Anthony Gismondi: Regulations could ease cross-province wine sales

Article content

The first week of summer is upon us, and while you read this, I will be in Niagara wine country, overseeing the 24th edition of the National Wine Awards. As we close in on 25 years of assessing the state of Canadian wine over five days, it is painfully obvious there is nothing easy about learning, making, selling, buying, exporting or writing about Canadian wine.

Article content

When the National Wine Awards first launched in 2001, there were no national wine regulations, so we made up our own — any wine grown and produced in Canada would be eligible to compete. And 25 years later, no national rules comprehensively regulate wine production inside or outside Canada.

The recent devastating events in B.C. and Nova Scotia have exposed a series of vulnerabilities that producers face. The most glaring of these is the absence of basic national rules and regulations governing our vines and wines. A clear framework regulating the growing of grapes and their movement anywhere in the country would be helpful when crop failures endanger the livelihood of any region. A national framework and classification for all wines would also resonate with consumers from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and north to the Arctic.

There are plenty of photo ops of federal politicians shaking hands and smiling for the cameras, touting federal rules allowing the shipment of wine across the country. The provinces still have the final say on alcohol; population-wise, more than 24 million Canadians are prohibited from receiving direct shipments from B.C. wineries alone.

Article content

The Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis threatened B.C. wineries making direct shipments to Alberta citizens, saying they would prevent them from doing business with Alberta retailers. The AGLC wants its pound of flesh in taxation, but when B.C. offered to submit the tax, the AGLC ignored the offer, suggesting there is more politics than a few bottles of wine at work here. In Ontario and Quebec, the provincial monopolies have also banned sales of B.C. wine. There can be no explanation for the ban other than blatant protectionism as well as a lifelong desire of a few to decide what Canadians living in their jurisdiction will drink.

National regulations would significantly simplify the movement of wine between regions, fostering more co-operation among a disjointed industry. One set of rules would also facilitate the exchange of information, potentially leading to collaborative planning so that when climate disasters result in short or no crops, there would be clear-cut rules and options regarding buying, selling and shipping grapes, grape must and finished wine across the country.

Article content

Article content

Currently, each province has its own set of rules and, for some reason, refuses to agree on something that might work nationally. To achieve a workable national standard, I suggest we leave local B.C. or Ontario VQA standards, Québec PGI (IGP) Vin du Québec regulations, and the Nova Scotia Wine Authority Act on the sidelines. What we need are some simple, easy-to-implement rules that determine if a wine is Canadian and what province it is grown in. After that, individual wine-producing regions that want to set higher standards like VQA or PGI rules may do so as long as they meet the original national standards, which presumably would be an easy task.

More importantly, this would address the ridiculous amount of power wielded by a handful of commercial wineries who contribute very little to the culture of Canadian wine while doing everything they can to stifle the competition from hundreds of land-based grower-producers who are building a long-term industry one hectare at a time.

None of this happens without leadership, and now is the time for people who care about the future of Canadian wine to step up. If you need some help, you might start by defining a Wine of Canada as any wine grown and produced in Canada. This definition has worked for the National Wine Awards for 24 years.

Article content

Weekend wine picks

Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna 2022, Sardinia, Italy

$21.99 I 90/100

UPC: 8010544110754

We like to say you can set your watch by Costamolino because, year in and year out, these guys deliver, and the price of the wine remains stable and sensible. This Vermentino comes from cool, hillside vineyards set above the Mediterranean in Sardegna. The nose is an enticing floral affair with lemon and ginger that spills onto a mid-palate of quince and juicy, ripe stone fruit with a twist of tangerine. Seafood, including squid, crab, clams, and mussels, is best here. Serve throughout summer.

J. de Villebois Sauvignon Blanc 2022, France

$26.99 I 89/100

UPC: 3760189780519

I first tasted this wine last vintage and thought it was impressive for the price. It is equally acceptable in 2022. The Vin de France cuvée gives Villebois leeway to work outside Sancerre with grapes grown on the cool Atlantic coast and the Loire Valley. Don’t be fooled: the result is more Sancerre than Vin de France, which means you get a Sauvignon that overdelivers for its price. Fresh, dry, and linear, there is a line of citrus and gooseberry with a slight tug of dryness. It is an easy match with fresh oysters.

Article content

Escorihuela Gascón 1884 Finca E. G. Malbec 2021, Mendoza, Argentina

$19.99 I 88/100

UPC: 7790415130234

Escorihuela Gascón has been exploring its Mendoza terroir since 1884, and it continues today. The entry-level red is still made from select parcels that provide soft, friendly, welcoming notes for wine drinkers. The Agrelo region of Luján de Cuyo is a site favoured by catabatic winds that push out the warm air every evening, leaving the vineyard and the grapes fresh daily. It is 60 per cent aged in French and American oak for eight months. The fruit is juicy and rich in plum and blueberry notes with soft tannins. Well-made, reasonably priced, and ready to drink. Burgers, anyone?

Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Paso Robles, California

$24.99 I 89/100

UPC: 657891700207

Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon is a Paso standard. Over time, winemaker Austin Hope says they have worked hard to reign in the alcohol and, more importantly, build texture and weight with denser, softer tannins, shedding the rustic notes from earlier editions. Only 10 per cent new oak, Liberty School comes from more than 50 growers in the Paso AVA. It is aged for 15 months in oak. You can expect a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with lush black and red fruits and a hint of savoury vanilla. It is ready to drink with almost any beef dish off the grill.

Article content

Tormaresca Trentangeli Castel del Monte 2018, Puglia, Italy

$29.99 I 91/100

UPC: 08026530000862

Trentangeli is a 65/25/10 mix of Aglianico/Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah and it is all Apulia. The nose is a fragrant mix of violets and intensely savoury dark fruit with a dusting of smoke and spice. It is a beautiful mix of power and freshness, pitching black raspberry, licorice, and balsamic that finish with persistence and surprising suppleness. Think big dinner dishes: lamb osso buco, rice with Bolognese sauce, or mature cheeses. It is also certified organic.

Calendar items

Discover Naramata has launched a series of GPS-guided audio tours promoting the community of Naramata. They enrich the visitor experience and encourage travellers to learn about the area — from agriculture and gardens to impactful residents and local wildlife — in addition to its renowned wine scene. From cycling on the Kettle Valley Railway, discovering Naramata village’s charming garden lanes, or understanding wine terroir while driving across the Naramata Bench, you will have a local guide wherever you go. Best of all, the audio guides promote slow travel, a more sustainable form of tourism that has a lighter impact on the community and encourages people to slow down and enjoy the Naramata way of life. To view the complete list of audio tours ranging from 30 to 60 minutes each, visit discovernaramata.com.

Article content

•••

Good news for Golden State winegrowers. Beginning in the 2025 crop year, Wine Business News reports a pilot program in 32 California counties allowing growers to add fire insurance protection based on a smoke index. The policy provides additional coverage to existing individual grape policies against area-wide smoke events and is triggered by eligible smoke days in a county. The final policy details have yet to be released, but the endorsement is designed to be an area plan triggered by eligible county smoke days, not individual losses. With this policy, growers won’t have to do lab tests; they don’t have to prove they have losses — it’s just whether or not the area has a loss. It seems progressive to me.

B.C. wine of the week

Tantalus Cabernet Franc Furthur Afield Series 2022, Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley

$31.30 I 91/100

UPC: 626990332176

Winemaker David Patterson said Cabernet Franc was a natural choice for the next Further Afield series because “It’s a variety we have long admired in BC.” Expect an attractive, juicy red that is a nod to the Loire but made with the sensibility of a Pinot specialist. Patterson has tamed the herbaceous, savoury notes and pushed the ripe blueberry and black fruits to the foreground, all sitting on a silky tannin structure that melts in your mouth. Fresh, smooth, and intense, and it finishes clean and long, this is next world Cabernet Franc. Considerable value.

Article content

Value wine of the week

Laurenz V. Singing Grüner Veltliner 2022, Kamptal, Niederösterreich, Austria

$20.99 I 89/100

UPC: 9120022320380

This note continues to write itself every year, beginning with its electric, fresh, mineral, citrus opening, with notes of green fig and white pepper. The palate is tight and bone dry, with more herbal, floral, stony orange, grapefruit, and a tart, saline, mineral finish. It is an electric storm of flavours ready to take almost any fatty fish dish. On sale and a super value until June 29.

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

Article content