I just got this news today on the Growwine list, run by Larry Paterson. I'm happy that we will be getting a newly recognized region, though all the practical obstacles - from unfair taxation policies to the way grape varieties are approved for VQA status - still loom large in the potential-setbacks department.
Prince Edward County winegrowers receive DVA status
To become a new wine region in the world of wine
For release Monday, June 11, 2007
Today marks a significant milestone in the evolution of wine growing in Prince Edward County as the Government of Ontario has officially recognized the region as a Designated Viticultural Area (DVA).
Prince Edward County now joins Niagara, Pelee Island and Lake Erie North Shore as official wine regions in Ontario .
“We are coming of age,” said Richard Johnston, Chair of the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association (PECWA). “In eight short, but challenging, years we have gone from being dismissed as preposterous dreamers trying to grow fine wines in an impossibly cool climate to heralded winegrowers using innovative viticultural techniques to grow prize-winning wines that reflect the unique terroir attributes of this historic agricultural area.”
“It’s a little overwhelming when you realize that as an official wine growing area in Canada we also become a small patch in the world-wide appellation quilt and part of a wine history that stretches back thousands of years,” he said. “It is a big day.”
PECWA first applied for this official recognition several years ago to the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), which recommends DVA approvals to the Minister of Government Services, but was turned down because the region did not meet the minimum harvest tonnage standards. However, the 2006 harvest of 425 tonnes far exceeded the minimum 250 tonnes required and the application was resubmitted.
“The VQA was proactively helpful in guiding us through the application process and Minister Phillips has been incredibly quick in agreeing to afford us this new status for which all our members are very grateful,” said Johnston.
PECWA, which is open to vineyard and winery owners, represents 11 of the county’s 14 wineries that will be open this summer. There are now about 40 vineyards in Prince Edward County . The new DVA will probably speed up the entry of vineyard owners into the winery ranks, said Johnston, as well as encourage new players into the region now that the pioneering stage is coming to an end.
Prior to receiving DVA status, county wineries could purchase only a limited amount of grapes grown in other areas. Now, having proven the county’s authenticity as a grape-growing region, wineries will be able to import unlimited tonnes of grapes from other DVAs.
“Admittedly, some members of the industry are nervous that gaining entrance into the wine club could ironically water down the amount of authentic county wines we produce,” said Johnston. “However, our customers show a great preference for wines that are true to this agricultural region and we believe that will continue to be the driving force behind our industry.”
Under the DVA rules, authentic county wines that receive VQA approval will now be allowed to be designated VQA Prince Edward County on the bottle label; previously they could only be identified as VQA Ontario. However, non-VQA wines will lose the right to bear the county name, which until now has been regulated by PECWA to give consumers a guarantee that the origin of the wine grapes is 100 per cent county grown.
Authentic county wines that are not VQA approved will still be allowed to carry the names of the county’s historic townships to identify their place of origin, part of the sub-appellation system developed by PECWA to assure wine authenticity. Wines may not be VQA approved for various reasons, such as a winery has chosen not to seek approval or is not a member of VQA, a wine has failed the VQA tasting test, or the wine is made from grape varietals that are excluded by VQA.
Ironically, under the new DVA rules, VQA wine bearing the county name won’t have to be as authentic as under the PECWA 100 per cent requirements because VQA-PEC wines will be allowed to be topped up with up to 15 per cent of other Ontario wine, mirroring the situation for VQA Niagara, for example.
PECWA will still require that the 100 percent standard be met for wines that wish to use the names of the original townships of Prince Edward County and this standard will be used for local wines that are not approved for VQA wines.
“This will assist our wineries in marketing wines like Geisenheim while we work with the VQA as it determines whether any new wines will be added to the VQA list,” said Johnston . “However, the benefits of being able to use VQA-controlled words, like ice wine or estate bottled on our labels demanded that we become a DVA first, and then enter into a dialogue on our additional needs later.”
Despite their newly-acquired DVA status, the county’s winegrowers still face formidable challenges, such as competing in the province’s wine industry that is dominated by domestic wines blended with foreign-grown grapes, consumer confusion because LCBO labeling and shelving practices fail to clearly distinguish between 100 per cent Ontario wines and these blended wines, limited distribution opportunities for new wineries, taxation policies that penalize wine made from locally grown grapes, and a global wine glut.
PECWA will continue to urge the government and all the major political parties in the run-up to the fall election to commit to permitting wineries to sell their 100 per cent Ontario-grown wines along with other local products at farmers markets as is done in other provinces and most American states. Within a year or so Prince Edward County will be producing over a million bottles of wine a year and it needs new regional options for distributing that bounty, said Johnston.
PECWA will also ask the political parties to commit to leveling the tax playing field for all wines that are 100 per cent Ontario-grown in the province whether VQA, non-VQA or fruit wines. Currently, a non-VQA wine that is grown in Ontario is taxed at more than double the rate of a VQA wine when sold to a restaurant or other licensee, which amounts to the same tax rate applied to foreign wine.
“But these are issues for another day,” said Johnston. “Today we are celebrating the hard work, innovation and perseverance that has made our collective vision a reality. Although our knees, backs and wallets tell us this has been a long hard struggle, in the wine world it has been just a short transformative instant of which all the wine-growers of the new region are rightfully proud.”
The wine industry is just one part of the change model that has harnessed the creative energies of so many in Prince Edward; a model that should inspire the provincial government to assist other rural communities to recast themselves in ways that will reverse the people drain and the erosion of services in Ontario’s heartland, he said.
For further information, contact Richard Johnston at 613-399-5128 or Sally Peck at 613- 399-9000.