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The Ontario
Grape Growers’ Marketing Board was organized in 1947.
It was established to serve the needs and represent the interests
of grape growers in their dealings with processors. For the
first time, growers were ensured of a unified, minimum price
for grapes. Growers also gained a voice in the grape and wine
processing industry.
In 1947,
there were 15,000 acres of vineyards in Ontario and growers
harvested 36,000 tons of grapes. The value of processing sales
to wineries was $2.5 million.
At the
time of formation, the grapes being grown were labrusca varieties,
native to this region of North America. Although ideal for
juice, preserves, and dessert and low alcohol wines, their
lower sugar levels and higher acids are not suited for the
lighter, and dry, table wines which today dominate the world
of wines. But that was then.
In the
ensuing years, the nature of the grape and wine industry has
changed dramatically.
Between
1989 and 1991, growers removed 8,000 acres of labrusca and
hybrid vines and, over time, replaced them with Vitis vinifera
vines, traditional European varieties. As part of the federal/provincial
Grape Adjustment Program, this replacement program was designed
to remove grape varieties deemed surplus to industry needs,
and move forward with varieties suited for the higher quality
table wines that consumers were demanding. At the same time,
labruscas were banned from all table wines made in Ontario.
This
was the turning point for Ontario grape growers and the Ontario
grape and wine industry. Vineyard expansions, upgrading and
changes continued with a focus on Vitis vinifera production.
The harvest
of grapes such as Chardonnay, Riesling, Gamay, the Cabernets
and Merlots, was 800 metric tonnes in 1980. The vinifera harvest
increased to 4,000 tonnes in 1990. By the year 2000, the vinifera
harvest reached 20,400 tonnes. For the first time ever, vinifera
sales surpassed sales of hybrids. The trend to a vinifera-dominated
industry will continue as consumers demand quality wines,
and growers respond by growing more and more high quality
vinifera grapes.
Today,
there are 15,000 acres of vineyards in Ontario, the
same as 50 years ago. But the kind of grapes grown is dramatically
different than it was, and the industry has evolved and achieved
its status as an internationally acclaimed grape and wine region.
Our Icewines, in particular, have become popular in many places
around the world, and serve as an introduction to the rest
of our fine wines.
In the
past 50 years, the farm gate value of grape sales has risen
from $2.5 million to more than $70 million.
In 2007,
there were about 56,000 metric tonnes of grapes sold for
processing, including 52,229 sold to wineries. Viniferas,
virtually unheard of in this area 50 years ago, now account
for 62% of the total amount of grapes sold to wineries during
regular harvest.
One thing,
however, has not changed. We continue to represent growers,
act as the voice of the industry, and lobby the government
on behalf of grape-growing issues that will help growers,
and strengthen co-operative ties with the winemaking industry.
In 2002,
we changed our name to Grape Growers of Ontario to better
reflect our mission, mandate and membership. We will continue
to represent and support our grower-members in the best viticultural
practices so our industry will grow and thrive.
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"This
is an agri-business with deep roots in the soils of Niagara
and Essex counties. Remarkable eras of change have unfolded
during the past 50-plus years. We’ll keep building
on that foundation with our vision, skills and courage
for the next 50 years that are ahead of us today."
John Neufeld,
Grape Growers of Ontario Chair
(1995-2002)
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