WINE 101 | VQA - VINTNER'S QUALITY ALLIANCE

The Vintner's Quality Alliance or VQA is a controlled appellation system that has been in use since 1988. It is the Canadian equivalent of France 's Appellation D'Origine Controlee or AC or AOC system.

The main purpose of a geographical delimitation and/or controlled appellation (the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably) system is to guarantee the origin, character, and level of quality of the wine being produced in the designated growing/producing area.

These systems are typically administered by a governing body comprised of individuals from the wine industry itself and have usually been enacted into wine legislation and subsequently into law by the governments of each respective country and region.

Almost everything from the grape varieties permitted in a particular region to the way in which and length of time a wine must spend aging is controlled. Strict limits are placed on such things as yields and sugar levels at harvest. All of this serves to ensure that every wine produced under these systems has met or surpassed the quality levels stipulated for it.

Canada 's VQA system is in operation in two of the country's wine growing regions. Ontario and British Columbia . The VQA has been enacted into law. From a consumer standpoint the VQA designation in both provinces serves two main purposes. Those are: to indicate the wine has met or surpassed the quality standards set for it and that the wine was produced entirely from Ontario grown grapes from the region stated on the label (in the case of Ontario VQA wines), or entirely from British Columbia grown grapes from the region stated on the label (in the case of B.C. VQA wines). Canada 's other wine regions, Nova Scotia and Quebec , have yet to acquire appellation status.

In Italy a similar appellation system exists called the Denominazione di Origine Controllata or DOC. Portugal and Spain too, have DOC appellations in place. Germany 's appellation system is known as the QBA or Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete or QMP, Qualitatswein mit Pradikat.

These are but a few of the more well known systems in use throughout the winemaking world. The oldest such controlled appellation and geographical delimitation system is the one created in Portugal 's Douro Valley in 1756. While Canada 's VQA may seem a very recent development, Italy 's DOC is also fairly recent in its inception having been established in 1963.

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