VQA Ontario Niagara Peninsula Lake Erie North Shore Prince Edward County

Ontario’s appellation system §Sets and enforces standards, including labelling standards, for wines made from Ontario grapes §Administered by VQA Ontario under the VQA Act and regulations §Purpose is to verify origin and provide a quality assurance mechanism easily identifiable by consumers §VQAO is a consumer protection agency not a marketing collective

VQA Regulations §Protects certain terms by restricting their use §Label integrity for consumers §Protects/enhances reputation of regions and industry-at-large §Level playing field for wineries

Winery Obligations §Making good quality wines §Knowing and following the regulations §Internal process control §Record keeping §Fees

Regulated terms §What terms do we regulate? -Niagara Peninsula Prince Edward County -Lake Erie North ShoreOntario -Sub-appellation termsBlanc De Noirs -MeritageLate Harvest Wine -Select/ Special Select Late Harvest Wine -Vin Du Cure Icewine -Icewine DosageDosage of Icewine -Sparkling Icewine Estate Bottled -Vineyard Botrytized -Botrytis Affected (B.A.)Totally Botrytized -Totally Botrytis Affected (T.B.A) §What does this mean in practice? No use without approval, no variations, passing off

Labelling Rules

Scope of regulations §The “labelling” rules apply to all use of descriptors in association with the wine §This includes your shelf talker, neck tag, signage, advertising and website descriptions – that refer to a specific wine §Allows a general “we sell Icewine here” sticker at your cash but definitely not an Icewine sign in front of a display shelf with only table wines on it

Mandatory Content §Federal information: l alc./vol. - net contents - wine - Product of Canada - legal name, address of dealer – allergens (sulphites) §VQA information: l Name of appellation l Vintage (except Sparkling, Fortified) l Others depend on wine category

Optional Content (category dependent) §Grape varieties §Wine category (Late Harvest, Meritage, Blanc de Noirs, Nouveau) §Proprietary Name (your brand) §Estate Bottled §Vineyard Name §Method of Production (Mandatory for Sparkling)

Principal Display Panel and Single Field of Vision §Appellation must appear on principal display panel at least 2 mm OR 3.2 mm if you leave the VQA logo off §Other info can appear anywhere (except top/bottom of container) §Federal rules require alc/vol, wine, product of Canada and net contents all in a “single field of vision” §VQA decides which panel is the PDP, the winery cannot choose to make the back label the PDP

Labelling - Origin l The appellation on the front label must appear as: VQA appellation name VQA (same font, colour, typeface) l No unregulated claim of origin can be made (e.g. you can’t create your own appellation) l No appellation terms can be used in back label copy or elsewhere unless the wine qualifies NOT AT ALL - no matter what the context l No reference to location of winery using appellation name unless wine qualifies – postal address only in the form of an address l Component appellations can be described if exact percentage content is included – eg. 55% Lake Erie North Shore, 45% Prince Edward County

Labelling - Origin §Content rules for appellation declaration: l Ontario (100% Ontario) l Viticultural areas – Niagara Peninsula, Lake Erie North Shore, Prince Edward County (85% from stated area, rest from anywhere in Ontario) l Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Escarpment (85% from stated area, rest from Niagara) l Sub-appellations (100%) l Vineyard designation (100%) l Estate Bottled (100% grown, made, bottled)

Labelling - origin §Certain wines are not entitled to any origin claim except Ontario l Wines made from grapes grown outside of defined viticultural areas l Wines containing hybrid grapes (Vidal Icewine exception) l Charmat or Cuve Close sparkling wines l Wines that do not meet required Brix §Do not refer to appellations on the labels of these wines §Do not use brand names that contain restricted terms

Varietal wines §If a grape variety is mentioned anywhere on the label, it is considered a varietal wine §Varieties must be listed in order of descending content §If it does not meet single, dual, triple or multi rules, percentages are required §Acceptable variety names are specified l No abbreviations, number descriptors l Descriptors generally allowed if they are not confusing (oaked, reserve etc)

Icewine §Icewine must appear on the label §Vinifera or Vidal only §Cannot blend Vidal into vinifera unless declared (eg. must be > 15% and labelled as a varietal wine) §Cannot mention Icewine on label of table wines if it used as a blending component

More rules §Variations of estate bottled are now permitted but must be truthful and abide by same rules as estate bottled (“produced and bottled by”) §No closure can refer to VQA §Statements made must be accurate l Harvest brix, RS, percentages l Plan for this if you use generic back labels

The VQA logo §Optional §Gold on black only, minimum15 mm §Secondary applications can be as small as 10 mm §On any label, neck or shoulder §Smaller size (10 mm) permitted for bottles 250 mL and less

The Approval Process

Wine Approvals §3 components: blind taste test, laboratory analysis and packaging review  Approx 1800 applications annually, overall success rate approximately 95%

Process §Approvals – online application, samples to LCBO, payment to VQAO, 2 – 3 weeks turnaround §Wine is approved only when entire process is complete and you see a checkmark under final status (Don’t release or sell if it is not approved) §Approval will not be processed without fee and label, mock ups and/or proofs are acceptable §If the labels are changed post approval, it is the wineries responsibility to ensure they comply §No need for two approvals for same wine with two labels (all labels should be uploaded) §Virtual wineries need to be registered with VQAO as an operating name (they are your responsibility under your manuf. licence and your VQA membership)

VQA Services - Wine Approvals System “WAS” Filters – normally check all Use filters and rows per page to manage what is displayed to you Start a new application

Wine Approval Application - adding varietal components Entering the components of your final blend Confirm total quantity is correct

Wine Approval Application Upload your labels PDF or JPEG formats acceptable Get the proofs electronically from your designer/printer Store them on your computer. Follow the easy wizard instructions. Because of the volume – we do not upload labels for you. If you can them to us then you have an electronic version to upload! You can upload your labels later if they are not ready when you make the application.

Wine Approval Application Submitted – waiting on shipment Information is in the system LCBO is waiting for samples to arrive This is the wine ID

Wine Approval In progress Tasting is completed and passed Lab analysis is completed and passed Wine is not approved Did you upload your label? Did VQAO receive your payment? Label review is pending

More information about your application Taste and lab results added when completed Label review usually last to be completed just before approval result finalized Can edit only up to shipment received date (call VQAO if changes needed after) Forms&Reports: Reprint shipping form/invoice Cert of analysis once approved Cert of origin

Application in progress - check tasting result If the wine did not pass, the reason for failure will be stated here.

Application in progress - check lab result Typically only 3 tests are reported – alcohol, Free SO2, RS If the wine did not pass, the failing analyte will be reported. Small variances are granted eg. 52 ppm FSO2 will show as an X but the overall status will pass

Application - label review result Federal violations are noted but do not cause a failure. Routine conditions are noted but do not cause a failure No scale (font size not verified) VQA logo not submitted or shown in a black and white scan THESE STILL NEED TO BE COMPLIANT on the final label. This label failed. In this case this is the reason.

Application almost complete Not yet approved Usually because payment not received If all 3 stages complete and not approved – please call us

Wine is now approved The winery (primary contact) will get an notification telling you to logon and view completed application results It is the same pass or fail so don’t assume the wine is approved Don’t forget to look at the label review page to see if there are any comments

Pre approval label review §VQAO will review labels before the wine is submitted as advice only §Labels will not be “approved” before wine is approved since this is contingent upon the label matching the wine, the alcohol, sweetness descriptors being correct, etc.

Common approval delays and label problems §No labels have been uploaded or fee is not paid §Samples sent to LCBO are not properly labelled and have been sent to another department §Label does not match application or wine eg. l Alcohol inaccurate l Appellation on label different than on application l Varieties not in descending order l Back label text refers to different appellation or to a foreign appellation

Tips for approvals §Make sure applications include: l Uploaded labels l Payment l Complete and correct information §“Rush” service can be arranged ($) §Plan with VQAO in advance if there is time pressure (such as Nouveau) or a large number of samples §Tastings are twice weekly, none in December or on statutory holidays (dates posted on VQA Services) §Lab lineup is set weekly (no later than Wed pm) so have your samples delivered by noon Wednesday §If your wine arrives Thursday it will not have lab results until two weeks following

Other things to know §Applications are purged after 12 months if not completed §Approvals expire after 12 months if not bottled §Independent brix test and SETGO slip required for all content in VQA wines §Transfer rules for finished wine that is purchased §Late Harvest registration by Nov 15 §Lapsed Memberships

Questions? Call us §If in doubt - call or the VQAO office §Do not rely on designers or others in industry – they may be mistaken or the rules may have changed §Best practice – don’t print your labels before approval §Read over the VQA regulations (reg. 406)

Failure to Comply

Inspection and Compliance §VQA Ontario is required to enforce compliance with Act §Compliance issues typically related to label issues, selling without approval §Infractions noted through inspections conducted by VQAO, through audit or by complaint §VQAO has police powers - right to enter, right to collect and compel information

Penalties §Approval suspension/revocation §Product removal from all channels (LCBO acts on our removal orders – this can be very expensive) §Compliance orders §Charges (fines up to $100,000 per count) §Membership suspension/revocation §It is far cheaper to comply

Avoid Violations §Don’t sell before approval -check the website §Check advertising, website, store signage using VQA terms to make sure they are compliant and not misleading §File your reports and be prepared for your audit §Use a checklist to check label compliance §Read the comments offered on labels – check the website!

Where to look it up §Website §Contact us