A decade of Wine

To quote one of the most infamous lines in the world, “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times”. The decade in which East of the City was born has seen many changes that in so many ways resemble the revolution that the Dickens novel describes.

The magazine was conceived during one of history’s most tumultuous years following 9-11 and the consequential beginning to a war that has lasted to this day. It was born in a world changed forever, in a time of chaos where chaos was the norm. During all of this, “East” successfully became a purveyor of lifestyle innovation focusing on aspects that make life worthwhile. The wine world we have today was equally successful in its adjustments with many trends and changes forming nationally and globally. 

A decade of discovery     

This decade proved that the old saying “if a pebble causes a ripple on one side of the Atlantic, it will eventually be felt on the other side.” Globalization indeed was affecting the world in an increasingly large way. Movements in the wine industry were becoming evident. People were discovering that “drinking less but better” was much more appropriate and fun. An offshoot was the group called “Millennnals”, which was interested in labels and what it enjoyed as opposed to what the “experts” suggested. The advent of social media chat lines and other outlets assisted as a new and effective marketing tool. 

Women who first became interested in good quality white wine made the transition to red. Women became the world’s largest and fastest growing wine demographic. Female participation in the wine societies and professions has been massive with an influx of sommeliers, winemakers, consultants and writers/bloggers.

A society of women in wine called “Le Donne del Vino” gained prominence outside of its native Italy and made headway in many countries including Canada. Donne del Vino  President and winery owner Nadia Zenato made clear her concept of women in wine:

“I strongly believe in the cooperation between women engaged in an active role in the wine world: Women for years have been committed in the association of wine.” 

Going local 

Another strong influence this last decade has been the “Go Local” movement encouraging people to consider what is at their doorstep. This has not just affected the mere purchase of local food products. It has become an almost evangelical movement affecting countries and wine regions all over the globe. 

Italy came up with its “Food Roots” which was a crusade to protect local Italian product names and the Italian wine region of Veneto was quick off the mark in 2002 when it started a long-term study concerned with re-introducing native grape varieties to its vineyards at the expense of other foreign ones. The trend continues today and is in keeping with provinces such as Nova Scotia, which concentrated its energies on producing fine wine from hybrid grapes that were generally discarded by Ontario and British Columbia.  The decade also saw the emergence of Quebec as a strong and energetic wine power as well as a new viticultural designation in Prince Edward County in Ontario. 

“Go Local” has encouraged everything from the little villages who sell their wares at local markets to huge wine regions and their efforts to attract “Agro-Tourists” to their areas. 

The “Go Local” can be described as a movement of “local” degrees: an example being the Region of Durham in Ontario, which has many towns/cities each with its own go local food/attraction niche. This in turn assists local wineries like Ocala and Archibald’s in encouraging people to visit. The Region of Durham is technically part of the Prince Edward County Wine Region and thus encourages individuals to try their local wineries and products. This trend is only gaining inm momentum.

Del Rollo, National Director/Visitor Experience agrees with the “Go Local” philosophy and suggested a couple of other trends that developed in the last 10 years: 

“One of the biggest trends would be white blends and people, embracing the go local ideals and this is helping our industry---high alcohol is passé, this bodes well for “Cool Climate” wines.”  

Order of Canada Recipient,  Donald Ziraldo: Founding Chair of V.Q.A., Cofounder of Inniskillin Winery and Ambassador of Canadian Wine agrees with the above;

“The last ten years has seen a continued focus on international recognition of Canadian Icewine as a global luxury brand — on education and research and — on Chardonnay/Riesling as cool climate varietals in table wines.”    

New replaces old  

Other innovations have made their appearance globally and in Canada nationally. Screw caps in both basic and premium wines are here to stay. While the jury is still considering if wines with screw cap enclosures will age similar to that of corks, the general presumption is that that they will — without the disadvantage of any cork deterioration problems.  

Lighter glass and plastic bottles also made an appearance and in addition to boxed wine and Tetra packs, the strong trend is to sell higher quality wine with less expensive packaging and with the environment in mind. 

What’s old is new again

Also considering the environment, one developing trend this past decade is Organic and its cousin Biodynamic agriculture. Both reflect a return to a natural means of controlling the growth of the vines and harvesting the grapes. Biodynamic goes one step further — dictating the lunar times that affect harvest among other things. This could make some wines more expensive by the nature of the labour that is needed to produce the grapes. However, a large number of wineries and regions around at home and abroad have turned to this type of agriculture successfully.

Known as the spark that caused Canada’s “Big Bang” in boutique winery formation, Donald Ziraldo helped found a new winery “Equifera” dedicated to making a world class Icewine. He also planted a new organic Icewine vineyard at the original site of Inniskillin. 

Donald Triggs, formerly of Jackson-Triggs and Vincor, has built a winery in the Okanagan aptly called Arise Vineyards. You might say that the two Donalds went “full circle”!

Obviously, one cannot go into detail to describe every change and event that happened in the wine industry during the first decade of East of the City’s life but one can get an account of the extreme complexity of issues that affect this industry and how far it has come in just 10 years. 

Here’s to the next 10!