Vintners Quality Alliance

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Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system. British Columbia VQA wine is produced from 100 percent British Columbia grapes, and Ontario VQA wine is produced from 100 percent Ontario grapes (an audited system in Ontario).

The VQA system allows for sub-appellations, by which the grapes for wines are sourced from extremely specific geographical locations with different soil and climate. This is in accordance with the concept of terroir. Wine quality and prices may increase with increasing specificity of origin of the grapes.

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[edit] Requirements

In addition to the requirements regarding sources of grapes, VQA wines may be made from vinifera varieties and those hybrid varieties which have been approved by the Vintners Quality Alliance. In BC, VQA wines are made primarily with vinifera grapes while Ontario uses a range of vinifera and notably permits the use of Vidal. This varietal is commonly used in the production of Canada's most famous wine abroad, Icewine, and is accepted by the international Icewine standards set out by Austria, Germany and Canada. As Canada's highest quality wines, VQA wines may be made with fruit from relatively small agricultural yields per vine (which increases quality), they meet specific sugar or brix levels at harvest, and are regulated in terms of the use of additives during wine production. There are also standards regulating the use of certain types of packaging and closures.


To receive the VQA designation, wine must undergo testing by the Vintners Quality Alliance in British Columbia or Ontario. Qualifying wines usually have the VQA symbol on the neck capsule or label, although some wineries minimize it on the label, which may lead to ambiguity.


Non-appellation Canadian wines Canada is a small wine growing region (for 2006: approximately 55,000 tonnes in Ontario and 18,000 tonnes in British Columbia). There are 30 million potential consumers of wine in Canada with the growth in per capita consumption outpacing US per capita consumption. The Wine Council of Ontario and the British Columbia Wine Institute represent the interests of VQA-producing wineries in their respective provinces.

It should be noted that not all Canadian wine is “VQA” (appellation or 100% locally grown). Such wines typically use a high proportion of foreign bulk wine to produce a product which is labelled with terminology such as “Product of Canada”, “Cellared in Canada”, or “Vinted in Canada”. In Ontario the law requires that "international blends" (blends of foreign and domestic wine) be made with at least 30 percent Ontario content. These standards were relaxed due to shortfalls in Ontario grape production in 2003 and 2005, and as of 2007 have not yet been enforced despite greater availability of grapes. In British Columbia, this wine is made from 100 percent foreign content.

Some of the wine industry's organizations, and respected wine writers in Canada and abroad, are very concerned about the blending practices of the non-VQA producers. It is a complex issue, since other countries allow for similar blending practices. As an example: in the US "American" appellation wines can contain up to 25% imported wine. These practices are in conflict with the growing trend toward local food, and many consumers' concerns about sustainability.

Consensus is elusive in any country on blending and labelling practices, and in some countries wine is frequently illegally "Hermitaged" or "juiced up" in lesser years with wines from other regions or countries. In Canada there is a legal process for auditing all types of wine production, VQA or otherwise, and it is rigorously adhered to. The Canadian model allows for VQA wines to be produced from 100% Ontario wines in every vintage.

Although more land is available for planting, there may never be a Canadian wine market which is exclusively based on VQA wine. This is likely to be reinforced by lack of consumer awareness of the difference between VQA and "international blends".

[edit] Appellations

[edit] Ontario appellations and sub-appellations (total production approximately 55,000 tonnes)(for complete sub-appellation descriptions and map go to http://www.vqaontario.org)

  • Ontario provincial appellation - Wine is made from grapes from anywhere in Ontario.
  • Regional Appellations:
    • Regional Appellation - Lake Erie North Shore
    • Regional Appellation - Niagara Peninsula (includes all appellations below, Canada's largest)
  ***Collective sub-appellation - Niagara Escarpment (includes the 3 sub-appellations below)
     ***Sub-appellation - Short Hills Bench
     ***Sub-appellation - Twenty Mile Bench
     ***Sub-appellation - Beamsville Bench

  ***Collective sub-appellation - Niagara-on-the-Lake (includes the 4 sub-appellations immediately below)
     ***Sub-appellation - Niagara River
     ***Sub-appellation - Niagara Lakeshore
     ***Sub-appellation - Four Mile Creek
     ***Sub-appellation - St. David’s Bench

     ***Sub-appellation - Vinemount Ridge

     ***Sub-appellation - Creek Shores

     ***Sub-appellation - Lincoln Lakeshore


A burgeoning viticultural area does that does not yet have official status is Prince Edward County. Many consider it to be an area which will play a small but unique role in Ontario's wine industry with many wineries opening in the last few years.

[edit] British Columbia appellations and sub-appellations (total production approximately 18,000 tonnes)

There are no sub-appellations in the province of BC to date.


[edit] Organizations

[edit] Regulatory

  • British Columbia Wine Institute (the regulatory role is being transferred to the new British Columbia Wine Authority, which will be a government body).
  • Vintners Quality Alliance Ontario www.vqaontario.org, is a governmental organisation under the province of Ontario's VQA Act.

[edit] Marketing

  • British Columbia Wine Institute (the voice of BC's wine industry. A trade organization representing small, medium and large wineries representing 87% of BC's wine production and 95% of BC's VQA wine production).
  • Wine Council of Ontario (an industry organization representing the vast majority of Ontario's wine producers and the majority of the wine produced in Canada).

[edit] Other organizations

  • B.C. Grape Marketing Board and B.C. Grape Growers Association (represent growers and negotiate the prices of grapes).
  • Association of B.C. Winegrowers (represents smaller and fruit wineries).
  • Grape Growers of Ontario (represent growers and negotiate the prices of grapes).
  • Ontario Wine Producers Association (a new organization representing the interests wineries accounting for approximately 1-2% of Ontario's production).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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