The landscape of wine buying in Canada has changed in the last six months.
No longer can we buy American wine or spirits in the LCBO.
They have been the victims of the trade war between Canada and the United States.
Alcohol from the US has been pulled off of the shelves at our liquor stores as of March.
Recent report suggest exports of American liquor has dropped by at least 66 percent, which isn’t surprising, considering you can’t buy a bottle in most of Canada’s provinces.
Fortunately, there are options.
Canada, particularly Ontario makes very good wine, and in many cases much cheaper than American wine.
Canada recently held the National Wine Awards, with over 1,700 entries.
As well, 81 Ontario wineries were represented.
The top Ontario winery in 2025 was the Organized Crime Winery (The Organized Crime Winery – The Organized Crime Winery)
In terms of award winners, most of the Platinum winners, which is the highest honour, went to BC wineries, but there were some affordable Ontario winners.
The top of my list is the Fielding Cabernet Franc 2023 (Fielding Estate Winery). It was rated 92 out of 100 and comes in a just over 26 dollars at the LCBO.
At other end of the scale is the Trius Grand Red at 85 dollars. It was rated a 94.
There were also a number of gold medal winners in many different categories.
I have had a chance to try them all, but I can recommend a couple I’ve tasted.
The Creekside 2024 backyard block Sauvignon Blanc (CREEKSIDE ESTATE WINERY – Creekside Estate Winery) is very good. Food friendly and zesty. Critics rated it at 91 out of 100.
Another Sauvignon Blanc I would recommend is one from Meldville Wines (Melville Winery – Estate Vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills). It received a score of 92 and was also a gold medal winner.
Many of these wines can’t be found at our LCBO outlet, but you can order them directly from the winery, or some of wines using the LCBO’s online ordering system.
