Canada

Question 1

Canadian Ice Wine
- required temp
- residual sugar
- min ABV
- major grapes

Answer 1

“naturally frozen on the vine”
- BC and Ontario state grapes must be attached to vine or caught in nets below
- cannot harvest until temps drop below -8ºC/ 17.6ºF
- RS: Ontario & BC both <100 gl RS
- Min ABV: 7%
- MAIN GRAPES: Vidal, Cab Franc, Gewurz, Riesling, Chenin
- BRIX: no less than 32; avg must be 35 after pressing

Ontario produces 90% of Canadian Icewine

[Canada has signed agreements with Austria & Germany and others to protect definition of Icewine.]

Question 2

1st Canadian commercial Icewine

Answer 2

Inniskillin, 1984
* made from Vidal
[previous attempts to produce this were ruined by hungry birds]

also interesting - China is the world’s 2nd largest producer of icewine

Question 3

VQA - BC / ONTARIO
- system history
- % rules for GI / Vintage, variety, etc

Answer 3

Vintner’s Quality Alliance – 1988, Ontario. Voluntary association, purpose was to guarantee provenance. Formalized as (voluntary) wine law in 1999.

BC – adopted a version of Ontario’s VQA in 1990, formalized as (voluntary) wine law in 2005

ONTARIO VQA: 100% from Ontario
85% from regional GI // 100% from sub-GI
85% for vintage / variety
[4 appellations + 12 sub-apps]

BC VQA // “Wine of Distinction”: 100% from BC.
95% for regional / sub-GI. 100% for single vineyard
85% for vintage / variety

[participation is voluntary for wineries in both, though both see 80% participation]

Question 4

BRITISH COLUMBIA - REGINOAL GI’s
- GI vs VQA
- regional GI’s - name 3
- % rules for regional GI’s?

Answer 4

GI system debuted in 2018 - 10 regional GI’s, 12 sub-GI’s (11 of which are in Okanagan).

Okanagan Valley GI – 80% of production; has 11 sub-GI’s
Similkameen Valley GI
Fraser Valley GI
Vancouver Island GI - has 1 sub-GI
Gulf Islands GI
Thomson Valley GI
Shuswap GI, Kootenays GI, Lillooet GI

100% from BC, if BC VQA // 95% from region / subregion. 85% for vintage/variety

GI breakdown

Question 5

BC - Most Planted
- % for varietal / vintage labelling?

Answer 5

1. Merlot
2. Pinot Noir
3. Pinot Gris
4. Chardonnay
5. Cab Sauv

85% for variety / vintage

[Ontario - Vidal, Chard, Riesling, Cab Franc, Merlot]

Question 6

Ontario’s most planted grapes

Answer 6

1. Vidal (concentrated on Niagara Peninsula/ primary grape for Ontario Icewine)
2. Chardonnay
3. Riesling
4. Cab Franc
5. Merlot

[BC = Merlot, Pinot, Pinot Gris, Chard, Cab Sauv]

Question 7

Okanagan Valley GI
- climate
- mountains
- big lake + 3 smaller lakes

Answer 7

CLIMATE: continental. Low-ish rain - 9 to 16in yr. Rainier/cooler in north end (Riesling, Chard). Dry to the south (Merlot, etc)

MOUNTAINS: Cascade and Coastal Mountains = rain shadow. Sits between Cascade & Monashee Mountains

LAKES: Okanagan Lake remains relatively warm even in winter, offering a moderating affect. Drains via Okanagan River into 3 smaller lakes on south end.. Skaha, Vaseux, and Osoyoos Lakes

Question 8

Okanagan Valley sub-GIs (11) - name as many as possible
- % rules for regional / sub-GI use?

Answer 8

1. Golden Mile Bench
2. Golden Mile Slopes
3. Naramata Bench
4. Okanagan Falls
5. Skaha Bench
6. East Kelowna Slopes
7. Lake Country (northernmost)
8. South Kelowna Slopes
9. Summerland Bench
10. Summerland Lakefront
11. Summerland Valleys (highest elevations)

[100% BC fruit - 95% from stated GI]

Question 9

Similkameen Valley GI
- where
- what separates it from the other major region

Answer 9

WHERE: over the Coast Mountains from Okanagan
TERRAIN: valley runs NW-SE, providing some S-facing slopes

Question 10

British Columbia region GI’s (9) - name as many as possible

Top 3 for production?

Answer 10

1. Okanagan Valley (86%)
2. Similkameen Valley (6%)
3. Vancouver Island (4%)

The rest collectively account for 4% of total BC vineyard area:
4. Fraser Valley
5. Gulf Islands
6. Kootenays
7. Lillooet
8. Shuswap
9. Thompson Valley

Question 11

Ontario Viticultural Areas (3) + corresponding lakes

Answer 11

1) Niagara Peninsula (Lake Ontario)
– Niagara-on-the-Lake –> – St. David’s Bench, Four Mile Creek, Niagara River, Niagara Lakeshore

– Niagara Escarpment –> Beamsville Bench, Shorthills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench

– West Niagara Regional GI –> Lincoln Lakeshore, Creek Shores, Vinemoutn Ridge

2) Lake Erie North Shore (Lake Erie)

3) Prince Edward County (Lake Ontario)

[alongside Ontario itself]

Question 12

Niagara Peninsula GI
- location/moderating influences
- regional GI’s

Answer 12

Ontario
WHERE: western end of Lake Ontario. The lake + the Niagara Escarpment is key to the growing area.

3 Regional GIs…
– Niagara-on-the-Lake –> – St. David’s Bench, Four Mile Creek, Niagara River, Niagara Lakeshore

– Niagara Escarpment –> Beamsville Bench, Shorthills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench

– West Niagara Regional GI –> Lincoln Lakeshore, Creek Shores, Vinemoutn Ridge

Question 13

Niagara Escarpment sub-GIs (3)

Answer 13

1. Beamsville Bench (smallest in area)
2. Twenty Mile Bench (name referes to distance from lake)
3. Short Hills Bench (furthest from lake)

Question 14

Niagara-on-the-Lake sub-GIs (4)

Answer 14

1. St. David’s Bench
2. Niagara Lakeshore
3. Four Mile Creek (largest)
4. Niagara River

Question 15

Ontario’s warmest region?

Answer 15

Lake Erie North Shore

Question 16

4 main French hybrids in Canadian wine

Answer 16

Vidal
Baco Noir
Chancellor
Seyval Blanc