VQA Ontario

The Approval Process

The VQA approval process consists of the following three steps and takes 2 to 2½ weeks to complete:

1. Tasting Panel Assessment Taste tests are conducted on Mondays and Wednesdays by a panel of tasters. All tasting is conducted blind at the LCBO head office tasting facilities. Time and space is limited. There are no tastings on holidays falling on a Monday or Wednesday or throughout the month of December and no makeup tastings. Members can check the Members News & Announcements page for exact "No Tasting" dates. Please plan accordingly.
   • Wines delivered after 4:00 p.m. are not received by Quality Assurance until the next business day
   • Wines arriving at the LCBO Quality Assurance Department on Thursday before 12:00 p.m. will be tasted the following week. Wines arriving after 12:00 p.m. may be held over until the second week
   • Do not send your bottles to the VQA office - this will result in a delay of at least two days and up to a week
2. Laboratory Analysis
   • Every Wednesday the laboratory prepares a line-up for the following week. Wines received after Tuesday will not make it into the following weeks line-up, rather they will be held over until the second week.
3. Packaging Reviews
   • Packaging reviews are normally conducted within a few days of the taste test
   • If you are using a standard VQA capsule (with 3 VQA logos), you may either include it with the packaging or simply include a clear statement that you will be using the standard capsule
   • Mock-up labels are acceptable as long as they include all VQA terms intended for use and all federally mandated terms (eg. if the application for approval requests a vineyard designation, it must appear on the sample label)
   • If the approval is denied because labels do not meet the standards, make sure the application is resubmitted and the labels sent to VQAO with the necessary changes. VQAO strongly recommends you wait to print your labels until after receiving approval
   • Labels may be changed after approval as long as they remain in compliance with the VQA regulations (wine found to be retailed with label violations will be ordered removed from the point of sale until re-labelled). Check with VQA if you are unsure.

LCBO reports the results of all tasting, testing and label reviews to VQA – they will not release information directly to the winery. LCBO also emails all laboratory certificates to VQA and VQA emails the originals of these certificates to the wineries. The laboratory certificate is not forwarded to the winery if the wine does not pass. Please contact the office if you do not receive a certificate within 2 weeks of receiving your positive approval results.

VQA reviews the tasting, testing and label results to ensure VQA rules have been met and issues an “Notice of Completion” by email. You may then access your account to see the results of the application for approval. The wine is not approved until the results are finalized on the WAS (Wine Approval System) on VQAO Services website.

If you have any questions during the approval process, contact the VQA office.

Rush Service

A "rush" laboratory service is available from the LCBO for an additional fee. If extenuating circumstances require that you need your result urgently, please call the VQA office and best efforts will be made to accommodate your needs. Please plan ahead to leave some contingency time to complete the approval process and minimize emergencies.

Interim Results

You may check the status of testing anytime by logging into your online account. Keep in mind that passing one part of the process, such as tasting, does not guarantee that the wine is approved – bottle and label at your own risk.

VQA will not issue an approval if:

• Any one of the taste test, lab test or packaging review is either not passed or not completed
• The fee has not been received (LCBO bills us the full amount for all samples)
• There are discrepancies with declared information about the wine and audit finding

You may not sell your wine using any VQA terms before having received a written approval.

After receiving a “Not Approved” result for any reason, the online resubmission process must be followed to re-activate the application. Do this by clicking on the wine ID and then clicking on “Re-submit this wine” and following the instructions. The file will then be reset to pending status.

Late Harvest and Icewine Procedures

Make sure you are familiar with the rules and procedures for Late Harvest and Icewine before the season starts. Failure to register grapes or provide the required information when due can mean the difference between your juice/wine being eligible to be labelled Icewine or not.

Protect yourself – make sure the VQA requirements are met and you have the documents you need before you take delivery of grapes or juice that you purchase.Wineries and growers: make sure one of you registers the grapes!

Please note: No registration is needed for “regular” harvest grapes if harvest is delayed past November 15 due to the vintage conditions. Registration is required only for grapes intended for Late Harvest or Icewine.

Make sure all forms are properly filled out and submitted. See directions on the right side of this page for correct procedures.

Helpful Hints

Do not blend tanks of juice originating from more than one lot of registered grapes before getting the Brix test results from EDM Associates.

Make sure the juice recorded on harvest forms comes only from grapes registered on the linked registration record. You may create as many harvest records as needed for each lot of grapes registered. Do not create a single “batch” from juice from two or more registration ID numbers – until after you have recorded and registered each harvest volume. Each grape registration ID must result in at least one batch of juice matching the tonnes and acres specified.

All juice intended for Icewine must be pressed within 7 days of harvest. In the case of extended low temperatures that prevent timely pressing, please contact the VQA offices to discuss exceptions. No exceptions will be permitted without written permission.

All frozen grapes must be weighed – this is not a new requirement, this has been in effect since before VQA Ontario was established. Do not “guess” at the weight of your grapes – the number needs to be accurate. VQAO will be using this data to assess whether to accept or reject juice for Icewine status.

For juice purchasers:

It is the purchaser’s responsibility to ensure that the required information has been filed with VQA Ontario and that all VQA requirements are met if they are purchasing late harvest grapes or juice for VQA wines. If a complete electronic file is not available or verifiable at the time the wine is submitted for approval, it will be rejected. Wineries may want to include a statement in the purchase agreement that the juice must be eligible for VQA. Ask for a printout of the “harvest” or “purchase” form or contact the VQA office directly to confirm.

To get your wine approved, you will need a valid registration # for all components of the wine. VQA Ontario will verify the submission against information recorded by EDM Associates and audit information. We will also verify that the reported yields are reasonable.

For non-winery growers:

Icewine juice that remains in the possession of a non-VQA member for more than 7 days after pressing will be subject to VQA audit if the owner wishes to maintain its VQA eligibility.

Growers retaining juice beyond 7 days for speculation must notify VQA Ontario and an audited letter of transfer will be required to verify and document the sale and transfer of juice after that time. No transfer form is needed for processors who are delivering juice pressed from grapes owned by the receiving winery.

If you do not notify us the juice will lose its status! Please make a note to remind yourself of this requirement at pressing time.

Wines will not be eligible for VQA status if the documentation is not available, not complete, not correctly filled in or does not match independent test results.

You will be invoiced for monitoring services on a cost-recovery basis, in direct proportion to the number of brix tests conducted for you. All invoices will be sent to the grower or winery who registered the grapes. VQA Ontario will not re-invoice third party purchasers.

Plan ahead to ensure compliance!

Process to Change a Regulation

Regulations governing the labeling and production standards for VQA wines are contained in VQA regulation 406 and amendments are permitted through a standardized process.

1. A request is received to amend a specific regulation. Proponents typically detail a specific regulation change or may request a broader change in principle to the regulations. The request is submitted to VQAO staff, who assesses whether the change is technical in nature, policy related or both.
2. The request is forwarded to the Board of Directors for preliminary review and then referred to the Standards Development Committee for review. During this process, further information may be sought from the proponent. It is expected that the proponent provide sufficient technical information and/or information on policy or image issues to make a sound case for the proposed change. VQA Ontario must be satisfied that the proposed change
   • is consistent with its strategic objectives and mission
   • improves or at least maintains the quality of VQA wines
   • improves or at least maintains the positive image VQA wines and the credibility and perception of the VQA appellation system

   Items that require technical research to complete due diligence on the part of VQA Ontario will normally be referred back to the proponent or other interested parties. VQA Ontario does not have a research budget and will verify information only.

   On issues that are likely to be complex or controversial within the industry or with consumers, VQA Ontario normally will conduct informal consultations prior to formally considering a regulation change. These consultations may be through members meetings or soliciting comment from stakeholders such as the WCO, GGO, LCBO or other wine trade or consumer groups.

3. The Standards Development Committee makes a recommendation on the technical aspect of the proposed change. The Board considers the recommendation of the Standards Development Committee and any non-technical issues related to the proposal. If the Board of Directors has enough information on which to base a decision, the Board may either approve the drafting of a new regulation for circulation to the membership or not.
4. The amendment is circulated to the VQA membership for comment for a minimum period of 30 days.

   After receiving and considering comments, the Board may make a motion at its next regular meeting on whether to recommend such a change to the Minister for approval. Further consultation may also be sought at this point.

   Regulation changes may take several months or up to several years to complete depending on their complexity or the state of consensus around the proposal. VQAO will endeavour to process requests for regulatory change as expeditiously as possible.

5. Proposed regulation change is recommended to Minister of Government Services.

   Proposals to the Minister are accompanied by an explanation and rationale for the change and a summary of any objections received during the 30 day consultation stage.

   Once a regulation change is recommended to the Minister, Ministry officials perform a due diligence review of the proposal and prepare a legal draft. The change is then added to the Ministers agenda for review at the earliest convenience. The Minister may approve the change immediately or request further information. Regulation changes take effect as soon as they are approved by the Minister.

Audit & Inspection - Verifying Compliance

Winery Audit

VQA Ontario conducts an audit of winery premises every 6 months. The purpose of the audit is to examine winery records and inventory and determine whether VQA regulations are met and whether all volumes of VQA wines are substantiated with respect to origin and other requirements. Wineries will be contacted by winery audit staff to arrange an audit.

Wineries must provide official records from the Grape Growers of Ontario including a "weigh slip" with the results of an independent test for Brix. All grapes used in VQA wines or those intended for VQA wines must be accounted for on an official weigh slip issued at the time of harvest.

Once the grapes are crushed, wineries must keep log, day books or equivalent records that show the process of all VQA wines through processing to bottling. Records should include volumes, varietal compostion, vintage composition, origin and treatments tracked by date and traceable back to the grapes used. Winery audit must have enough information to verify the exact proportions of any tank of wine by origin, grape variety and brix, vintage, and wine category and have access to records related to treatments such as chaptalization. For certain wine categories, such as Icewine, more information may be required.

A reconciliation of all inventory by origin, vintage, variety, and wine category is conducted as part of the audit. A complete inventory of VQA wines is established at the first audit. At future audits, all wine received since the last audit and volume from new grapes crushed will be added to the inventory and all wine sold or otherwise disposed of will be subtracted. Changes in wine inventory from audit to audit must be consistent with intake of new products and sales.

Inventory in bulk and cased goods will be counted and volume in tanks verified. Wineries must support all wine purchases that are intended for VQA certification. Purchased wine must be accompanied by a "Letter of Audited Transfer" that is stamped by the Winery Audit. This letter must be obtained from the selling winery before the wine is physically transferred to the purchaser.

Wines that have been bottled and labeled are checked for compliance with the VQA Act and regulations. Winery audit also determines whether VQA wine sales have been correctly reported.

Missing or incomplete information will result in further investigation and may result in wine approvals being withheld, suspended or revoked. Wine with a suspended or revoked approval may not be sold using VQA regulated terms and must either be withheld from sale or relabeled.

Evidence that a wine does not meet VQA requirements, or that false information has been provided will result in the suspension of wine approvals pending further investigation. Investigations may be conducted in addition to the normal audit process at any time and without prior notice. VQA investigators may attend the winery’s premises and search for any information necessary to investigate possible violations of the VQA Act or regulations. Product samples may also be removed for testing.

After an audit is completed, the winery will be notified if any further information is required or if any discrepancies have been discovered and what action must be taken. No follow up is required if no issues are raised during the audit.

Retail Inspections

VQA Ontario conducts inspections of winery retail stores periodically and at least annually for all wineries that operate retail stores. The frequency of retail inspections is based on the past compliance record of the winery. Retail inspections are conducted without notice.

Information about wines offered for sale, including use of VQA terms on labels is collected at each retail inspection. This information is then checked against VQA records to determine whether the wine is approved and complies with labeling requirements.

The winery will be notified if any problems are discovered as a result of a retail inspection.