Wine Growing Regions
Newcomers to the wines of Canada are surprised to discover wines of uncommon elegance and finesse. Although Canada now excels as the world’s finest producer of true Icewine, Canadian vintners are also capturing the attention of critics and enthusiasts alike for fine table wines, sparkling wines and late harvest dessert wines.
Grapes for these wines are grown primarily in two provinces, Ontario and British Columbia, where 98 percent of the volume of premium wine is produced. Québec and Nova Scotia have each developed a small, but ardent, grape wine sector. With the exception of an enthusiast in Prince Edward Island who has a vineyard and winery, there is little grape growing on a commercial scale in any other province in Canada.
There are seven designated Viticultural Areas (VA) located in the southern areas of the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. (The provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia have areas in which grapes are grown, but these are not as yet officially designated as Viticultural Areas)
* Since neither the provinces Québec nor Nova Scotia produce Vitis Vinifera grapes or VQA wines, the areas in which grapes are grown are referred to as "Growing Areas" as opposed to designated "Viticultural Areas", which implies legal jurisdiction.