Ontario winemakers and grape growers see a future where their products will be the leading choice among wine consumers in the province, with more than three million tourists visiting Ontario’s wine regions each year to enjoy world class wines and hospitality. Ontario’s VQA Wine and Grape Industry’s newly released 2030 Vision anticipates substantial growth in this important sector of the provincial economy, fueling increases in investment, market share, jobs and related tourism.
Among the projected growth targets within the next seven years, the 2030 Vision foresees: More than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario’s grape and wine production, tourism and hospitality sectors; Annual Ontario VQA wine sales of more than half a billion dollars (up from $385 million per year currently), with all-channel share of Ontario’s wine market growing by 20 per cent (from current 13 per cent); Three million annual visitors to Ontario’s wine regions (up from 2.6 million today); A 75 per cent increase in capital investment by Ontario wine producers, with 4 million new vines planted over 20,000 acres. A summary of Ontario’s VQA Wine & Grape Industry – 2030 Vision is available here.
VQA wines are made with 100 per cent Ontario-grown grapes. Ontario has 18,000 acres under vine and has grown to 191 VQA wineries, concentrated in the Niagara Peninsula, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore. Advanced cool-climate viticultural research and technologies support emerging wine regions across the province of Ontario in Norfolk and Haldimand Counties, Central Ontario and Georgian Bay, Huron Shores and Eastern Ontario. The wine industry contributes $5.5 billion annually to the province’s economy.
