Tim Pawsey
Contributing Writer

Anyone emerging from
London’s underground
at Trafalgar Square in
mid-May was greeted by
an absolute blaze of red
and white, as a dozen
maple leaf flags fluttered
in the brilliant sumtight.

A sight not scen for several
years — this day marked the
re-opening, of Canada House.

The mansion that occupies
a considerable partion of
Trafalgar Square’s impressive
panorama was first mothballed
by the Mulroney government
and then placed on the market
. for sale before the Liberals
opted to reverse the decision
and undertake much needed,
“extensive renovations io
restore the building to its
deserved state.

Much more than a restora-
tion of the building itself, how-
ever, the reapening represents a
long-overdue return of a visible
Canadian presence in the centre
of London. Appropriately, the
ribbon was cut cut by Her
Majesty che Queen in the pres-
cnce of Prime Minister Jean
Chretien, with a host of invited
dignitaries.

There was also a culinary
twist to this auspicious event,
which was catered entirely by
chefs from Canadian Pacific
Hotels, whose British office,
incidentally also faces onto
‘Trafalgar Square, just across
from the Canada House main

“entrance.

Had the celebration
occurred even a decade earlier,
it is unlikely that Canadian
wines would have been served

along with the platters of
smoked safmon and rosemary:
speared caribou that were car-
ned around the room. Bur.
exclusively, Canadian wines
were served, with several lead-
ing Canadian winemakers or
owners in attendance, includ-
ing Flarry McWatters of
Sumac Ridge, Ben Stewart
fron; Quails Gare and Ian
Tostenson of Calona
Vinevards.

The following day, it was
the rurn of the British wine
Press [0 faste, ata pouring of
some 50 VQA wines from
Ontario and British Columbia,
a suitable prelude to the
London Wine Trade Fair, that’
took piace the following week.

Across the city, at Canary
Wharf, in London's newly re-
built Docklands, Canadian
wines were also being judged
Leside 8,006 wines from
around the world at the Wine
Enthusiast International Wine
Challenge.

Despite the reception and
continued interest in Canadsin
Wines, a smail faction {both in
the Okanagan and in Ontario)
decries the exposure of
Canadian wines to the British
market and questions the neces-
sity of the VQA program itself,
at least in its present form.

Such a view is short-sighted
and parochial, fuelled more by
individual concerns than by an
understanding of the continu-
ing need for a strong VQA
program and a progressive,
enduring path towards estab-
lishing a place in the k
kets of rhe world, such as the
U.K. Those who argue for the
dilution or even the demise of
the VQA program overlook
some kev issues.

The first is, thar chanks to
the connivances of certain
major wineries, the consumer
is only vow beginning to truly
understand the relevance of

Friday, June 26, 1998 —- North Shore News ~ 31

itics in the U.K.

Photo Tim n Pawsey

QUEEN Elizabeth meets Canadian representatives at the re-opening of Canada
House on May 13: William Fatt, CEO of Canadian Pacific Hotels, is on her right,
with Surnac Ridge’s Harry MeWatters and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on her left.

VQA — and that nigh-on pwo
thirds of wine sold on shelves
marked “Brush Columbia” is
made with out-of province
grapes.

Recent changes to the win-
ery licensing system will likely
sec that fraction increase. At
alinost no time could the
suengthening and enforcement
of VQA rules be more critical

Secondly, the decision of
Wines of Canada to approach
the European market through
the United Kingdom makes
absolute sense. Nowhere is
there a tougher, yer fairer mar-
ket in which to sell wine. Or,
as Onrario winery owner Bill
Redelmeier puts it, “Britain is
the biggest market in the
world that doesn’t have an axe
to grind -- the only major
wine-consuming nation that
doesn’t have its own industry
to protect.”

In fact, England docs have

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a small industry. Currently
plantings are about the same
acreage as in British Coksmbia.
Burt, by comparison, the indus-
try is “climatically challenged” *
and aiso suffers fram many of
the same frustravons that
Canada otice endured ~
including the lack of a com-
pulsory, aggressive standards
program, such as VQA, to.
guarantee the consumer a
minimum level of quality.
Southbraek’s Redelmeier
admits that his decision to
bring his excellent fiuit wines
to London was made ana
romantic whim, Yet, three

years later, as much as half of
al] the cassis and framboise
that Southbrook produces is
svid inte the discriminating
U.K. marker. Asa result,
Redelmeier has used the fruit-
wine (nen-VQ¢, because it’s
not made with grapes) w suc-
cessfully lever the sale of his
VOA wines.

In the Okanagan, YQA’s
detractors seem happy to rean
the benefits of VQA but par-
ticipate only when it suits
theny. That, in itself, is a decid-
edly shert-sighted approach,
especially ata time wher
Wines of Canada is aegouating

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Open House

Designed by Sir Robert
Smirke in 1824, Canada
House is one of
London’s great historic
buildings and has been
Canada’s focal point in
Britain since 1923. It has
served many flnctions,
as a diplomatic, public
affairs and academic cen-
tre as well as a miliary
headquarters during
World War I. In 1996,
Canada House was
closed for major heritage
restoration. On May 13,
1998, Her Majesty the
Queen, in the company
of the Prime Minister of
Canada, officialiy cut the
ribbon to re-open
Canada House.

hard for acceptance into
European markets, based, in
Part, o2 the existence of effec-
tive regulation.

Never has the maintenance
of VQA minimun: standards
been more important than at
the present. Thos jase who wish
to continue to enjoy the
cachet that the words
“Okanagan Valley” convey
both at home and abroad,
should be prepared to partici-
pate fully in the program that,
more than any other factor,
has put the valley on the wine
maps of the world in a very
short space of time.

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