I'm an ex-pat who has lived in New York City for 20 years. I have never, even once, seen an Ontario wine on the shelf of any American wine retailer, except for of course the gimmicky ice wines.
Snobbery in wines is nothing new -- it's even the raison d'etre. But still, why can't Ontario wines get some shelf space?
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We are sorry that clos jordanne is defunct. We loved their chardonnay..we have had trouble finding any Canadian wine for sale near us in the u s .
Too bad because so many are very fine. You should ask your retailers to stock some.
We are members of the wine CSA at David and Louise’s winery in Vineland, Ontario called Featherstone. They use natural methods to produce small batch wines: reisling, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet franc, gewurtztraminer, pinot noir, rose and a sparkling wine called Joy. We enjoy the quality and depth of their wines.
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I absolutely love their Pinots.
Delightful to see the NYT paying attention to Ontario wine and Canada in general. It is interesting to note that a number of Pearl Morissette wines have been rejected by the Vintners Quality Alliance (a quasi government/industry board) because they were not 'typical' of the region. They are however, as Francois eloquently points out 'of the place' where they are grown - terroir driven wines, like all great wines of the world. Bravo to Pearl Morissette, Tawes and Norm Hardie.
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Having lived in Ontario, I am shocked: how could one praise wines, not alw3ays made from native grapes, in a country where wine sales are Provincial government monopoly?
I'm not sure what you mean - how does the sales regime impact the quality of the product?
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@ RootsReggae Canada
Of course, not the sales regime as such, but the whole atmosphere of how and where wine is produced is affected by the bureaucracy. Besides, there are Ontario wines that use grapes imported from the US: the road to cheating is open.
Unlike all those wines made in California or Australia with their native grapes. Seriously.
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I have had the opportunity to taste quite a few brilliant Ontario wines, however, as our liquor stores tend to favour the big consistent sellers, it's hard to find anything from the little guys. I can often find 12+ SKUs of Robert Mondavi or Masi, but next to nothing from Prince Edward County or the Niagara region.
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True. I love to support local Ontario wines, wish they were a little bit cheaper.
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This is true. One sometimes needs to take a weekend trip to try some excellent wines.
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When I read this yesterday I immediately searched the LCBO site to see if I could buy any of Pearl Morisette wine here at the govt. outlets in Ottawa.
Only a single pinot noir was listed - and it was out of stock. Very frustrating.
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I had the same problem and reaction a while ago when I wanted to get some PM wines specifically. Thankfully, their website is super easy to order from and shipping is incredibly reasonable within the province. Fast too.
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Merci!
I first came across Tawse wines at Frank restaurant in the Art Gallery of Ontario on a trip to Toronto several years ago. Count me as a consumer who wasn't aware of the high quality of wines coming from that area of Ontario, but I was very impressed.
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Would love to see a similar article on Okanagan Wines from BC Canada. Would volunteer my favourite winemaker Wild Goose just a 5 minute drive from my home in Okanagan Falls , BC as a particularly excellent example. Meyer Family just round the corner are another worthy candidate. There are numerous vineyards and wine makers in the Okanagan valley - probably in excess of 200+ properties. Obsolete Canadian liquor laws make it difficult for people in western Canada to buy eastern wines and vice versa.
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I have had some delicious Okanagan wineswhen out in BC visiting, but - they just aren't here ( NYS). Didn't know they don't even ship to eastern Canada!
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andy Morrissey....i'm not a big wine drinker and I live in southern Ontario less than an hour's drive from upstate/western new York. it's been my experience that british Columbians are pretty snotty about Ontario wine. I remember going to Vancouver and decided to have a look at a wine store. I noticed there wasn't anything from Ontario. I asked the employee why this was so, 'because there is no demand for it in BC. we think it's awful.'
that was 16-17 years ago. don't know if it's still true.
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The silly reason for this is protectionism. BC fears that BC wine sales will fall if it allows Ontario wines in and vice versa. And yet both provinces think their wine dare world class. How could they be if they are not prepared to compete with one another. Even beers brewed in NS are considered imports in the rest of Canada.
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