Canadian Wines

While most of Canada is too cold to sustain a vineyard, a few areas can produce quality wines, namely the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario and the Okanagan in British Columbia. These two areas are the largest wine producing areas in Canada, with Ontario making 80 percent of all the wine in Canada. Other wine producing areas include Quebec and Nova Scotia.

 

Canadian wine has been produced for over a century with the native breed of grapes, Iabrusca. However, vinifera grape varieties have been introduced allowing Canadian winemakers to experiment with making Chardonnays, Reisling, Cabernet Sauvignons and other types of wines.

The All Canadian Wine Championships was first founded in 1981, and is the oldest and largest annual competition for Canadian wines. Every year, around 900 wines are submitted for review by sommeliers and wine professionals from Canada and the United States. Categories include Best Red Wine of the Year and Best Dessert Wine of the Year, among many others.

 

 

Top Canadian wines that won trophies in 2007 include the J-T Okanagan 2004 Sunrock Shiraz (Best Red Wine) and the 2006 Sussreserve Riesling from Angel's Gate Winery in Ontario (Best White Wine).

 

Other top Canadian wines, as revealed by renowned wine authority Jancis Robinson, author of Oxford Companion to Wine, include:

Canada is particularly well-known for its ice wines, made with the help of the area's frigid temperatures. Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine made by leaving the grapes on the vine and picking them after temperatures have reached about 17 degrees Fahrenheit. The frozen grapes are then crushed and the little juice that is extracted is fermented. Because ice wine is difficult to make and little yield comes from the frozen grapes, ice wines tend to be expensive.

 

Canadian ice wine, or icewine, is among the top Canadian wines available. In June of 1991, Canadian Inniskillin 1989 Icewine won the highest award, Le Grand Prix d'Honneur, at the international wine fair, VinExpo, in Bordeaux, France.

Ordering Canadian wines is simple, as many online suppliers offer a variety of choices ranging from Canadian dessert wines to Syrah Reserve. However, in many cases Canadian wine must be shipped from Canada as not many are available for sale in the United States. One wine that is easy to find in the U.S. is Inniskillin Icewine.

 

Another option for buying Canadian wines is to contact Canadian wineries directly and ask about shipping possibilities.