The Board of Directors is seeking feedback on a proposed change to the VQA Regulations to create an additional sweetness descriptor for Sparkling Wines. The change would add the descriptor “Extra Brut” to the list of permitted descriptors for wines that contain residual sugar of less than or equal to 6 grams/litre. The use of any sweetness descriptor would continue to be optional but regulated if used.

Please submit your comments, in writing no later than 12 May, 2026 to Laurie Macdonald.

Background

VQA regulations set out rules for the use of sweetness descriptors to describe VQA Sparkling wines. The proposed addition is highlighted below as a new line in the existing Table within VQA Regulation 406.

The proponent has provided the following rationale:

• Transparency – This addition allows producers to better communicate the nuances of style in their winemaking

• Consumer clarity – Today’s consumer has a heightened awareness of sugar content, desiring more specific data on the sugar levels in the wines they consume. The addition of the Extra Brut designation aligns with this trend. The current sugar scale fails to distinguish between wines classified as Brut (≥ 15.0 g/L dosage) and Natural Brut (0.0 g/L dosage). There is a clear need to provide consumers with a more detailed scale to identify wines that fall between these two extremes.

• Meeting the global standard – In today’s marketplace, we need to ensure that the way we communicate the style of our wines aligns with international standards and expectations. The change is required to align with standards for low-dosage wines and rectify this gap in our product communications.

No other changes are proposed to the composition, production or labelling of Sparkling Wines or to the technical requirements of the existing sweetness descriptors.

Assessment

• Impact on appellation system: Provides additional labelling option that improves alignment with global standards.

• Impact on consumers: Provides the opportunity for consumers to access more specific information about the relative sugar content of the wine, within a regulated framework.

• Impact on wineries: Provides wineries additional opportunity to communicate the wine attributes and respond to consumer interest in lower sugar content.

Regulatory Change Process

All regulatory changes require a minimum 30-day comment period for industry and stakeholder feedback to the OWAA Board of Directors before it approves a change and recommends it to government. If the Board approves the change, it requires further approval of the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement before taking effect.

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VQA IS 100% ONTARIO AND 100% CANADIAN. EVERY TIME. GUARANTEED.

Now more than ever, it’s time to share this message with every consumer in Ontario. VQA is the only guarantee that a wine is 100% Ontario. Look for the VQA letters or the logo for authentic, local wine. Every time. Guaranteed.

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP (OR RENEW NOW!)

The membership renewal cycle completed April 1, 2026. Thank you for renewing. If you did not renew on the online portal, your membership is now expired and any existing VQA wine approvals will be rescinded on April 30. If you missed the notices, or just forgot, please make sure you complete the renewal as soon as possible to avoid regulatory penalties

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR USER ACCOUNTS AND INFORMATION

OWAA’s year end was March 31 and we encourage you to login to your OWAA account and update your information:

• Delete any users who no longer work for you, update your email and phone contact info
• Upload labels for those approvals that are still pending (and make sure you don’t release any wine before it is approved)
• Pay any outstanding invoices, but not before checking to see if you have a credit to be used. To check on whether you have used the credit issued last November, go to the invoices page and filter for 12 months. The credit can be used if you have more owing than the credit. If you don’t please use it when you next submit wine approvals.

SPARKLING WINE SWEETNESS DESCRIPTORS – CONSULTATION

OWAA is considering amending the rules to add a new sweetness descriptor for Sparkling wines “Extra Brut”. This will denote less than 6 grams of residual sugar and sit between Natural Brut (0 sugar added to dosage) and Brut (not more than 15 g/L). The formal request for comment with all the details will be circulated separately. We welcome your comments.

FRACETTE – SWEETNESS DESCRIPTORS

For those of you making wine in the new Fracette Sparkling wine category, please note some important information on labelling. Fracette must contain less than 15 g/L of residual sugar and therefore qualifies only for the sweetness descriptor Brut or Natural Brut. It cannot be labelled as “Dry” and this word cannot appear on the label. See the rules for Sparkling Wine below. As always, if you have any questions about how to label your wine, please contact katherina.radcliffe@vqaontario.ca or sabina.mostacci@vqaontario.ca.

REGULATORY REGISTRY – PINOT BEUROT AND ALBARINO

The proposal to add Albarino to the list of approved varieties and to recognize Pinot Beurot as a synonym for Pinot Gris has been posted to the Ontario Government Regulatory Registry. If you would like to comment directly to the government, you can find the details here.

Download Apr Newsletter

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After a year of weather plot twists, from fake spring to a stubborn summer heat wave, Ontario growers still brought in fruit with incredible flavour and balance. Early signs point to a vintage with the depth and energy we saw in 2022, 2023 and 2024, setting up 2025 to be another standout year for Ontario wine.

CONDITIONS

Niagara Peninsula

January was cold and sunny across wine country in Ontario. 2025 got off to a cold start, but despite below freezing temperatures, there were many crisp, bright sunny days. Even in the warmest appellation, Lake Erie North Shore, the cold persisted, accompanied by high, fast-moving winds coming in off Lake Erie, which had significant ice formation in 2025. Back in Niagara, winter pruning was conducted under mostly sunny skies and many layers of warm clothing!

That cold weather continued in February. Within the first three weeks, our wine regions experienced some unusually cold days. February was also notable for the high level of snowfall, and freezing rain at the end of the second week. Both Niagara and the Greater Toronto Area received snow and freezing rain on February 13th. Significant snowfall was also a factor in the emerging region near the Ottawa Valley. By the final week, temperatures had started to rise, and Southern Ontario experienced a double-digit daytime high of 12.5C, recorded in Windsor, on February 25th.

March started off cool and sunny but by the second week, temperatures were again on the rise. St. Catharines recorded a daytime high of 22C on March 16th. Here in Ontario, we refer to this as “fake spring” – a day so nice, that we start to believe that winter is over and spring has arrived. For grape growers, fake spring is the stuff of nightmares. One or two days is fine, but too many unseasonably warm days can encourage an early start to the season – putting the crop at risk for seasonally appropriate spring frost. Luckily for the grapes and growers, that unseasonably warm March weather was short-lived. The month ended with freezing temperatures, and powerful ice storms in Toronto, north of the city in Oro Medonte, and east all the way to Prince Edward County, where The County experienced significant freezing rain on March 28th.

Cool and seasonable temperatures continued into the beginning of April, but within two weeks, it was clear that spring had arrived, for real this time. The month was defined by warm sunny days and ended on a very high note – a daytime high of 28.3 C was recorded in Windsor and 27.2 C in Toronto. Remaining ice on the Great Lakes dissipated quickly, lending cool breezes to the surrounding areas.

May weather was a bit of a rollercoaster in wine country. The month started off cool, had many above average warm days, and even dipped down into freezing with -1 C recorded in Toronto on May 16th. Despite the ups and downs, the growing season was well on its way by the end of the month.

Environment and Climate Change Canada predicted a warmer than usual June – and they were correct. The end of June was characterized by very hot weather that continued into July. Many parts of Wine Country and the Greater Toronto Area experienced a long and dry heat wave, punctuated by localized thunderstorms including one on July 24 that hit the Niagara region with a heavy down pour, high winds and hail, and then came across Lake Ontario and brought the same energy to downtown Toronto.

The July summer heat wave continued through the first few weeks of August. Prolonged heat can cause significant stress for the vines and where irrigation is possible, some vineyards opted to use it to stave off drought-stress.

The summer heat wave finally broke in the final week of August, bringing some much-needed cooler weather to wine country. Within weeks, the vines that had shut down under heat stress were recuperating and sugars were accumulating in the grapes, while the grape skins and seeds were starting to show phenolic ripeness.

A relatively warm and dry September followed. Harvest began, with growers and wineries opting to pick for Sparkling wine first, then aromatic whites. Thanks to dry conditions, growers could pick on their schedule – for optimum ripeness or the profile they preferred. By the end of September and into October, rainy days were more abundant than they had been all year. Good timing and precision-harvest techniques allowed grape growers and wineries to maximize the temperate weather they had left, minimize picking in the rain, and enabled them to bring in grapes with maximum flavour and ripeness.

By November, it was clear that fall had arrived and winter was its way. Snow came early across southern and southwestern Ontario with snow falling on Sunday November 9 and sticking around. Fortunately, by all accounts, regular harvest was complete or almost complete throughout the wine growing regions.

Lake Erie North Shore

In sunny Lake Erie North Shore, some wineries reported an early start to the season. May and June were cooler than average, and vines made little progress during those cooler times. However, July and August provided sunshine, heat units and growing conditions that were exceptional for red varieties like Cabernet, Merlot. The area welcomed very little rain – heat and drought were the main stories for LENS. By Labour Day weekend, some wineries reported being 7-10 days behind the 2024 season, but grape quality was exceptional. As summer ended the weather conditions remained relatively dry throughout September and October, allowing for long hang time and premium ripeness across both aromatic white varieties and red varieties. One grower reported Viognier, harvested on October 24th at 26.2 brix. Many red varieties were harvested well above minimum requirements, in the range of 23-25 brix. Harvest was completed by the end of October.

Prince Edward County

In Prince Edward County, wet and rainy conditions delayed the season. By spring, the weather seemed to cooperate, offering less rain and more sunshine. In June, the weather had changed completely, with the area receiving a lot of sunshine, heat and experiencing very dry conditions. The dry conditions persisted, causing some panic as the summer wore on. Vines were showing signs of drought and heat stress – minimal canopy growth, early signs of lignification of wood and chlorosis. A well-timed rain event in the late summer was welcomed by growers and provided a break from the drought. Vines recovered quickly and grapes continued to ripen, meeting or exceeding brix requirements. Grapes from the County showed a depth of flavour, well-balanced acid, and peak phenolic ripeness.

ICEWINE

Grapes registered for the production of Icewine from the 2025 vintage totalled 2853 tonnes from 11 varieties, a significant increase over the 2024 vintage in which just 1976 tonnes were registered.

WINE OUTLOOK

While yields across all three designated viticultural areas were slightly lower than expected across several varieties, quality is reportedly quite high. Both red and white wines from this vintage will show concentration of flavour while maintaining Ontario’s hallmark acidity.

Wineries and growers in Lake Erie North Shore are particularly excited by the prospects for red wine from this season and in Prince Edward County, though the crop was smaller than expected, the quality is exceptional. Winemakers are predicting exceptional wines from the 2025 vintage, comparable to wines from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 vintages.

Download a copy of our 2025 OWAA Vintage Report.

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• Regulatory review in progress
• Performance metrics
• Industry statistics
• Financial report

Download the full 2025 Annual Report for a review of activities and achievements and to find our audited financial statements.

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Calling all Ontario wineries! Want to learn more about our Ontario VQA Wine Appellations? Take our new course! This course is designed to complement your staff training programs and provide a strong foundation in the Ontario VQA Wine Appellations. The course consists of a 30-minute webinar and a short online exam. Complete the exam and score 80% or higher to receive a certificate from the Ontario Wine Appellation Authority. This course is available at no charge. Register today!

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