Ontario

The Grape Growers of Ontario trace their organisation to the Ontario Grape Growers' Marketing Board of 1947, when the province had about 15,000 acres (6,070 ha) of vineyards and harvested 36,000 tons of grapes; today there are over 18,000 acres (about 7,280 ha). A group of Ontario wineries created the VQA framework as a voluntary program in 1988, and Vintners Quality Alliance Ontario was incorporated in 1998 to administer the coming law. The Vintners Quality Alliance Act, 1999 was proclaimed on 29 June 2000; forty-four wineries had registered by June, and the first wine was approved under the Act on 10 July 2000. Prince Edward County was defined as an appellation in 2007. The authority now trades as the Ontario Wine Appellation Authority.

Ontario's appellations each depend on a lake. The Niagara Peninsula, at about 43° N, lies between Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment, on clays mixed with silts and sands left by glacial events; breezes between lake and escarpment moderate temperatures. Lake Erie North Shore, at about 42° N, is almost surrounded by water, with elevations of 172–196 m; the shallow lake warms quickly in summer, and sandy loam and gravel lie over shale and limestone. It has the most heat units in the province and harvests from the end of August. Prince Edward County, at 44° N, is the most northerly appellation: an island of Trenton limestone surrounded by Lake Ontario, with reddish-brown clay loam to sandy loam full of stones and shale fragments that drain freely and warm early.

VQA Ontario describes the province's wines as shaped by land, climate and soil, and lets each appellation claim a different emphasis. In Niagara, day-night temperature swings and sunshine are said to give more complex and intense flavours than warmer climates. On Lake Erie North Shore, the warm, shallow lake and long season give ripe fruit with a balance of natural sweetness and acidity. In Prince Edward County, limestone, stony soils and low yields are credited with concentrated fruit. The rules leave style open: wineries may grow any permitted variety in any appellation.

VQA standards are set by Regulation 406 under the VQA Act. Every VQA wine is made from 100% Ontario grapes, tracked from harvest to bottle, analysed and tasted; adding water or grape concentrate is prohibited. A label naming an appellation needs at least 85% of the grapes from it, a sub-appellation 100%, and a vintage 85%. Permitted varieties include many vinifera and eight hybrids; wines with hybrids may use only "VQA Ontario", except Vidal Icewine.

Icewine is made from grapes frozen naturally on the vine, picked below −8 °C, with juice of at least 35 °Brix. Late-harvest grades require at least 22, 26 or 30 °Brix. Popular varieties include Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Baco Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris, and Vidal is the flagship Icewine grape.