ONTARIO WINE APPELLATION AUTHORITY

1. ONTARIO WINE APPELLATION AUTHORITY Taste the Place

2. What we do … • Set and enforce standards, including labelling standards, for wines made from Ontario grapes • Administer the VQA Act and regulations • Purpose is to verify origin and provide a quality assurance mechanism easily identifiable by consumers – label integrity • VQAO is a consumer protection agency not a marketing collective

3. Winery Obligations • Make good quality wines • Know and follow the regulations • Internal process control • Record keeping • Fees

4. Scope of regulations • “Labelling” rules apply to all use of descriptors in association withthe wine • This includes your shelf talker, neck tag, signage, advertising and website descriptions – that refer to a specific wine or wines • 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 or fruit wines on it

5. Common Labelling Questions • Front vs back label • “VQA appellation name VQA” must be on the front label • All other info can be anywhere (and legible) • No unregulated claim of origin can be made (you can’t create your own appellation) • VQA logo is optional • But if you don’t use it, must increase appellation size to 3.2mm • Certain wines are not entitled to any origin claim except Ontario: • Wines made from grapes grown outside of defined viticultural areas • Wines containing hybrid grapes (Vidal Icewine exception) • Charmat or Cuve Close sparkling wines • Wines that do not meet required Brix

6. 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 • Hybrids are treated differently

7. Wine Approval 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 advertise or sell if it is not approved) • 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 (but all labels should be uploaded) • Virtual wineries need to be registered with VQAO as an additional brand (they are your responsibility under your licence and membership)

8. 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. • Be cautious when relying on label designers or others in the industry for the final answer on what the rules are – they may be mistaken or the rules may have changed

9. Tips for faster approvals • Make sure applications include: • Uploaded labels • Payment • Complete and correct information • “Rush” lab 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

10. VQA Services All VQA services accessed from the home page Update your company information and control access, renew membership Apply for and keep track of wine approvals Record bulk transfer to other wineries Monthly reporting (upload completed forms) Invoices (see, print and pay) Pre-Register Icewine and Skin Ferment grapes

11. VQA Services - Wine Approvals System Filters – defaults to in process, normally check all Scroll over icon or use legend to figure out what all the symbols mean Use filters and rows per page to manage what is displayed to you Your ID numbers and remarks here

12. 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)

13. Always check the label results page If the label is not approved, this will explain why Even if the label is approved, we will provide notes on things that don’t result in a failure but you may want to know: Federal non-compliance Spelling errors Warnings on minor items that need to be corrected for future submissions

14. Access your Forms and Reports

15. 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. • Alcohol inaccurate • Varietal content does not qualify for label declaration or varieties not in descending order • Appellation on label different than on application • Back label text refers to different appellation or to a foreign appellation • Best practices • Use a checklist to check label compliance • Don’t print your labels before approval

16. More things to know • Applications are purged after 12 months if not completed • Approvals expire after 12 months if not bottled • Independent brix test and e-grape record required for all content in VQA wines • Transfer and supplementary rules for finished wine that is purchased from another winery • Late Harvest, Icewine, SFW registration by Nov 15 • You must get at least one VQA approval every 18 month or your membership will lapse

17. Beyond wine approvals • Things are changing as we move to digital commerce! • The person that pays VQA bills at your winery needs to have an VQA Services login account and have the role of “Finance” assigned to their account. • Invoices are generated and displayed online when you submit an approval application, upload your monthly sales report or renew your membership. • For sales levy invoices, you must login and click on the “Monthly Sales Report” link to enter the total liters sold to generate an invoice. Please do not continue to mail or email your monthly sales reports. • You may pay invoices online (via credit card using the Stripe service) OR by cheque. • There is a delay between making a payment and seeing the invoice marked “paid” on our system due to the staged implementation of our new IT infrastructure. We will still process your wine approvals immediately….and appreciate your patience and support.

18. Invoices and Payments

19. Invoices and Payments

21. Monthly Sales Reports

22. More Tips • Make sure the right people have access to the VQA Services website and NEVER share login credentials • If you have problems uploading files or with IT issues generally contact us (Susan Piovesan) • For any kind of problem or error, or if you just aren’t sure - call or email the office. We can usually help. • Browse the website at www.vqaontario.ca – there is lots of information there.

23. Avoid Violations • Don’t sell before receiving 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 • Read the comments offered on labels – check the website!

24. Where to look stuff up • Website www.vqaontario.ca/regulations/standards • Contact us 416-367-2002 kaitlin.wilson@vqaontario.ca susan.piovesan@vqaontario.ca katherina.radcliffe@vqaontario.ca laurie.macdonald@vqaontario.ca