Top 100 red wines of Canada

Discover the top 100 best red wines of Canada as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the red wines that are popular of Canada and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Canada

Canada - the world's second-largest country by area - is far from the most obvious of wine-producing nations, yet its vineyards are capable of producing both quality and quantity. Powerful Cabernets and AromaticDryGrape/riesling">Rieslings play an important role in the country's wine portfolio, but the deliciously Sweet Icewine (mostly white, but also red) is unquestionably the quintessential Canadian wine style. Making the most of their consistently cold winter temperatures, Canadian wine producers have become world leaders in ice wine production. The Canadian wine industry is primarily based in four provinces: Ontario and British Columbia, which are responsible for 98% of quality wine production, and Quebec and Nova Scotia, which are emerging wine regions with a small but loyal local following.

Despite Canada's geographic vastness, its annual wine production is only 2% of that of the United States. Some of Canada's wine regions experience hot, sometimes humid summers and extremely cold winters. All of Canada's major wine-producing regions are close to Climate-modifying water sources that are essential to the survival of the vines in frosty weather. The Niagara Peninsula, on the southern shores of Lake Ontario, is perhaps Canada's most famous wine region, although the dry, near-desert Okanagan Valley in British Columbia has tried to make its mark in recent decades.

Flanked by the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans, and with more coastline than any other country in the world, Canada's climate and landscape are heavily influenced by water. This is not only true for the coastal areas, as the interior of the country is home to many lakes of varying sizes. The Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) is a regulatory Body that represents a designation-based approach to Canadian wine. Membership in the VQA allows winemakers to use the VQA logo on their wines, which provides a degree of quality assurance to potential consumers.

Discover the grape variety: Pinot noir

Pinot noir is an important red grape variety in Burgundy and Champagne, and its reputation is well known! Great wines such as the Domaine de la Romanée Conti elaborate their wines from this famous grape variety, and make it a great variety. When properly vinified, pinot noit produces red wines of great finesse, with a wide range of aromas depending on its advancement (fruit, undergrowth, leather). it is also the only red grape variety authorized in Alsace. Pinot Noir is not easily cultivated beyond our borders, although it has enjoyed some success in Oregon, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Food and wine pairing with a red wine of Canada

red wines from the region of Canada go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pork or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of pork tongue with tomato sauce and pickles, sauté of veal with olives (corsica) or roast wild boar with beer.

Organoleptic analysis of red wine of Canada

On the nose in the region of Canada often reveals types of flavors of cream, cranberry or mint and sometimes also flavors of red currant, red plum or toasty. In the mouth in the region of Canada is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.

News from the vineyard of Canada

Scapegrace to build £13m distillery in Central Otago

The Scapegrace team claims it will be New Zealand’s largest ever distillery when it is fully completed in October 2023. It will eventually produce all of Scapegrace’s award-winning gins and vodkas, along with its soon-to-be-released single malt whisky. The company plans to expand into other spirits categories further down the line too. Managing director Daniel McLaughlin said that the climate and water quality in Central Otago – which is famed for its Pinot Noir – make the region ideal for produ ...

Walls: Domaine Alain Voge’s evolution in 10 wines

Some Cornas estates, like Domaine Clape, feel as ancient and unchanging as the granite hills themselves. Others, like Domaine Alain Voge, go through periods of flux. When this is due to vineyards being ripped out, bought or sold, then the whole profile of an estate can be altered. That’s not the case at Voge. Instead, it’s due to the coming and going of people and the unavoidable change that entails. I visited Lionel Fraisse, the current managing director at Domaine Alain Voge, to taste a select ...

Long Read: Wine had a past with sailboats. Does it have a future too?

In 2007, Frenchman Frédéric Albert founded the Compagnie de Transport Maritime à la Voile (CTMV) with the goal of decarbonising the wine industry. The firm managed to sail its 50m-vessel four times from France to Ireland, England and Canada, before going into liquidation as a consequence of the 2008 economic crisis. Despite the failure, Albert’s pioneering project was a sign for things to come. In 2013, Le Havre-based TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) followed in CTMV’s footsteps sailing some 3 ...