Ontario''s Wines
Until the 1980s Canadian wine was something of a joke. The industry's most popular product was a sticky, fizzy concoction called Baby Duck and other varieties were commonly called block and tackle wines after a widely reported witticism of a member of the Ontario legislature: "If you drink a bottle and walk a block, you can tackle anyone." This state of affairs has, however, been transformed by the Vintners Quality Alliance , the VQA, who have, since 1989, come to exercise tight control over wine production in Ontario, which produces eighty percent of Canadian wine. The VQA's appellation system distinguishes between - and supervises the quality control of - two broad types of wine. Those bottles carrying the Provincial Designation on their labels (ie Ontario) must be made from 100 percent Ontario-grown wines from an approved list of European varieties of grape and selected hybrids; those bearing the Geographic Designation (ie Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island or Lake Erie North Shore), by comparison, can only use Vitis vinifera , the classic European grape varieties, such as Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. As you might expect from a developing wine area, the results are rather inconsistent, but the Rieslings have a refreshingly crisp, almost tart, flavour with a mellow, warming aftertaste - and are perhaps the best of the present Canadian range, white or red. Over ten wineries are clustered in the vicinity of Niagara-on-the-Lake and most are very willing to show visitors round. Local tourist offices carry a full list with opening times, but one of the most interesting is Inniskillin , Line 3 (Service Road 66), just off - and signed from - the Niagara Parkway, about 5km south of Niagara-on-the-Lake (daily: May-Oct 10am-6pm; Nov-April 10am-5pm; tel 905/468-3554, www.icewine.com ). Here you can follow a twenty-step self-guided tour or take a free guided tour, sip away at the tasting bar and buy at the wine boutique. Inniskillin has produced a clutch of award-winning vintages and have played a leading role in the improvement of the industry. They are also one of the few Canadian wineries to produce ice wine , an outstanding sweet dessert wine made from grapes that are left on the vine till December or January, when they are hand-picked at night when frozen. The picking and the crushing of the frozen grapes is a time-consuming business and this is reflected in the price - about $50 per 375ml bottle.
Your Tip for Ontario
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