Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 1, 1996, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadian wines now rank among Best in the world from Vineyard in the Okanagan Valley in . Above. Left speck Tours his winery. Top left red wines ferment in Oak barrels at inn Skillin winery. Machinery processes red grapes at chateau Des Hamm winery in St. Davids ont. Centre. Its an ingredient not found in any other alcoholic beverage. In fact apart from Small amounts in peanuts red wine is virtually the Only source of Reeve patrol in the human diet. Reeve patrol occurs naturally in the soil in Ontario and is thought to be enhanced in the grape by cooler weather conditions. A a it a like we sell a double dose of pleasure a says Len Penna Chetti president of Niagara a Cave Spring cellars. A it tastes great and its Good for a people Are slowly waking up to the fact that these Are Quality wines a adds Jim Jaworski proprietor of the Kenaston wine Market. A Many people Are willing to pay More for Canadian wine than australian or chilean or other new world wines because Canadian wines Are that the problem is that Ontario and . Have trouble supplying markets other than their own simply because they can to keep up with demand outside their provinces which is Why most Are planting new vineyards and boosting production. A your fundamental problem right now is How we manage growth a says Penna Chetti whose firm has gone from producing 30,000 cases in 1994 to 35,000 in 1996. Quot its a Nice problem to the Rise of Canadian wines has also come at the expense of French italian and other new world wines. At International wine tastings Canadian wines frequently Garner top honours much to the Chagrin of americans and europeans. A after playing second fiddle and making apologies for so Long we re killing the French a Penna Chetti says. A a we re killing the French i want to shout it from the however that Success Hasni to reached All canadians especially those living in Quebec which have so far shunned Ontario and . Wines in favour of their own locally produced and imported wines. A we Haven to convinced anyone in Quebec that we even make wine a says Angelo Pavan wine maker at Cave Springs. Into the next decade demand for Canadian wines is expected to continue to Rise especially in Alberta where the booze business is now privatized and retailers prefer to Stock Canadian products Over imported. A it seems the further you get from Ottawa the More patriotic people Are a adds speck. A the experts say that there a a decreased sense of nationalism because of the growing global Economy but i done to know where those people Are coming from. I done to see it in the business in a growth is also expected to surge As Consumers drink less Overall because the theory is that when they do drink its better Quality stuff. And with that comes increased Competition against the europeans. A a lot a of people still have this attitude that if its european it has to be better a says Klaus Reif president of Reif estate winery. A i can to explain this Canadian mentality. Its frustrating i Tell you. A what we re trying to Tell people is look this is a Canadian wine and we re proud of it. You should be to plaudits by Bruce Owen staff reporter Niagara Peninsula a As he arrives for lunch in a sporty Silver five litre Mustang its apparent the Man in the expensive Navy suit typifies Canadas booming Fine wine business. Young fast and vibrant. Paul speck is Only 30, yet he a president of Henry of Pelham estate winery just outside St. Catharines. He orders the wine for us a bottle of his own Crisp chardonnay. The waiter hands him the Cork and he takes a Swift sniff and then a Quick taste to make sure it Isnit spoiled. Then the waiter pours two glasses. Speck takes another whiff and holds his Glass up to the window to look at the Amber liquid. The sunlight reflecting off Lake Ontario gives it a Light sparkle. He is proud but his Pride has not so much to do with the Success of his family a winery As it does with the fact its Canadian. A the land is the Brand a speck says. A this is wine which is grown in our backyard. And we re not just Selling wine that a from the Niagara Peninsula but what a happened in the Canadian wine Market Over the past 25 years is a Story that is Only now getting out. Its a Story that involves Peoples tastes and trends free Trade and International Competition. The result is that Canadian wineries in Ontario and British Columbia now can to Plant vineyards fast enough to keep up with the demand. These wineries have gone from brewing the cheap plonk of the 1970s to a selection of Fine wines that now competes for honours around the Globe. A a we re seeing a 40 to 50 per cent increase in sales every year Quot says Allan Schmidt general manager and wine maker at Vineland estates winery. A we run out of inventory every Vineland estates is Small compared to other wineries in the Niagara Region producing 18,000 cases per year. Mid size wineries like inn Skillin wines produce about 130.000 a year while big wineries like Hille Brand estates produce 280.000 cases a year. Schmidt says he plans to double his production Over the next decade and is already seeding new land along the Niagara escarpment. A i like to say that we re at the Point where the Light at the end of the Tunnel is no longer a train a he says Over dinner at the winery a new win deck restaurant. A i feel we be rounded the Corner of trying to sell Canadian Schmidt is an expatriate of the . Wineries finding a Home and occupation in Ontario. He sees a lucrative business future where wine luxury dining and even theatre go hand in hand to keep tourists occupied after they be seen Niagara Falls and to lure diners from Toronto and Buffalo. A a we re not Selling alcohol a he says. A a we re Selling a what turned the Industry around in Ontario and . Is the vintners Quality Alliance via. Essentially it started out As a Loose group of Ontario wineries in the late 1980s who wanted to voluntarily impose Tough Quality standards on the wine business to offset the potentially damaging Impact of free Trade. It meant grape growers had to yank out the old plonk variety of grape vines and re Plant with the Vitis Vin Ifera old world grape species so they could make better wine and compete against foreign wines. Via has now become recognized As a system that tells Consumers what grape they re drinking and where it was grown. The via was adopted in Ontario in 1988 and in in 1990. Currently 38 wineries in Ontario and 40 wineries in . Adhere to the via system. With via wine makers Are forced to follow High standards before their product can get the via Seal of approval. For Consumers the via Label Means they can bring an International calibre Canadian wine to a dinner party and not be embarrassed. Simply this red grapes on Vine in a Niagara Vineyard. Stuff ainu to baby Duck. A at one time people thought it was a joke if you said you were going to open a winery a says Don Ziraldo Confounder of inn Skillin wines which recently purchased a winery in the Okanagan Valley. A it took a whole cultural change in How we do business. The irony is Canadian wines win first in Many International what via also Means is that now perhaps More than Ever canadians Are flocking to liquor outlets and wine boutiques to buy Canadian wine. In Ontario growth leap frogs at 50 per cent per annul. In ., the via wineries have gone from Selling 700,000 litres of wine five years ago to now Selling More than two million litres. A a it a the fastest growing category at the liquor control Board of Ontario a said Peter Gamble director of Ontario a via. A it continues to completely Quot there a Good recognition of via a adds Christine Coletta executive director of the . Wine Institute. Quot people now look for it. Its part of their wine buying most of Ontario a wines Are consumed in Ontario As is the Case in . Many of these wines Are sold in Manitoba either through a liquor store or one of three private wine boutiques in Winnipeg. Several restaurants a the fashionable fusion Grill and Green Gates restaurant Are two a promote Canadian wine lists. A a there a a huge demand for Canadian wine a says Don Lussier Vic president of purchasing and sales for the Manitoba liquor control commission. A Canadian red wines have just been smoking a he adds. In Manitoba alone sales of Canadian red wine have jumped 58 per cent this year. And Domestic White wine sales have climbed 12 per cent. What makes Canadian red wines stand out is they contain greater concentrations of Reeve patrol than most other wines in the world. Its thought this ingredient helps to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis hardening of the arteries and heart attack. Our ice it also takes about 16 times More grapes to make a bottle of ice wine than a regular bottle of wine. In each Vineyard winemakers leave a few rows of grapes on the Vine after the fall Harvest. Because the leaves have fallen off the grapes have to be covered by special netting so Birds do not devour them. They stay on until mid january and Are left until they Are almost Frozen solid usually at temperatures of Between -7 and -12 c. When they Are at this stage of freezing they Are quickly hand picked a chore which usually starts in the Middle of the night wines and ends when All the grapes Are harvested. Then they Are immediately pressed and Only the Unfrozen portion of the grapes juice is collected. This highly concentrated Golden juice is Rich in natural sugars and acids but has Little water. It is then fermented for several months and bottled after it contains Between to to 12 per cent alcohol. Southern Ontario excels in making ice wine because of its climate. A number of wineries have won International tasting championships for their product. Reif says ice wines give Canada prestige on world wine stage. Above White grapes await a frosty Fate. They melt Over by Bruce Owen staff reporter Niagara Peninsula the most famous wine product made in Canada is one enjoyed by few canadians. Its ice wine and because of the work that goes into producing it its also one of our most expensive wine products. The average Cost per Hal bottle in Canada is $50. In Japan where ice wine is considered a luscious delicacy a half bottle can fetch up to $400 or More. A Ontario makes great ice wine a says Klaus Reif president of Reif estate winery. A everybody complains about the cold but wine makers Here love it. A a it a not a big profit maker but it gives us prestige All Over the world especially in the East and that prestige translates into heavy tourist traffic through the Niagara Region most notably from Japan. Besides visiting Niagara Falls they tour various wineries and often buy several cases of ice wine to take Home with them. Ice wine a essentially a Sweet dry White wine liqueur a is expensive Hupf Eliise ifs hard to make ;