Challenging the World

Canada has been making wine since the 1800's. But only recently in the 1980's has Canada begun to challenge the rest of the world. There were less than 40 wineries in Canada when I tasted my first bottle of wine. Today there are over 400 wineries; many of which have established their reputation and established Canada world wide as a wine producing nation. One that can truly challenge the old world wines. Not just Icewines but for all wines.

The path

Some say that winemaking is the world's second oldest profession. Perhaps the secrets of wine making are older
than recorded history . Recorded history first mentions wines around the year 1500BC, starting in Mesopotamia or
Caucasia. By the year 3000 BC it was in Greece, and Italy by 1000 BC. The Greeks called Italy the Land of the Vines.
The Vikings landed in what is now called Newfoundland calling this new land Vineland.

The path to success of the vineyard in Canada was not an easy one.' You can't grow grapes in that cold climate'
was the prevailing attitude. But wait, Germany is a noted old world wine producer is it not at the same Latitude as Canada?
Canada is a huge country and true, most of its mainland lies north of the 50 latitude. It is true that most of Canada has long cold winters however the summers are warm and receive plenty of sunshine.

Canada has numerous microclimate regions that are excellent for producing fine wines. The warm breezes off the
Great Lakes provide the Ontario regions; most notable are the Niagara Peninsula and the Lake Erie North Shore with their microclimate. In British Columbia we have the Okanagan Valley with the southern end being Canada's only true desert region.

Canada first attracted attention for its award winning Icewines. So favourable are the conditions for producing Icewines
that the country is now the world's leading producer. Canada has proven it belongs in the international market, winning its share of international competitions. Its whites are almost as famous as its icewines with new strides being made every year with the red wines. The best is yet to come, January 2005 might just be the best year to date for Canada's Icewine

In his new book The Wines of Canada published by Mitchell Beazley distinquished author John Schreiner writes
" Canada has a wine industry for the world to discover and take seriously. John Pellar chief exexcutive of Andrés Wines Ltd.
echos the worlds of this website There is every reason to belive that we can challenge countries like New Zealand and Australia..

February/ March

London Winery
The History of Icewine
Nova Scotia Wines with Chris Naugler M.D.
Writer Doug Sloan : Tugwell Creek
Writer Doug Sloan : A History of BC Winemaking
The Winemaker Hans Nevrkla
Vist our Gallery of Photos
Where to Stay as you visit Canada's wine country
Feature website: Natural Comfort and Food.ca
Ontario Chardonnay new articles by noted author H Berberoglu
Seven new wineries added

Thank you ! To over 24,000 people who have visited the website this year.

Great Wines

Scherzinger Vineyards Pinot Gris 2003 : sensation peach flavour, marvelous finish
(note name changed to Dirty Laundry Winery 2005)

DORIS MICULAN Bradle

renowned chef and Master Sommelier will be contributing articles to the website
Ms MIculan Bradley is GM, Maitre'd/Sommeleir for 360Revolving Restaurant at The CN Tower
Click Here

Presenting a diner with the cork dates back to the days before labels were put on bottles. Famous chateaux branded their corks to verify the wine's origin, preventing restaurateurs from passing off bootlegged wine as chateau vintages