Chef Ethan Robinson prepares dishes for a wine-pairing dinner at the Canadian embassy in Beijing during the fifth "Eat Drink Canada China". (Photo provided to China Daily)
Canada's world-class ice wines are already well-known in China－but many fine table wines are increasingly finding their way to Chinese market shelves and restaurant tables.
"Last year, Canada's global wine exports for table wines and ice wines were valued at $65.3 million," says Saint-Jacques. "China has become our second-largest market for Canadian table wine and our largest for ice wine."
Counterfeit ice wine is an ongoing problem, officials say. There are strict regulations to protect genuine ice wine's authenticity: keeping the grapes on the vines until harvest; harvesting the grapes at temperatures below－8 C; and harvesting and pressing the grapes in a continuous process while they remain naturally frozen. Counterfeits are usually diluted white wine sweetened with honey－a deceptive practice that diminishes the reputation of the real thing and discourages new drinkers from appreciating ice wine.
"Today, Canada has 671 grape-based wineries in operation," says Saint-Jacques, "with almost 1,700 grape growers producing quality fruit on approximately 30,000 acres of vineyards－mostly in Ontario and British Columbia, but with increasing production in Nova Scotia and Quebec." French-speaking Quebec is the ambassador's home province, and while the ambassador says the region is proudly Francophile, its wines are not deliberately French in style.
While the tasting was designed to show that Canada's vineyards produce excellent wines beyond its famous ice wines, those sweet vintages stole the stage at the end of the tasting. So did British Columbia, wowing both tables with Ex Nihilo merlot ice wine from Okanagan Falls.
Later, Beijing-based wine guru Fongyee Walker and her fellow professionals toasted the embassy for demonstrating the quality of Canadian wines at the tasting and follow-up dinner. Wine in China magazine partnered with the embassy and the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia to sponsor the event, and the magazine will feature the professional tasters' comments in an upcoming issue. My own faves (surprise, they're from BC's Okanagan valley): Quails' Gate chardonnay and the robust dry red Perseus Invictus.
Embassy chef Ethan Robinson orchestrated an elegant five-course feast that he matched with several wines. The menu naturally included Canada's well-respected lobster and beef.
