Wonders of Wine and Food

Imported and Domestic Wines

Remember the term "Cellared in Canada" wines. Cellared in Canada is a category of Canadian wine that is produced with varying quantities of foreign bulk wine and Canadian wine. These wines are often sold in government-run liquor stores in sections designated as "Canadian wine". The prices is usually below average.

On March 13th 2018 wine writer Anthony Gismondi wrote the following

After grabbing hundreds of millions of dollars in income for producers while causing even more damage to the image of Canadian wine, the wine that never had anything to do with authentic Canadian wine will no longer be able to use the highly deceptive, and frankly fraudulent Cellared in Canada phrase, on its label. The concept was spawned during the original NAFTA agreements when Canadian wineries, read the large commercial producers, complained that levelling the tax playing field would put them out of business. They negotiated a number of temporary agreements in 1994 (CiC was one of them) to soften the blow and, as it turns out, prevent the field from ever being levelled. Nearly a quarter-century later the temporary agreement establishing the CiC category has been killed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Beginning April 1, no fooling, blended wines bottled in Canada from both domestic and international product will be required by the CFIA to replace “Cellared in Canada” with two possible monikers. For primarily imported wines it will be labelled as “International blend from imported and domestic wines.” For primarily domestic wines, it will be labelled as “International blend from domestic and imported wines.”

What is the main concern with these wines? Well the key component of all wines is the grape and where it is grown. If the grapes are not grown in Canada how can it be a Canadian wine? Also, it takes away from the local, Canadian grape grower, who can not, due to costs such as labour grow and sell the grapes at a competitive price with imports from counties who pay their workers so little.

In the world today you are asked to support your local business buying International blend from domestic and imported wines.” does not do this. The smaller wineries need your support.

It is companies like Andrew Peller Ltd, Arterra Wines Canada and Iconic Wines that import the grapes into Canada. Common best selling wines like Hochtaler, Domaine D'Or, Schloss Laderheim, Royal and Sommet. Cooper Moon, XoXO, Sawmill Creek, Brights and many others are produced using imported grapes.

If you go to Andrew Peller Ltd and Arterra Wines Canada they do not even list these wines. Are they embarrassed to?

Funny if you go to the websites for the government liquor stores in British Columbia and Ontario they list all “International blend from domestic and imported wines.” as Canada. Wrong!