What is VQA?

Early in its existence, the British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI) adopted the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) program as a cornerstone of its wine certification and marketing strategy. Also utilized in Ontario, VQA defines and mandates standards for wine and certification, and provides market development support for premium wines produced by participating wineries.


Highlights of the VQA Standards
• Wines bearing the label designation "Product of British Columbia" must be produced from 100% British Columbia grown grapes.
• Optimum growing standards are encouraged.
• Wines bearing the name of a viticultural area are derived from a minimum of 95% of the grapes grown in the named area
• Where a vintage date is stated on the label, at least 95% of the wine is obtained from the designated year of harvest
• Wines labeled as "estate bottled" are produced from grapes grown in a vineyard owned or controlled by the winery, and all processing steps from crushing to bottling are performed at the winery.
• As a final check on quality, the wine-tasting panel tests and approves each wine.

The VQA standards monitor the following areas of production:
Geographical Indication - only wines made from grapes grown exclusively in a specific region, such as Okanagan Valley or Fraser Valley, can display the name of the region on a wine label or bottle.

Vineyard Designation - only grapes grown exclusively from a designated vineyard may be named on a wine.

Estate Bottled - only wines made exclusively from grapes grown on an estate may be labeled as "estate bottled."

Wine Categories - determines if a wine is to labelled single-varietal, dual varietel, or blended wine; also regulates vintage dating, sugar content and sweetness descriptors.

Quality Standards - controls minimum brix levels at harvest, states acceptable oenological practices, prohibits the addition of water, limits the level of chaptalization, controls the use of sweet reserve, and prohibits the practice of fortification other than in wines labeled as such.

Certification Process
• Winery Audits - wineries must keep production records for each wine and make them available to the BCWI upon request.
• Laboratory Analysis - wineries must submit a laboratory analysis with each submission to the VQA panel.
• Label Approval - a label, which is reviewed for accurate information, must accompany each wine application.
• Tasting/Evaluation Panel - all wines are tasted blind by a trained six-person panel. The wines are screened for defects and character.
• Packaging - VQA wines must be packaged with a cork closure, or reasonable facsimile. VQA wines must bear the VQA logo on the principal body panel.
• Wine Audits - at the discretion of the British Columbia Wine Institute, wines bearing the VQA logo are independently audited to ensure that the quality of wine is sound.
• Although the VQA program is voluntary, many wineries will not release a wine into the marketplace unless it has achieved VQA status. The success of this program has been tremendous: sales of VQA wine in BC have grown from 600,000 litres in 1990/1991 to over 2.8 million litres in 2000/2001.

Who is The BCWI ?

The British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI) was created by an act of the provincial legislature in 1990. It functions as a component of a strategic plan developed by the industry and government to create an internationally competitive wine industry. The strategy included the removal of labrusca and hybrid grape varieties and replanting vineyards to vinifera varietals, establishing an industry based on premium wine production.
Early in its existence the BCWI adopted the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) program as a cornerstone of its operations. In cooperation with the industry in Ontario, it provides standards for wine, certification criteria, and market development support for the premium wines produced by participating wineries.

For more information and details on the British Columbia Wine Institute and or Vinters Quality Alliance

CONTACT

BRITISH COLUMBIA WINE INSTITUTE
www.winebc.com
1737 Pandosy Street
Kelowna, BC
V1Y 1R2
Phone: 250-762-9744
Toll Free: 1-800-661-2294
Fax: 250-762-9788
Email: info@winebc.com