Friday Morning the Grape Growers of Ontario will be announcing the 2012 as one of the best years ever for Ontario. How they are topping 2010 is beyond me… which came right on the heels of 2007. Not to mention some of the off vintages have created some of the best Red wines I have ever tasted from the Province (2008, 2009).
It’s true that they had lower yields in Europe this year… but it’s a little premature to call it a Global Wine Shortage… When fruit quality and crop yields are not as good as expected wineries do cope with what they have in their cellars. Wine is still agriculture and is very unpredictable. Before we all start running to the LCBO and stocking up on our favorite Bordeaux and Chianti we should wait to see what 2013 holds.
My favorite part of this headline is that demand for Ontario Wines is going to soar. I’m going to fill you in a secret … The demand is already soaring and it has nothing to do with the great harvest from 2012. The way I see it, demand is soaring because of the quality of the product is better. There is also more room in the LCBO for Ontario product. There are also new wines coming out all the time to fill that shelf space.
In 1989 there were a handful of wineries in Ontario, there are now over 125 wineries making VQA wines on both sides of Toronto. There are techniques from all over the world making their ways into our vineyards. One of the reasons that we have been seeing more consistent wines are choosing grape varieties that grow well in the climate. Ontario while still known for Chardonnay also have Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Baco Noir, and Cabernet Franc all being produced at a very high level.
One of the biggest areas for growth with the consumer has been with blended wines. The wineries have been quick to follow suit. As long as I can remember Trius has set the benchmark with their wine simply known as Red. Now you can find many blends both conventional and unorthodox in the regular list at the LCBO in both Red and White.
The bottom line is that the demand for Ontario Wines is already soaring. 2012 is certainly going to help, but as far as I’m concerned this “soaring demand” is old news. All I can hope is that the headlines will help draw more people to something that some of us already knew … Ontario Wine is Great.
