Monthly Newsletter
Posted: November 3, 2022
PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO COMPLETE OUR WINERY SURVEY
The Board of Directors of the Appellation Authority is renewing its strategic plan later this month. We regulate your appellations and your VQA wines and we need to hear from you. The survey will take 15 minutes to complete – results will be collected by a third-party consultant and are anonymous unless you elect to share your contact information. Find the survey at https://owaa-winerysurvey.paperform.co.
NOVEMBER 15 DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR ICEWINE AND SKIN FERMENTED WHITES
The deadline to register your grapes for Icewine and Skin Fermented White is November 15, 2022. Please register using the Icewine Juice Monitoring System or Skin Fermented White Tracking System on the VQA Services site. For help, please call Susan Piovesan, or contact info@vqaontario.ca.
Need a refresher on the rules and regulations around Icewine and other Late Harvest wines? Please check out our Handbook for VQA Wineries.
NEW! PECORINO ADDED TO LIST OF APPROVED VARIETIES
The list of Approved Varieties (Regulation 406, Appendix B Authorized Grape Varieties) has been updated to reflect the addition of Pecorino, a Vitis vinifera grape variety. The minimum brix required are 17.0 for Ontario classification, and 18.0 if using an appellation on the label.
NEW! BRIX MINIMUMS REVISED FOR SEMILLON
The minimum brix for Semillon has been amended to 17.0 degrees for both Ontario classification and if using an appellation on the label (Regulation 406, Appendix A Minimum Brix Requirements).
REMINDER: NON-VINTAGE TABLE WINES MUST BE DECLASSIFIED
Just a friendly reminder that non-vintage dated table wines must be declassified to VQA Ontario. These wines may not declare an appellation on the label or any regulated terms reserved for appellation wines. For table wines to carry a vintage date, at least 85% of the grapes used in the production of that wine must be from the stated, single vintage. Please keep this in mind if you are contemplating blending wines to make a non-vintage product. If you are unsure, please contact us at the office – we will be happy to discuss your labelling options.
DECEMBER SCHEDULE AND LCBO LAB ANNUAL CLOSURE
The LCBO laboratory will continue to operate until December 16th. During the period between December 19th and December 30th, the laboratory will be undergoing its annual equipment maintenance and no chemical analysis for VQA approvals will be carried out between these dates.
The last date to submit VQA samples for completion of lab testing in 2022 is December 2nd by 4:00 pm. The laboratory will continue accepting samples received after that date but they will be processed in January. Lab testing will resume at the LCBO on January 3rd, 2020.
Sensory evaluation panels will continue to operate every Wednesday until Wednesday December 14th. Please plan ahead!
Visit our website to access our new map booklets! Find complete booklets for each of our three primary Appellations, including soil types, topography, and key features. Access these online or print them to share your appellation story with your fans and customers. The complete set will be mailed out in hard copy to each winery later this month. Please stay tuned.
APPELLATION EDUCATION
We are very pleased to have our Ontario Appellation content added to the George Brown College curriculum for hospitality students and look forward to ensuring our homegrown hospitality professionals know all about our authentic local wines. To date, more than 300 students have qualified for our Level 1 in Ontario VQA Wines Certificate and we look forward to having many more complete the course materials and exam in order to earn their own certification. For more information, please contact Katherina.radcliffe@vqaontario.ca .