Top 100 wines of Canada - Page 2

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.