New National Standard for Icewine in Canada

After extensive consultation, the Government of Canada is introducing regulatory amendments that will help Canadian icewine producers expand export markets and protect consumers from fraudulent products. Primarily, the amendments will create a new national standard for icewine.

These amendments also change the way information is displayed on wine containers and includes minor text amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations and to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations.

The new national standard requires icewine to be made exclusively from grapes naturally frozen on the vine. The definition of how icewine is produced will demonstrate that icewine produced in Canada meets international standards. These new wine labelling rules are designed to ease trade with the World Wine Trade Group's participating countries.

Approved regulatory amendments that were recently enacted and published in the Canada Gazette, Part II

Icewine Regulations
Regulations Amending the Food and Drug Regulations
Regulations Amending the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations
Regulations Amending the Organic Products Regulations, 2009

This has been excerpted from the 12 February 2014 news release by CFIA, and is avialble in its entirety at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/news-releases/2014-02-12/eng/1392224944202/1392224965551.