Where I think V.Q.A. stores should be located

I have been reading around the web recently and there has been some discussion about possibly setting up V.Q.A. stores in Ontario. I am all for it but the current politcal climate isn't friendly towards the idea.
The provincial Conservatives would like to set up stores like this and that is fine but I am not in favour of simply privatizing the LCBO and opening up sales to private vendors. I know we pay higher prices because of monopoly markups and high taxes on product but this money goes into Government coffers and we (as a society) have more control over what these funds are used for. The potential for using funds for the benefit of us all is far greater than letting it line the pockets of a few individuals that would own the disribution outlets (after privatization) and after a period of time certain vendors would rise to the top and come to dominate the market by beating out the competition. This means concentration of market share and no real free market. If you look at any of our major sectors in the economy, the industry cycle starts with many competitors and a very real free market. As time passes businesses compete and innovate with the result of winners and losers. The winners drive out or merge with the losers and the number of competing entities in the industry decreases and oligopolies form and true free markets disappear. Just look at personal computers, operating systems, automobiles, energy, radio, Tv and telecommunictions to name a few. So in my view the LCBO should stay and the problems associated with it should be tackled with regulation change and not outright deregulation.
Having said all this I think that V.Q.A stores should take the form of Kiosks like they do with the big wineries that can distribute their product with grand fathered licenses  outside the winery. They could be located in the middle of customer thoroughfares in malls or in  supermarket chains like Loblaws Sobeys or Metro (and in the same stores as the large winery kiosks) or in big box store outlets like Walmart or even Home Depot (if Harvey's or Mc Donalds can sell there so can a V.Q.A. store).
 The LCBO could be mandated to run these stores (and regulated in how they operate so that small family and boutique wineries get a fair shake in acess to them.) or it could be some kind of industry partnership (with regulation to ensure access to the small players). Lets get this done as a start,  then we can look at the bigger issues of large scale private distribution (like wine and beer sold at Macs Milk) 

An unforseen hand in the Ontario winery industry gets his own wine

Larry Patterson wasn't a household name in the news media when it came to Ontario wine but he was a tireless force behind the promotion and growth of the Ontario wine industry. He was a front line employee with the LCBO but you wouldn't know it by how he was on a first name basis with industry leaders.  When I found out about Larry's passing I was not surprised because I knew he was very ill but I was none the less very saddened.  Got a chance to see first hand what he did. Larry (aka Little Fat Wino) first contacted me a decade ago when he found my Wine Dining site on a much younger and less mature Internet. He indicated his desire in wanting to meet me because my site specialized in Ontario wine. I went to one of his tastings at his home and many of his guests were known names in Ontario wine that I had read about in the media.
I brought him a couple bottles of wine as a gift and he insisted on giving me some other wines of equal value in return. He had no interest in personal gain and pursued his wine activities with an energy that made you tired by just watching him.
He helped organize the Fiesta Buckhorn wine and food show and the Ontario Viticulture Association and was involved in a number of wine related charity functions. At an Association meeting I watched Larry run around getting things organized and then on the way home I saw him load his trunk with boxes of dirty glasses that needed to be washed
One year he arranged for me to have a table at Fiesta Buckhorn to promote my website and he introduced me to Klaus Reif. I had already been introduced to wine writer Richard Best. He told people that he spent almost as much time on my website as he did on his and mentioned my site to many. For this I will always be grateful to Larry
Larry's site Little Fat Wino.com was unbelievably popular and was noted for being very critical of the LCBO for what he saw as a lack of attention to Ontario wines but also had comparisons in tastings of offshore and local wines.
Posthumously, Stony Ridge winery will be making a red in Larry's name called Radical Red a blend of Merlot and French hybrid Landot. A batch of 300 battles will be sold with the proceeds donated to charities designated by Larry's wife. (there is no one better deserving of this)
Calumus Estate Winery will be holding a memorial tasting in his memory on June 12.
Larry's site LittleFat Wino.com is still online and as long as it is, Wine Dining will be linked to it.
For more details on Larry's activities there is a good article at Wines in Niagara .com. Just click the title of this entry to see it

Wine Dining Review Coyote's Run Five Mile White Blend 2009

Wine Dining Review Coyote's Run Five Mile White Blend 2009 from Ernie Ryker on Vimeo.

This wine won a silver medal at the 2010 Canadian Wine Awards It is a blend of 53% Riesling, 33% Pinot Blanc and 14% Riesling .
The rating is Sensitivity Quotient weighted, meaning that it is based from a tasting profile that naturally prefers sweeter wines due to physiological reasons.
The video will show where you can find out more about this concept.

Ontario wineries may very well begin to tap into a neglected market segment

I've been reading around lately on whats happening and have found out that sweet wines were the largest category at the Cuvee Awards, which represent the best wines in Ontario as judged by their winemakers. Apparently most grapes varieties are represented including Syrah and Pinot Noir. This is great news to me because Ontario has an opportunity to be on the forefront to tap into a neglected market segment.
If your an Ontario winery and you feel you got a quality sweet wine you want to show off then consider submitting it to the Lodi wine awards being held in Napa California. Just go to Tim Hanni's blog Swami of Umami for more info, the URL is in the links section here.
There has also been comments regarding the quality of the sweet wines being introduced and currently being made for approval by the VQA.
The V.Q.A. inspects member wineries to ensure that their production practices are in keeping with industry accepted standards. I know because they have asked me if I was an inspector when I have visited them. If a sweet wine is sampled by a taster with a tolerant tasting profile, they will be much more likely to say that any sweet wine is cloying and lacks acidity. They naturally prefer strong tannic wines. A hyper-sensitive or sweet taster would more than likely say the exact opposite. I am not saying this is the case for the people that have said this but it might be. Any winery that is putting out a "white Zinfandel type pop wine" and trying to pass it off as world class wine will be very quickly found out and exposed to their detriment. Most wineries are in it for the long haul and will put out the best quality sweet wine they can produce affordably.
I have some more off dry V.Q.A. wine to review and will be putting out the videos for them in due time.
The opportunity is there for any Ontario winery that can innovate and can produce a world class value added sweet wine.
There is a very good article from the New York Times that gives a good picture of the quality sweet wines from around the world and how they can be matched for the main course of a meal. Click the title of this entry if you want to read it.

Take the Conumer Wine Award Survey

The Consumer Wine awards were set up to allow judges with different sensitivity quotients to judged wines within their taste profile ranging fom Sweet to Tolerant.
This would provide a more accurate ratings system for others that had similar sensitivity quotients.
Tim Hanni and Dr. Virginia Utermohlen MD, and are conducting a survey in conjunction with the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi and are seeking participants. It will probably take about 20 minutes as this is not a silly cliché-riddled throwaway project.
There is some serious science going on behind the scenes and they want to get consumers who have experienced the confusion, with their wine selections.
For more information click the title of this entry or you can go directly to www.consumerwineawards.com and select the link: Take the NEW 2011 Consumer Survey.

A wine review for Sweet and Hypersensitive tasters. Konzelmann 2006 Pinot Noir Spaet Burgunder

A first attempt a review that is intended for Sweet and Hypersensitive tasters (which is based from the reasearch of Master of Wine Tim Hanni and Dr Virginia Utermohlen).  A quality red wine that is semi dry but is V.Q.A. and  very reasonably priced. Shot with a flip cam, it is far from a work of art but a base from which to build from.

To Sauterne, Chateau D' Yqem and Beyond

Bordeaux Gold a mini-consortium of Sauterne producers are working to change the labelling of the sweet wines of the area, from the straight jacket "dessert wine" term used by the wine industry. They want the wines to reflect the reality of how they are matched with local food. In fact the Sauternais  have sweet wine with spicy foods, fish and roast meats as well as dessert.
In a formal French haute cuisine meal sweet wines are served along side traditional reds (ie first growth Bordeaux.)
Historically Champagne was sweet (6%) along with the great vintages of Montrachet as was Amarone (until the early 1960s).
Wines such as Barsac, Auslese and higher Qmp wines were also considered table wines with Sauternes until World War 2. This began to change when salesman and producers such as Alexis Lichine, Peter Alan Sichel, and Frederick Wildman began writing wine books stating that sugar hides off flavors that might make them tolerable in a sweet wine, but makes a dry version of the same wine undrinkable. This wound up becoming part of orthodox wine dogma.

I've been reading the fire storm of criticism of  Tim Hanni's most recent study with Dr Virginia Utermohlen, MD, Associate Professor at Cornell which indicates that people that are born with a genetic sensory sensitivity in their palate to bitterness  gravitate to sweet wines very easily. If people with this trait go on to "develop their palate" to more "complex" dryer wines then it is because of Psycho-social factors that train their minds to do it. The sensitivity to bitterness is still there when a "big" Cabernet or Barolo is sampled.

After taking the quiz at yumyuk.com again it comes out a sweet taster. Earlier results have also  shown as  hyper sensitive depending on how  the questions were answered but the point is that I am on the other end of the spectrum from tolerant tasters.
All the criticism has been tinged with opinion and anger because they are taking the information and spinning it as some kind of scam which will result in some kind of "trailer park market place" being established with only plonk being available and the great wines of the world being a memory. What nonsense
I have these traits and do not want to restrict myself to only sweet wines because I want to experience the widest range of wines I can find and afford. At the same time I want to come back sometimes and drink an"alcho-pop"  and have it with dinner because I enjoy the taste. If my "maturing  palate "occurs and can find enjoyment in drinking a dryer quality wine because of some psycho-social process  in my mind, so what.
Others for what ever reason may not want or be able to. What is wrong with increasing quality sweet wines and have that as a stepping stone towards the higher end of the Pyramid (the sweet side of it). The answer to that is nothing because producers will not stop making quality tannic reds, there is a market and there always will be.

Addressing a neglected market segment can result in more quality wines of a sweet nature and additional potential profits for producers. Sauterne and Chateau D ' Yqem can be the sweet and Hyper Sensitive tasters "Holy Grail", just as First Growth Bordeaux reds are for Tolerant tasters. It would be really cool if an Ontario winery could see the opportunity to make value added niche market quality sweet wine. How about ice wine or late harvest as the main course wine for starters. Its okay for the Sauternais why not for Ontarians.
If you have doubts contact Tim Hanni and tell him you are from Missouri, he will show you.

To the firestorm

In this video Tim Hanni explains the psycholgical issues that can come into play when we choose a wine