By Rick VanSickle
Trying to buy a bottle of Ontario VQA wine in B.C. is about as easy as it is to buy a bottle of B.C. wine in Ontario.
I just spent two weeks touring around B.C. from Vancouver to Whistler and on the island from Victoria to Nanaimo. We could not spot one single bottle of Ontario wine in any of the B.C. Liquor stores, the government run equivalent to LCBO stores in Ontario, we visited.
We weren’t there to buy Ontario wines as we wanted to taste as many B.C. wines as we could while on vacation, but it was alarming that a) there isn’t even a place to put Ontario wines (not unlike here at LCBO stores) and b) I don’t think anyone cares.
It’s striking to me, that even with the Elbows Up movement for all things Canadian over everything else, that provincial biases still exist. And, yes, I know my research is anecdotical as we were only in a small sampling of B.C. government stores and even fewer of the many private stores across the province, but still … not one Ontario wine could be found.
It seems a bit odd to me that you can find every other wine region in the world well represented at these stores — from popular regions to obscure — but you can’t find anything from the largest wine growing region in the country.
I do not know if breaking down trade barriers will help raise the profile of out of province Canadian wines or not, as prices for B.C. wines in Ontario are significantly higher in this province due to punishing taxes and levies, and I suspect the same would be true for Ontario wines in B.C. stores if they had any.
I like B.C. wines, there are different, yes, but as a Canadian I celebrate our differences and embrace them. The two regions are linked by shared knowledge with so many winemakers going back and forth from Ontario to B.C. that you can’t escape the fact that they take what they learned in one place and apply it to another.
If the Canadian wine industry is going to grow, it must start in its own country. The enemy isn’t one province versus another, it’s the sea of mediocre mass-produced wines coming from large international wine regions backed by extravagant marketing campaigns and government assistance that allows them to dump their wines into a country that doesn’t seem to value a national pride for all wines from Canada.
Here at home, I have been critical of the LCBO in the past for not supporting B.C. and other Canadian regions by not bringing those wines into Ontario but I see the tide is turning as the provincial monopoly has made a concerted effort to fill shelves left empty by the ban on U.S. products with wines from other provinces.
The most recent Vintages release that hit shelves on Saturday features a robust collection of Canadian wines from outside of Ontario including two wines from Hester Creek (a white and red) and Mission Hill (and white wine) from B.C., plus a white wine from Benjamin Bridge in Nova Scotia. There are also red wines from Le Vieux Pin, Moraine and Soren that consumers can purchase.
This is an unprecedented collection of non-Ontario VQA wines available to consumers and a chance to see what the other regions in Canada are up to.
In this report (which I know is a little late due to travel in B.C.), we have reviews for two wines from Hester Creek and one wine from Soren, all from the Okanagan Valley, plus Southbrook and Wending Home here in Niagara.
Here’s what we can recommend:
Hester Creek Chardonnay 2023 ($36, 91 points) — The grapes for this Chardonnay were hand harvested from two South Okanagan vineyards. It was whole cluster pressed with the juice cold settled for five days prior to fermentation and the resulting wine was aged for 10 months in French oak, in a combination of new and neutral barrels. It has an assertive nose of ripe pear, yellow apple, bright and zesty lemon, toasty vanilla bean and spices. It’s fresh and layered on the palate with ripe orchard fruits, crisp citrus, toasty spices and mouth-watering acidity keeping it bright and finessed through a long finish.
Hester Creek Character Red 2023 ($33, 91 points) — This is a blend of Petit Verdot, Malbec, Syrah and a unique Italian Merlot clone. Each variety was hand harvested and sorted before being gently destemmed and fermented in separate lots. It was aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels for eight months. Not sure of the percentages of the four grapes but Syrah makes a bold statement on the nose with lovely smoky/meaty notes followed by dark cherries, black currants, black and red peppercorns and savoury spice notes. There is some structure and grippy tannins on the palate with a full range of darker berries, licorice, kirsch, dark chocolate, cedar accents, pepper and spices with a vibrant, lifted finish.
Soren Boundary Spring Red Blend 2022 ($39, 92 points) — Soren is a B.C. project from Master of Wine Geoffrey Moss and winemaker Ryan McKibbon. Their philosophy is simple: “What if we could showcase wines from our favourite winemakers? Not just from the Okanagan, but from around the world. Barrel by barrel, we select the lots that raise the hair on our arms. They have a verve. An electricity. And, most importantly, they have something to say.”
The blend for this single vineyard Similkameen Valley red wine is 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 12% Malbec, and 5% Syrah. It’s the result of a 17-barrel blend that’s aged in mostly neutral French barriques with one-third of the barrels new. This is a lovely, elegant expression of a proprietary red blend with a nose of blackberries, black currants, anise, herbaceous notes, some floral lift, just a pinch of pepper and black licorice with light and savoury spice notes. It’s full-bodied on the palate with ripe and generous fruits of ripe dark berries, plums, meaty/earthy notes, underbrush and spice. The texture is plush with ripe tannins that all leads to a long, luxurious and lifted finish. Can cellar through 2031. A beautiful wine.
A pair of Niagara wines we can recommend
Southbrook Triomphe Organic Merlot 2021 ($28, 91 points) — All the Triomphe red wines are wild fermented with 100% French oak (in a combination of new and used barrels) aging for 18 months with the grapes sourced from the estate and trusted organic growers. The Merlot is highly aromatic on the nose with pure red berries, cassis, anise and fine oak spices. The palate reveals good concentration of red and dark berries, with earthy notes, spice and some structure on the vibrant, long finish. Can cellar through 2032.
Wending Home Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($28, 91 points) — Another wonderful white from this new(ish) winery. The nose shows grapefruit, passion fruit, gooseberries, herbs and pear. It has lovely texture on the palate with grapefruit, gooseberries, citrus, herbaceous notes, subtle spice and a fresh, vibrant and balanced finish.
Also released, but not reviewed by Wines in Niagara:
• Stratus Alto 2023 ($29)
• Wending Home Wending South Red Blend 2020
• Malivoire Vivant Rosé 2024 ($19)
• Henry of Pelham Estate The Smith and Smith Gamay 2023 ($22
• Lakeview Syrah 2020 ($40)
• Marynissen Heritage Collection Pinot Noir 2021 ($25)
• Organized Crime Cabernet Franc 2019 ($25)
I don’t blame any BC winery for not wanting to deal with the bloated and useless LCBO.
That being said, at least the LCBO is trying to list BC wines (see post). The BC Liquor Corp. doesn’t even know Ontario makes wine or they do and can’t be bothered to bring them in.
The statement “The BC Liquor Corp. doesn’t even know Ontario makes wine or they do and can’t be bothered to bring them in” seems to be a little harsh. A quick search on the BCLDB site shows three wines (two ice wines and one riesling) and one whisky. There are occasional other ON wines I’ve seen over the years in BC as well. But I definitely agree that both the BC and ON provincial monopolies seem to have very, very little interest in brigning in other provinces’ wines, and that this needs to change. Both provinces are to blame, not just BC!
The only good news is that shipping wines direct from the winery is finally allowed in BC and ON. I enjoy buying great ON wines and getting them shipped into BC. So individuals in several (not all) provinces can get access to ON wines if you really want to. But I understand that getting wines in the provincial systems would be a much better option, especdially for the smaller producers.
Living in BC, originally from the Niagara Region, it pains me that I cannot purchase a single Ontario wine in any liquor store. All other regions of the world (even some USA) are present but none from our own country. I truly hope this changes. Would be advantageous for the small wineries in Niagara as well, especially since the LCBO is so highly regulated. Are they going to readdress this issue nowadays? Now is the time.
I’m close to the Niagara region now, after twenty some years in Victoria… and pains me to have so much difficulty getting a nice Okanagan wine. There’s certainly bad wine in both regions, but the Niagara wines we’ve had, just have never measured up to a Burrowing Owl. Half expecting a label to read “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Vinegar” any moment now.