Monthly Newsletter
Posted: October 9, 2024
REGULATION CHANGES NOW IN EFFECT
WEST NIAGARA – FRONTENACS – HIBERNAL – CHARMAT LABELLING
The Minister of Consumer and Business Service Delivery and Procurement has approved several regulation changes and they are now in effect. The updated Regulation 406 can be found here https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/000406.
Here is what you need to know:
If you intend to make wines from Frontenac Noir, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc or Hibernal and want them to be VQA eligible, make sure the brix at harvest meets minimums and they are not blended with non-eligible grapes.
- Frontenacs (all) – minimum 19.5 brix
- Hibernal – minimum 17.0 brix
Sparkling wines that are made and labelled with the Cuve Close or Charmat methods of production will be eligible to be labelled with all appellations, subject to grape origin and other standards being met. This includes all viticultural areas and sub-appellations, named vineyards and estate bottled.
Wines may be labelled with the new regional appellation “West Niagara” that encompasses all 6 sub-appellations west of the Welland Canal. It does not include areas that are not within the 6 sub-appellations.
St David’s Bench has been added to the boundaries of the Niagara Escarpment regional appellation. This means that wines made from grapes grown in St David’s Bench or from a blend of grapes grown across all 4 bench sub-appellations may be labelled with the Niagara Escarpment regional appellation.
These new rules apply to all wines submitted for approval effective immediately, including those containing past vintages. You may also apply to have an amended label approved for a wine that is approved. For example, you may apply for approval to use a specific appellation to describe a Charmat Method sparkling wine that was previously approved as “VQA Ontario” only. In this case, the new label must be submitted for approval – please contact the office directly if you wish to add new labels.
REGISTER YOUR GRAPES! DEADLINE NOV. 15
Don’t forget to register your grapes for Late Harvest, Icewine and Skin Fermented White wines. The deadline to register is November 15th. Late registrations will not be accepted. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
RESULTS ARE IN – INAUGURAL CLIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY
Thank you to all who completed the survey. We are very pleased that our stakeholders are satisfied with the services we provide, with 99% of respondents indicating they are mostly or completely satisfied with service levels. We will continue to strive to be responsive and efficient in helping you navigate the VQA appellation system. See the full results here.
HAVE YOU TAKEN OUR COURSE?
LEVEL 1 in ONTARIO VQA WINE APPELLATIONS – is available online, for our winery members! VQA Wine Appellations – Ontario Wine Appellation Authority (vqaontario.ca)). Take this course to expand your knowledge of the Ontario appellation system. Share it with your retail staff and trainers. This course is currently free for winery members.
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