Canada's Wines
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The major wine styles today in Canada include:
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RED VARIETIES |
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Canada’s wine industry is undergoing rapid and diverse
expansion prompted (successfully) by the realization that the
finest grape varieties could be grown in its prime Viticultural
Areas.
Initially, in the 1970s and 1980s, cool climate grape varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc were chosen. Today, these 20 to 25-year-old vines are producing rich fruit with intense aromatics associated with cool climate wines, demonstrating the wisdom of these early decisions.
Canadian vintners continue to build on the
early successes and to innovate in their winemaking.
Grape Varieties and Wine Styles
Canadian wines are made as either single-varietal wines from one grape variety, or as a blend from two or more grape varieties. The following grape varieties are commonly used to produce the wide array of wine styles currently available in Canada, ranging from dry and off-dry table wines to sweet late harvest dessert wines, of which Icewine is the best known and most extraordinary of all.
Ontario Rieslings were the first to show their potential for excellence. Producing long-lived, crisp and elegant wines in all styles, from dry and off-dry table wines characterized by bright citrus notes of lime and grapefruit, to honeyed, late harvest dessert styles including nutty Botrytis Affected late harvest wines and the rarest of late harvest, Icewine.
Icewine is the sweet, luscious and intensely flavoured dessert wine made from grapes that have frozen on the vine. Canadian Icewines are produced in both Ontario and British Columbia, with most being made from the thick-skinned white grape varieties Vidal or Riesling. Icewines cannot be harvested until the temperature reaches at least -8 to -10 Celsius, which means the usual harvest time can be as late as December or January. The grapes are picked by hand and pressed when nearly frozen solid, resulting in only the smallest quantities of juice with highly concentrated natural sugars and acidity. Within each frozen grape are the flavours of the tropics: pineapple, guava, passion fruit and mango.
Late harvest wines from the french hybrid, Vidal, are also capable of producing voluptuous late harvest and Icewine redolent of honeysuckle, peach, hazelnut and pear. Riesling is also the base wine for several Canadian sparkling wines made in both the traditional method and Cuve Close.
Canadian Chardonnays are noted for their well-formed structure supported by natural acidity and ripe fruit, underlain by a balanced use of either French or American oak. Other styles include crisp, un-oaked versions, creamy Sur Lies, and sparkling wines.
In BC, Pinot Blanc has been particularly successful with grip and flavour, and spicy Pinot Gris with depth and complexity. Other whites that have produced intriguing wines in BC include Ehrenfelser, Auxerrois, Semillon, Chenin Blanc and Bacchus.
Both Ontario and BC are producing
bordeaux-type or other blends of white wines with elegant floral
and spicy notes, some with tropical fruit and citrus
flavours.
Some of the finest expressions of Gamay Noir are emerging from Ontario — deeply extracted, with ripe red-berry fruit, aged in French oak. Although some are made in the more common early drinking Beaujolais-style, using carbonic maceration, the excitement lies in the fuller-bodied versions, which in many cases, are comparable to the finest Classic Beaujolais Crus.
Pinot Noir continues to hold great promise in Niagara, sufficient to prompt the largest producer in Burgundy (Boisset) to partner with Vincor, Canada’s largest producer, to build a winery in Niagara, Le Clos Jordan, that will be dedicated to Pinot Noir and Burgundy’s white variety, Chardonnay.
Although Cabernet Franc is better known as the blending partner to Cabernet Sauvignon, it is being successfully showcased in Canada as a varietal wine in its own right. Canadian Cabernet Franc ranges from lighter versions of raspberry and spice, to rich, dense, age-worthy styles of chocolate and cassis. Cabernet Sauvignon has shown itself to be increasingly successful in Canadian conditions, and is producing complex full-bodied wines on its own or in bordeaux blends known as Meritage.
Performing well in the southern Okanagan Valley of British Columbia are the Bordeaux trio of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Merlot, in particular, has shown great promise with velvety wines redolent of plum and cassis, and is the top red varietal grown in British Columbia.
Red French hybrids of Baco Noir and
Maréchal Foch are other favourites that, when cropped
low and barrel aged, can produce food-friendly wines with great
Canadian appeal.
Syrah, also known as Shiraz, represents the newest varietal in the Canadian repertoire of wines. Usually associated with warmer growing conditions, Syrah is surprising both growers and vintners in Canada with its capacity to produce premium wine.
Syrah in Ontario is showing signs of classic white peppery spice, as displayed in the northern Rhone, while in the southern Okanagan it seems to have more of a kinship with the up-front juicy fruit of an Australian Shiraz.
Emerging white wines that are starting to show significant merit are Gewürztraminers from Niagara, rich with typical flavours of rose and lychee, and aromatic Sauvignon Blancs, in both Ontario and BC with racy flavourings of citrus, melon and fig.
Viognier vines are starting to produce fruit with typically bold peach flavours accompanied by full-body.
Canadian vintners are dedicated to producing wines that typify the character of the grapes, reflecting the distinctive imprint of the area and climate in which they were grown.
More information about our Award winning wines can be found on the websites of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) , the Wine Council of Ontario (WCO), and the British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI), as well as those of our Members.