VQA

British Columbia’s (BC) VQA appellation system was established in 1990. The BC VQA system was enacted into law in 2013 and is enforced by the British Columbia Wine Authority.

British Columbia VQA system has 5 appellations – Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands – and 1 sub-appellation – Golden Mile Bench.

The rules for BC VQA labelling are as follows:

British Columbia (100% British Columbia)

Appellations/ sub-appellation (95% must come from that specific appellation or sub-appellation)

Vintage/ varietal (85% must be from that vintage year/ stated varietal)

Vineyard designation (100%)

Canadian Wines/Product of Canada

100% Canadian wines, which are not VQA certified, are quality wines made from grapes grown in Canada. These include:

Wines from a province outside of BC or Ontario, such as Nova Scotia or Quebec, where there is not a provincially regulated VQA system;

Wines from BC or Ontario that do not meet the VQA standard (e.g. the wine may exhibit flavours that contrast what the VQA tasting panel expected for a specific appellation area);

Wines from a BC or Ontario winery that has chosen not to have that wine VQA certified.

These wines are labelled ‘Product of Canada’.

International Blends from Imported and Domestic Content

Wine bottled and blended in Canada from both imported and domestic content must either: (a) list all countries of origin in the blend (e.g. Blended in Canada with wine from Country A and Country B) or (b) use the label designation “International blend from imported and domestic wines” for wine made with majority imported wine or “International blend from domestic and imported wines” for wine made with primarily Canadian wine.

The label designations “International blend from imported and domestic wines” and “International blend from domestic and imported wines” were introduced in March 2018. Prior to this, these wines had the option of being labelled as “Cellared in Canada from imported and/or domestic wines.” The labelling change took place to ensure higher levels of consumer awareness through wine labelling. Its implementation follows industry and government consultation with members of the public and industry in 2016 and 2017, who felt the new labelling was clearer and more transparent.

Canada is the second largest country after Russia with an interesting mix of Europeans and indigenous peoples. Culture here is dominated by the British settlers from the 1800s but does also have a strong French influence with the French language being the second most spoken after English. With Canada extending well into the arctic circle, much of the country is not suitable to agriculture with permafrost (where the ground is permanently frozen) present over nearly half of the country. The Rocky Mountains extend north from the USA in the central areas meaning altitude and a severe continental climate limits land use. Logging from the central cedar forests is one of the largest industries in Canada along with extensive mineral resources.

The two main areas of wine production in Canada are British Columbia on the Pacific West Coast and Ontario to the north of the Great Lakes. The Lakes help to keep the vineyards of Ontario slightly warmer than would be expected in such northerly latitudes and away from coastal influences. The success of Canada is relatively recent for wines, other than their famous Icewine, due to complex rules which have regulated the wine trade for decades. A period of prohibition left the government in control of the sale and distribution of wine with all liquor stores owned and run by government agencies. It was also virtually impossible to transport or sell wine across state lines until 2012 with laws still constantly changing. These laws restricted the sale of alcohol outside of government control meaning wineries could not sell to other Canadians in other states and are still restricted by provincial laws. While these laws haven’t restricted exports outside of Canada, it has meant the industry has been slow to develop.