Funding reveals the geographic spread of Ontario's wine industry

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

by SUSAN MANN

Wine production in Ontario is continuing to expand into several counties outside of the province’s three traditional grape-growing regions.

Last week, the Ontario and federal governments announced more than $856,000 in cost-shared funding for 20 projects designed to boost labour productivity and improve efficiency on wineries across Ontario. Five of the projects are on wineries located outside of Ontario’s three traditional wine-producing regions of Niagara, Prince Edward County and the north shore of Lake Erie.

Dark Horse Estate Winery Inc. in Huron County received two separate grants under Growing Forward 2 to support the development of a strategic business plan and feasibility study. Other projects in non-traditional grape-growing areas are in York Region, Bruce County and Kawartha Lakes.

However, most of the projects, 10, are in Niagara Region, and five are in Prince Edward County. Funding for the projects is shared between the federal and provincial governments and the growers, who are required to pay 50 to 65 per cent of their eligible project costs.

The funding will help Ontario wineries expand production, grow brand recognition and leverage new economic opportunities, Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Jeff Leal says in a June 15 press release.

Ontario has more than 200 wineries and most are located in Niagara Region.

Two big projects will be getting up to $100,000 in Growing Forward 2 funding. They are:

• Cave Spring Cellars Ltd. of Niagara Region to install new wastewater treatment technology.
• Karlo Estates Inc. of Prince Edward County for capital costs towards building renovations and the expansion of its existing winery. This company is also getting up to $30,000 to develop business and strategic plans for growth and investment planning.

Growing Forward 2 is the five-year federal, provincial and territorial agricultural policy framework. A portion of the framework supports projects aimed at improving innovation, competitiveness, market development, adaptability and industry sustainability in Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors, the release says.

Leal’s spokesperson Christina Cowley-Arklie says by email Ontario works with the federal government to highlight Growing Forward 2 projects on an ongoing basis.

Since 2013, the federal and Ontario governments have committed more than $38 million under Growing Forward 2 to almost 750 projects for food and beverage businesses. BF