VQA Ontario
VQA Ontario is Ontario’s Wine Authority, a regulatory agency responsible for maintaining the integrity of local wine appellations and enforcing winemaking and labelling standards. VQA Ontario does not represent the wine industry in Ontario and is not a marketing agency.
Creating Sense of Place with Ontario Wines
Ontario's wine industry has grown and matured for nearly two hundred years. Stretching mostly across the southern part of the province, Ontario wineries take advantage of a temperate climate, enhanced by the diversity of glacial soils and the moderating effect of the Great Lakes, to produce mature fruit and complex wines.
VQA denotes quality and label integrity for Ontario wines of origin. To appreciate a VQA wine, however, is to appreciate more than these important standards, for the inherent quality of these wines lies in a deep sense of place. Appellation of origin is an important marker of quality in the best of wine regions, reminding us of a wine's inherent tie to the earth, nature, our ecology, the hands that produce it, and the time and heart involved in making it. Wines that draw attention to these unique qualities - to a sense of place - resonate with wine lovers on a deep, emotional level. The VQA appellation system supports this experience and promises unique quality and diversity for Ontario wines of origin.
VQA Means Wines of Origin
Appellation defines Ontario's viticulture. As steward of Ontario's appellation system, VQA Ontario is responsible for building appreciation and maintaining the integrity of Ontario's wines of origin by ensuring claims of origin are accurate and meaningful. As viticulture in Ontario continues to evolve, industry stakeholders and wine lovers alike can rely on the VQA Ontario as the comprehensive and trusted source on Ontario's appellation character and culture.
Discover VQA Ontario appellations
VQA Means Quality Assurance
Ontario’s VQA wines of origin represent a promise of quality and authenticity. Through origin verification, extensive laboratory testing and tasting by an independent expert panel, as well as comprehensive label reviews, VQA Ontario ensures precise adherence to rigorous winemaking standards and label integrity that consumers can trust.
Learn about VQA Ontario quality standards
VQA Ontario: Quality Wines of Origin
VQA wines are crafted from grapes grown in Ontario's unique and diverse appellations. Dedicated to producing wines that typify grape character and the distinctive imprint of origin, Ontario winemakers are immersed in the cultivation, interpretation and communication of terroir as it is reflected in their wines, from vineyard to bottle. Clearly, the best wines are a unique reflection of a winemaker's passion inspired and challenged by a sense of place and these qualities of origin. Choosing VQA means choosing quality wines of origin.
Ontario's Wineries
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News
Ontario Winery Convicted Under VQA Act
Welland, Ontario – Winery convicted of using a prohibited variation of VQA regulated term Icewine.
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Resources
2014 Annual Report and Production Statistics here
2013 Vintage Report here
Facts, maps, features and reports Browse Library
Consumer Protection
VQA ensures truth-in-labelling for consumers of Ontario's wines of origin. 100% Ontario and 100% integrity. Find out how the Ontario Government protects consumers here
Featured Resource
Discover Ontario Wines
As part of the “goLOCAL” campaign, LCBO features wineries from Ontario's uniquely cool-climate region.