Competing with different wine regions around the
world, Ontario is spreading the word about its homegrown wine. From the province’s four wine appellations —
Lake Erie North Shore, Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island and Prince Edward County — wineries are looking for
any opportunity to put their wines in the glasses of wine drinkers.
“There is a pride and momentum building about Ontario wines,” says Tamara Jakes, category manager of New
World Wines & Spirits with Vintages and the LCBO. “I think that Ontario is just coming into stride in terms of
producing some of the best wines in the world. The wines that are produced here aren’t like any other wine.
But they are [comparable] in quality.”
Partnering with Wine Country Ontario, Vintages and LCBO host three Taste Ontario events throughout the province each
year. These events help educate wine enthusiasts about Ontario wines, regions and varieties. The latest event
was held in Toronto at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in September.
Ed Madronich, chair of the Wine Council of Ontario and president of Flat Rock Cellars, also promoted his winery at the
event.
“For me, we’re featuring things that we’re just releasing through Vintages, which I think is the great thing about all of the
wines here,” he says. “We’re working closely with the Vintages team to ensure that when consumers come and taste our
wines, they can buy our wines.”
It can be expected at some wine tasting events, especially for international wine regions, that not all of
the wine varieties showcased are readily available for purchase. But Taste Ontario ensures that all of the
wines featured at the tastings are easy for buyers to find.
The event, only in its second year, showcased 180 Ontario VQA (Vintner’s Quality Alliance) wines from 47 Ontario wineries.
With approximately 400 people in attendance, the event allowed guests to sample wines and learn more about
the different wine varieties.
Jakes says the event is different from those you would find on a wine tour, mainly because of the
opportunities given directly to the consumers.
“You can go to Niagara-on-the-Lake or Prince Edward County and do a wine tour. But there is
little opportunity for somebody to be able to come and taste these many wines from this many wineries and
have this great quality all at once,” she says. “This is a completely unique opportunity for people to come
and try all of this all under one roof. We’ve worked together with the industry and that’s what we’re trying
to accomplish, to have a tasting opportunity without necessarily having to go out to wine country to do
it.”
Even with so many varieties, Ontarians definitely have their favourites. Chardonnay, Reisling and Pinot Noir
were well-represented, with many of the wineries using the event as an opportunity to showcase why their
varietal is different from their competitors.
“It’s focusing in on what we do well. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Reisling and Sparkling. Those are the great
varieties that we can do really well here in Ontario. You think about every wine region in the world, you
sort of think of a variety or two that they do well. It’s great that we’re focusing in on those varieties
here,” Madronich explains.
To increase sales and distribution of Ontario wines, making wine available for purchase online has helped
spread the word about wines from around the world. Jakes hints at plans to expand Vintages’ and LCBO’s
websites.
“We’re looking at additional options to make wine more accessible online, but doing so in a socially
responsible manner. This includes making sure people are of the right age to purchase wine. We’re always
looking at ways to grow the business and make wine more accessible,” she says.
LCBO has made a variety of types of wine readily available in their
retail locations. But Taste Ontario has brought in a new demographic, Madronich says.
“The crowd is different than the typical crowd that Vintages gets. It tends to be younger, a little bit hipper than
your typical Burgundy/Bordeaux crowd and is the future wine buyer of this province. It’s great that they’re
drinking Ontario wines,” he says. “That’s really exciting for us and for the LCBO to be promoting Ontario wines to these consumers who are
really an energetic demographic.”
Making Ontario wines more accessible and expanding demographics are only the first steps to competing with
wine from famous regions around the world, such as in France, California and Italy. According to Jakes, it is
really about emphasizing the originality of Ontario wines.
“I think it’s really important that people understand that the wines that are being made here are not trying
to be made like wines elsewhere. They’re trying to be unique and they’re trying to stand on their own. But
they want the quality to be the same as you would find anywhere else. But distinct, unique and truly local,”
she explains.
From eating locally to drinking locally, Ontario is making its mark on the food and wine map. •
