At first glance Canada may feel a bit far north to be a successful wine producing country, but the latitude of the Ontario wine producing region of Niagara Peninsula is around the 43o mark which is just a fraction south of a line through parts of the Languedoc.
Two regions dominate the production of wine in Canada – the aforementioned Niagara Peninsula and the Okanagan Valley further west and to the north of Washington State in the US.
The Niagara Peninsula made its name when the potential for making wonderful ice wine was realised in the 1970s. Though the climate here is semi-continental there is the one huge factor in the successful growing of wine grapes in the region is the Great Lakes. Together with the Niagara River these huge bodies of water act to prolong the cold of winter, thus delaying bud break, and then store up the heat of summer to radiate it back in the autumn, lengthening the ripening period. Lake Ontario mitigates against the influence of the Arctic in the winter, and ...
At first glance Canada may feel a bit far north to be a successful wine producing country, but the latitude of the Ontario wine producing region of Niagara Peninsula is around the 43o mark which is just a fraction south of a line through parts of the Languedoc.
Two regions dominate the production of wine in Canada – the aforementioned Niagara Peninsula and the Okanagan Valley further west and to the north of Washington State in the US.
The Niagara Peninsula made its name when the potential for making wonderful ice wine was realised in the 1970s. Though the climate here is semi-continental there is the one huge factor in the successful growing of wine grapes in the region is the Great Lakes. Together with the Niagara River these huge bodies of water act to prolong the cold of winter, thus delaying bud break, and then store up the heat of summer to radiate it back in the autumn, lengthening the ripening period. Lake Ontario mitigates against the influence of the Arctic in the winter, and the Niagara Escarpment keeps air circulating, blocks cold northerlies and holds frost at bay while cutting the risk of fungal diseases. All these unique factors make wine production viable.
The ice wine for which the region has a well-deserved reputation requires grapes, usually riesling, vidal or the red cabernet franc, to be left on the vine at harvest to freeze. Once the temperature drops to -8 degrees C the frozen grapes are picked, pressed for the tiny amount of acidic, sugar-rich juice, and fermented to make luscious sweet wines.
Over recent years a slight warming of summer temperatures in Ontario and improvements in winemaking have enabled production of increasingly good table wines, in particular from pinot noir and chardonnay. Many areas are rich in calcareous soils which suit these varieties particularly well. This area is now gaining global attention for very elegant wines.
In the west, and protected from the influence of warm Pacific currents at the coast in British Columbia near Vancouver, the Okanagan Valley shares some similarities with the vineyard areas of its neighbour Washington to the south, with hot days and cool nights, particularly in some more mountainous areas, and a requirement in some almost arid parts for irrigation. In short there is a lot of variety in terms of microclimates, soil types and elevation. In terms of red, British Columbia is now well known for bold classic varieties and fresh, fruit-driven whites from chardonnay, pinot gris and riesling.
