic, and an overall softer, more “old world” than “new world”, interpretation. It suits meals with green vegetables, whole grains, mushrooms, BBQ chicken or pork, or pasta in rose sauce. The more I drink of this, the more it charms me. Drink now through 2009.