Canada Flashcards
What is the only French hybrid allowed for VQA icewine?
Vidal
What is the VQA?
Vintner’s Quality Alliance, an appellation and quality control system launched in 1988.
Is VQA approval mandatory?
Yes in Ontario.
No in British Columbia.
What does the VQA control?
Varietal selection, plus some aspects of winemaking: chaptalization acidification must weights etc.
VQA %’s
Vintage: 85% Varietal: 85% Location: 100% in province. 95% for BC VQA areas 85% for Ontario VQA areas, 100% for sub-appellations (in the Niagara Peninsula)]
For a single vineyard wine approved by the VQA, what % of grapes must come from that vineyard?
100.00%
What are the requirements for estate bottling?
100% from the vintage, from land owned or controlled (minimum 10yr lease) by the winery.
Produced and bottled at the winery, which must be in the same GI as the vineyard (smaller than BC).
For fortified estate bottled wines, distillate must be produced on the estate.
What are the four main appellations of Ontario?
Lake Erie North Shore
Pelee Island (former)
Niagara Peninsula
Prince Edward County
What are the regional appellations of Niagara Peninsula?
Niagara Escarpment (west, higher elevation running parallel to the lake) Niagara-on-the-Lake (east, between the lake shore and Niagara River)
What are the sub-appellations of Niagara Peninsula?
Lincoln Lakeshore, Creek Shores (west to east, lakeshore) Vinemount Ridge (inland, behind Niagara Escarpment)
What are the sub-appellations of Niagara-on-the-Lake?
Niagara River (east, running perpendicular to the other four)
Niagara Lakeshore
Four Mile Creek
St. David’s Bench
What are the sub-appellations of Niagara Escarpment?
Beamsville Bench
Twenty Mile Bench
Short Hills Bench
What is a DVA?
A VQA Designated Viticultural Area, seen only in British Columbia
What is the largest wine region in British Columbia, by production?
Okanagan Valley
Which DVA is contiguous with Puget Sound AVA?
Fraser Valley
What was the first winery founded in British Columbia, and when?
Calona Vineyards, 1932
Located in Kelowna.
What are the major bodies of water in BC?
Straight of Georgia
Fraser River
Simikameen River
Okanagan Lake (HUGE), Okanagan River
What are the DVAs of British Columbia?
(west to east) Vancouver Island Gulf Islands Fraser Valley Simikameen Valley Okanagan Valley
What are the islands of the Gulf Islands?
Salt Spring, Pender, Saturna Gabriola Hornby Quadra (south to north)
What topographic feature enables viticulture in Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands?
The Vancouver Island Range, providing a rain shadow from the worst of the Pacific storms.
What are the unofficial subzoes of Vancouver Island?
Nanaimo
Cowichan Valley
Saanich
Major grapes in Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands
Pinot Noir
Pinot Gris
Ortega (white)
Maréchal Foch (red)
What are the unofficial subs of the Okanagan Valley? Which one became an official GI in 2015?
Kelowna/Lake Country
Summerland/Peachland
Naramata/Penticton
Okanagan Falls (southernmost subregion on the Lake)
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver/Black Sage Road
Osoyoos
Golden Mile Bench became the first official sub-GI in 2015.
In broad strokes, describe the two major areas of viticulture in BC
Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, and Fraser Valley have heavy coastal influence, and a long, cool growing season. Soils are sandstone and limestone based, and grapes are often planted on hillsides to avoid the fertility of the lower elevations.
Simikameen Valley and Okanagan Valley are distinctly continental, dry, and desert-like. Soils are glacier mosaics, and frost and drought are major concerns. Simikameen is the coldest in the winter.
In VERY general terms, the west might be compared to Oregon in terms of grape varieties, and the east to Washington in both varieties and climate.
