Gary, so what are the good Canadian wines you have tasted?
I’ve lived in Toronto for 2 years, and from what I’ve tasted the quality is not so great and QPR just sucks!

13 hours ago….agentorange…I agree the Cusumano Insolia from Sicily is very good

Hey Gary! I grew up just down the road from Pelee Island wineries (btw, it’s “PEAL-E”). Their set up is kind of neat. They grow the grapes on an island in the middle of Lake Erie, ship them to the coastal town of Kingsville (where I was born), and then produce the wine.

Honestly, when I saw you were reviewing these wines my reaction was “oh, boy”. They’re not really that good, and we all know it. The surrounding area has some really good vineyards though. My favourite are these guys http://www.muscederevineyards.com/ (disclaimer: I don’t know them, I was just really blown away by their wine recently). Check ’em out if you get the chance.

This information really helps me. So many of my clients are into wines and I like to give wine as a gift to them. I have noticed wine racks are out in houses that was a thing of the 80’s. The hot button is the wine refrig. My clients like the built-ins or the portables. It encourage them to make an offer on the proeprty.

The problems with Canadian wines and Ontario in particular are numerous. Yet I agree that they are very under-appreciated and searching out the best can be very rewarding.

In Ontario the government controls the sale of wine on the large scale through the LCBO. They are the largest buyers of liquor in North America by far and the primary customer for the Ontario wineries. Which means that to sell to them you need to produce a lot of wine. The exception to this is their limited release section known as Vintages. The growing area is quite small in the Niagara region and the larger commercial wineries use up a lot of those grapes for the plonk they sell through the LCBO. The wine you drank today could consist of as much as 95% foreign grapes with the exception of the ones marked VQA. Pelee island is a small windy island that grows potatoes primarily, it is also know for pheasant hunting and serves as a junction for a Canada/US ferry. It is not ideal for grapes. For better wines you will need to go to the Niagara region.

Even the wine you can get from the liquor store in Ontario is often not the most representative of the best wine available from a specific winery. Their best tends to be from very small batches only available by going to the winery or buying from it directly. Take Lailey Winery its very small, the grapes are hand picked and sorted, producing wines in lots numbering in the hundreds of cases at best. Yet in my opinion some of the best wines available in the Niagara region. Same goes for Tawse Winery. The scale of economics prevents them from selling through the liquor store nor do they need to. Even Vinland Winery or Cave Springs which is widely sold retail reserves their best for winery only sales.

This is a two fold problem, one the number of old vines with proven quality is very limited due to youth of the industry here, they have really only been trying to make top quality fine wines on a larger scale for 10 to 15 years. With small batches you need not worry about selling to retail outlets if you have enough demand at home. Two, the LCBO takes the lions share of the profits. The wineries need the LCBO to get the people to start drinking their wine but the sales from the boutique are crucial to their survival economically.

Lastly, many of the wineries do not cellar their wines until they would be better suited for drinking but rather sell them off young. This is not true of all the wineries but is of the wine sold retail at the LCBO in the regular section.

I hope you do come up this way for a wine safari some time. Email me and I will send you a list of wineries that I feel are worthwhile visiting. BTW I donâ??t work in the industry I just like drinking their wine.

The problems with Canadian wines and Ontario in particular are numerous. Yet I agree that they are very under-appreciated and searching out the best can be very rewarding.

In Ontario the government controls the sale of wine on the large scale through the LCBO. They are the largest buyers of liquor in North America by far and the primary customer for the Ontario wineries. Which means that to sell to them you need to produce a lot of wine. The exception to this is their limited release section known as Vintages. The growing area is quite small in the Niagara region and the larger commercial wineries use up a lot of those grapes for the plonk they sell through the LCBO. The wine you drank today could consist of as much as 95% foreign grapes with the exception of the ones marked VQA. Pelee island is a small windy island that grows potatoes primarily, it is also know for pheasant hunting and serves as a junction for a Canada/US ferry. It is not ideal for grapes. For better wines you will need to go to the Niagara region.

Even the wine you can get from the liquor store in Ontario is often not the most representative of the best wine available from a specific winery. Their best tends to be from very small batches only available by going to the winery or buying from it directly. Take Lailey Winery its very small, the grapes are hand picked and sorted, producing wines in lots numbering in the hundreds of cases at best. Yet in my opinion some of the best wines available in the Niagara region. Same goes for Tawse Winery. The scale of economics prevents them from selling through the liquor store nor do they need to. Even Vinland Winery or Cave Springs which is widely sold retail reserves their best for winery only sales.

This is a two fold problem, one the number of old vines with proven quality is very limited due to youth of the industry here, they have really only been trying to make top quality fine wines on a larger scale for 10 to 15 years. With small batches you need not worry about selling to retail outlets if you have enough demand at home. Two, the LCBO takes the lions share of the profits. The wineries need the LCBO to get the people to start drinking their wine but the sales from the boutique are crucial to their survival economically.

Lastly, many of the wineries do not cellar their wines until they would be better suited for drinking but rather sell them off young. This is not true of all the wineries but is of the wine sold retail at the LCBO in the regular section.

I hope you do come up this way for a wine safari some time. Email me and I will send you a list of wineries that I feel are worthwhile visiting. BTW I donâ??t work in the industry I just like drinking their wine.

Too bad about those wines today. But like you said there are lots of others that are more representative of what Canada has going on.

QOTD. Had a crianza that shocked me, it was very light and elegant and delicious. I was expecting something very different, but loved what I found. Bottom line – there are lots of outlayers in every category to keep things interesting.

QOTD: A canadian wine: 2003 Baco Noir by Jost in Nova Scotia. Changed my mind about nova scotian wines… an excellent wine. I was so excited I ran out to buy another of their wines, a Marchial Foch… which was hands down one of the worst wines I’ve ever had…
Another Canadian producer I have often enjoyed is Mission Hill winery in BC

Gary Vee! I’m so sorry that you had to try Pelee Island wines, I’m from right near James H and Pelee Island Wines are a local joke. They’re the ones that you get in gift baskets and groan just a little. There are a few smaller Essex County producers that are doing good things, but for slightly easier to find decent/good wines, try Inniskillin or Jackson-Triggs. They’re both way more drinkable than the stuff you had to suffer through today.

QOTD: Red Guitar Navarra 2005. Such a heavy cinnamon component that it completely blew me away. I wouldn’t want that in every wine, but it made me really sit up and take notice of spanish wines as something that can be surprising.

Actually GaryVee, the more I think about it, the more I think that Inniskillin’s International Series Sauvignon Blanc might be right up your alley.

I shared a bottle with a friend a couple months back and it had a really fun nose, and it RIPPED through your palate. Take a switchblade and *nnngnnn* (cutting motion while holding tongue with other hand). If you end up dropping by the great white north it’s one that you might consider seeking out (and I think it’s got great QPR).

This EP was like Peleeing in the wind!

This EP was like Peleeing in the wind!

QOTD – I hate Chardonnay; at least I thought until I tried a 2005 Chablis. The wine was so good I could not believe it was made from chardonnay. The past few chardonnays I had tried were from California and all were over oaked, heavy, and even nausiating, I couldn’t even finish one glass.

I have explored more white burgundy wines and have found out that chardonnay can be made into a very good wine, at least good for my taste.

We just had a really nice pink wine from Australia. Before that, my only experience was Grandma’s Beringer white zin.

Thanks for plugging Canadian wines, despite your experience with the wines in this one episode.
QOTD: I did not like my first couple of Sauvignon Blanc wines but recently had one from Ontario (!) and it was fabulous!

Hi Gary – been away for a ten days and playing major catchup on my WLTV viewing. The last wine that made me change my mind about a category was Wakefield Shiraz 2006. A brilliant wine that made me want to try Australian Shiraz again, after years of just not giving them much thought.

Dude- brutal episode. Nonetheless, I’ll totally search out Canadian wines. QOTD: well, I’m drinking a Fess Parker reisling right now that I assumed would suck but I really like it- go Santa Maria

Wow, straight to the spit bucket with all three. ouch!!!
QOTD- 2001 Arrowood Merlot, it did not act like a merlot and was a total surprise, I thought I was drinking a cab at first and had to double check.

WOW…To see Pelee Island crash and burn HARD really isn’t a surprise for me. If these wines were from the 1999,2000,2001 vintages I think they would have fared alot better. Back then the winemaker was putting out some great stuff. Since then a new winemaker is coming up with what was sampled here. Another point to keep in mind is that the Pelee Island area does have a unique terroir yet they are the only winery there. If you want to taste the wines from Canada that make us proud you have to explore the Niagara region, Beamsville Bench, Vineland, St. David’s Bench, Niagara on the Lake. There is about 100 wineries in this vast neighbourhood. The founding fathers of the modern day wine industry are enjoying over 30 years of making some of the finest wines from Ontario. Chateau des Charmes, Inniskillin, Reif, Konzelmann, Henry of Pelham, these are the pioneers. From there the sky is truly the limit. Angel’s Gate, Featherstone, Fieldings, Marynissen, Flat Rock, Coyote’s Run, Mike Weir, Cave Springs, I certainly can go on. The two other areas to check out is the Prince Edward County region, near Kingston, east of Toronto. They are making some kickass Pinot’s there and British Columbia, the Okanagan, Kelowna regions are world class producers like their brothers in Ontario. Tinhorn, Mission Hill, Burrowing Owl, Grey Monk just some of again about 100 wineries in BC to explore.

Thanks Gary for supporting our efforts. I look forward to more reviews. It’s great to get an honest opinion.

Bummer that canada struck out. I have two bottles of Canadian wine in my cellar that I am hoping are better then what you tasted.

QOTD: Domaine de Laporte 2001 Pouilly Fume La vigne de Beaussoppet, Incredible Sauv Blanc that was in Oak a little. Just beautiful all around. Wasn’t a huge Sauv Blanc person because I had not had a lot of Loire Valley Sauv Blancs and now I am almost a fiend

Dude! Quince paste and cheese! The dessert of Spain!!! Welcome to that taste profile!

QOTD. Really good question. Kudos! I guess a quick answer would be formerly unknown or unheralded Spanish regions that now are producing decent wines when 10 years ago when I was still there it was only drinkable mixed with 7up. That includes Jumilla, Yecla, Utiel-Requena, Cariñena and Calatayud… Also having the opportunity lately to taste more aged California wines from great producers also changed my perception that I had on them being just fruit and American oak.

And what are you thinking? Canada? Maybe for ice wine! I spent a week in the Niagara peninsula and only had a very few whites that we just ok. The rest was like what you had today. Good luck!

As a follow up. Pretty much anywhere in Canada is just WAY too cold to barely ripen the grapes! Ok, it’s the same latitude as Mendocino and also as Spain or Italy! But it’s a completelly different climate with Arctic winds pounding you daily. The European equivalent would be wines from Denmark or Sweden. I’m not running to try and get them. Let’s admit it, you can’t grow vines everywhere and we’ll all be happier. And you know I’m not a fan of overripe wines, more like the opposite.

Comment on Question of the day, Pinot Noir: I have been told that thissis a wine to be loved. I did not see it. Last night I finally found a Pinot noir I can enjoy. (Lulu B.) Also remember the ABC wine drinkers (anything but CHARDONAY). Look elsewhere. Australia, Is doing an incredible job.

Those wines sucked big-time, but you’re right, you can’t generalise.

QOTD – I can’t really say, I tend not to have hard preconceptions to change. Maybe it was the Grant Burge “The Holy Trinity” 2002 GSM, which remionds me there are some nice red wines from Australia in the under $30 category!

Cool show, although dissapointing… I’m from Ontario, Canada, and I try Ontario wines often. I can’t stand Pelee Island wines personally (ok-I had one Pinot Noir that was nice). There are few and far between, but there are some really great wines. If you can find Daniel Lenko wines (they sell as they hit the shelf up here), they are great… The higher end wines is where you gotta go though… Peller Estates (Niagara) have serious stuff – NOT the lower-end, but the Signatures Series (CDN$45). The sad thing is: for that $45 bottle of very good Ontario wine, you can find a wine of equal quality elsewhere in the world for half the price… Crappy climate, what can I say! Cheers!