Robert Bell's
Wines of Canada
Since 1992
Astonishing
Avery's Trophy
Johann Schiller is considered to be the father of commercial wine making in Canada. He was a retired soldier who domesticated the wild vines that grew along the Credit River in Cooksville, Ontario. By 1811 he had added American Hybrids from Pennsylvania making enough wine to sell.
Long before Schiller there was Louis Hébert, who was born in Paris in 1575, By 1600 Louis was established in Paris as an apothecary and spice merchant. In 1606, he accompanied his cousin-in-law, Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just, to Acadia, along with Samuel de Champlain. He lived at Port-Royal (now Annapolis Royal, in southern Nova Scotia) from 1606 to 1607 and from 1611 to 1613 when Port-Royal was destroyed by the English. It is stated that on his second visit to Nova Scotia he planted vines.
You can, if you wish you can go back to the Vikings around 1021 AD. There were other who tried their best to develop a wine industry in Canada.
The question is when did Canada first astonish the world and prove it could make wines as good if not better than the old world!
Stunning the wine world in 1994, Mission Hill Family Estate’s Grand Reserve Chardonnay 1992 won the Avery Trophy for “Best Chardonnay Worldwide” at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. In fact the judges could not believe the results and re did the entire tasting only to have Mission Hill wine again
The Grand Reserve Chardonnay: In 1992, John Simes crafted something extraordinary—an elegant Grand Reserve Chardonnay. Its golden hue held the essence of sun-drenched slopes and cool nights. And when the prestigious Avery Trophy was awarded at the International Wine & Spirits Competition*, Mission Hill’s 1992 Chardonnay stood tall as the “Best Chardonnay” worldwide.
In 1981, the Okanagan was largely undiscovered as a wine region, instead it was renowned for the quality of its stone fruit orchards. Our founder, Anthony von Mandl saw something different. In a speech given to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 2nd, 1981, he shared his vision: “I would like to share with you this dream – a dream with vision and scope, that without a single doubt will convincingly show you that this majestic valley is resting on the threshold of being an economic giant. When I look out over the valley, I see world class vinifera vineyards winding their way down the valley, numerous estate wineries each distinctively different, charming inns and bed and breakfast cottages seducing tourists from around the world while intimate cafes and restaurants captivate the visitor in a magical setting. In short, the dream is the Napa Valley of Canada, but much more!”
Over the next four decades, von Mandl’s vision has guided us at Mission Hill. From the organic and regenerative farming of our vineyards to our award-winning wines and world-class hospitality, we are driven by the relentless pursuit of excellence at every turn.
Mission Hill Family Estate Stuns the Wine World,again by Winning 'World's Best Pinot Noir' at Decanter World Wine Awards 2013
Now, after being recognized as Canada’s only five-time winner of Winery of the Year and receiving multiple best varietal awards on the international stage, we continue to draw inspiration from the valley and the vineyards we tend to. For us, the journey is just beginning.
Perhaps the earliest medal won one the world stage was a Sherry. Nicola Pataracchia self taught winemaker founded Thorold winery 1922. He sold Thorold in 1927 merging five wineries which would later become Chateau-Gai in 1940. Won a gold medal for his sherry at the Bologna World Exhibition 1933 working at St Catherines Wine Co.
Inniskillin winery gets the credit of having created the international market for Canadian icewine. Their 1989 Vidal Icewine won the coveted Prix d’honneur at Vinexpo in Bordeaux in 1991. Inniskillian was founded by Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser. Read more about the history of Icewine in Canada.
Château-Gai was one of the larger wineries in Ontario during 1960's and 70's It originated in the 1940. Just after prohibition a group of investors formed a company called Canadian Wineries Limited. They bought six existing licenses, Peerless Wines Manufacturing, The National Wine Company, Dominion Wine Growers, Lincoln Wines, Thornwood Wine Company and the Stamford Wine Company. In 1939 they registered the trademark Château and in 1940 changed the company name to Château-Gai. Alexander Sampson was the man behind Château-Gai. While in France after the war he put the company's champagne on display in a Paris shop window and had photographers take pictures. The pictures were printed in all Canadian newspapers greatly raising the notoriety of the winery.
Château-Gai was sued by fifteen French champagne houses for using the word Champagne stating that only grapes grown in the district of Champagne, France could use the term. In 1933 Canada had signed an Agreement with France to protect the appellations of origin. It was most likely the advertising in the Paris window that caused the lawsuit. The matter was not settled until 2003, today only wine produced in Champagne, France is actually named Champagne. In 1964 Labatt's Brewery purchased control of the winery.However it would be many years later before Canada started to produce world class sparkling wine in Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia.
In the very early days there was the establishment of T G Bright Wines- Founded in 1874 by Frederick Shirriff and Thomas Bright under the name Niagara Falls Wine Co. In 1911 they moved from Toronto to Niagara Falls and incorporated as T.G. Bright and Co Ltd The winery was successful, and grew steadily until 1920. They were producing 4,000,000 gallons of wine, making them one of the larger wineries in the world but like all wineries, they were hurt by prohibition. In 1993 they joined with Cartier Wines and Inniskillin to form Vincor Wines. The label is still used on some products today but most likely will soon be gone. Please see Bright Wines .
The question is did Brights ever produce a wine worthy of astonishing the world or even been close to producing world class wines?
Brights had control of the Sparkling wine market until Andrew Peller of Peller Estate Winery decided to enter this market, creating a line of Chanté wines. In 1971, they created Baby Duck, a soft-drink-sweet blend of red and white Chanté wines.
Created at the Andrés Wines Port Moody winery in 1971, Baby Duck was the best-selling domestic wine in Canada during that decade. However been popular at home did not make it a world class wine.
* The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969 by the German/British oenologist Anton Massel.[1] Each year the competition receives entries from over 90 countries worldwide. The awards given by the competition are considered as high honors in the industry. The judging occurs annually, in London. Only brands that pay the entry fee are judged, and two or four bottles of each entry must be supplied, depending on the category entered
Thanks to , John Schreiner, Mission Hill, Kaylan Storey
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Wines of Canada was developed and designed by Robert (Bob) Bell of Whi make or sell wine. Support is welcome as are suggestions and comments; should you see something that needs to be corrected please let us know.