QUALITY STANDARDS & REGULATIONS INTRODUCTION Attached is the most current draft of the Fruit Wines of Canada National Quality Standards and Regulations. The standards were developed by the National Fruit Wine Committee, a group with representatives from each region of Canada that commercially manufactures fruit wine under provincial license. The committee convened twice in March 2000 for a total of five days and held three national conference calls. The National Committee members are:  NAME COMPANY / WINERY CODE TELEPHONE FAX QUEBEC         Jean Ouellet La Framboisière Des 3 Inc -418 852-2159 852-1142 Dominique McIsaac Vin Artisanal Le Richanuex. -418 887-3789 887-6332 Bernard Monna Info Gestion L.M. -418 828-1057 828-1300 ATLANTIC REGION         Leroy Flynn Flynn’s Winery -709 466-1285 466-8220 Heather Sanft Lunenburg Country Winery -902 644-2415 644-3614 Elke Muessle Winegarden Estate Ltd. -506 538-7405 538-7405 Marie-France Rodrigues Markland Cottage Winery -709 759-2040 759-2086 WESTERN CANADA         Dominic Rivard Columbia Valley Classics -604 858-5233 858-5233 ONTARIO         George Benko Norfolk Estate Winery -519 586-2237 586-7995 Bill Redelmeier Southbrook Farms -905 832-2548 832-9811 Jim Warren Stoney Ridge Cellars -905 562-1324 562-7777 Vivien Goertz Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery -905 468-1122 468-1068 Joe Zimmermann Vine Court Estate Winery -905 562-8463 562-7104 Fred Archibald Archibald Orchards Estate Winery -905 263-2396 263-4263 Tonya Lailey Bellamere Country Market & Winery -519 473-2273 473-5312 Our objective in forming a national fruit wine committee was to establish a standard of quality and credibility for the fruit wines of Canada. The focus will be on the education and introduction of fruit wines into the Canadian lifestyle encouraging the consumer to shop the fruit wine category or visit our wineries.  Our long-term goal is to establish an international reputation and with assistance from government export funding, to sell Fruit Wines of Canada to export markets around the world.  We propose these latest standards be reviewed and considered as a "work in progress" and encourage all wineries to give us their comments and input before publishing the final edition of the Fruit Wines of Canada Standards and Rulings. It is recommended we initiate the standards from a national top down strategy beginning with Fruit Wines of Canada (FWC) followed by regional chapters being formed to deal with regional issues and marketing opportunities. Initially we have an Ontario chapter under the Fruit Wines of Ontario. To that end, the National Fruit Wine Committee made a motion to establish a formal Fruit Wines of Canada association. Seven members were elected to the interim board to guide the direction of the association, until such time as by-laws that outline voting procedures and other key governance issues can be established. The committee felt that it was essential to form a national, non-profit trade association that could trademark the standards, logo, and certification seal on behalf of the entire Canadian fruit wine industry. The newly appointed Acting Board of Directors for Fruit Wines of Canada and their responsibilities are: Western Canada  Dominic Rivard – Market Development Ontario Bill Redelmeier - Chair   Fred Archibald – Sectretary/Treasurer Quebec   Jean Oullet – Vice Chair   Dominique McIsaac – Audit and Benchmark Atlantic Canada Leroy Flynn – Audit & Benchmark   Heather Sanft – Member Communications     1.                  Association Policies 2.                  Production Standards 3.                  Packaging and Labeling 4.                  Standards Enforcement and Regulations 1.      ASSOCIATION POLICIES 1.1             Fruit Wines of Canada - Goals & Purposes  The Fruit Wines of Canada (FWC) is a non-profit industry trade associations responsible for introducing and maintaining standards and appellations adopted by members of the Canadian fruit wine industry.  The association has established the following goals for its members. (a)       To develop and implement educational material in order to inform the public and interested members of the fruit wine community about Canadian fruit wines & fruit growing regions. (b)       To coordinate and exchange research in areas of temperature, varietal fruit selections, training methods and agricultural practices for the mutual benefit and development of Canadian fruit growing regions. (c)        To disseminate information with regard to the uniqueness of Canadian fruit growing regions in order to define the characteristics and qualities of the fruit wines that are produced in those regions. (d)       To coordinate marketing efforts in order to create a quality image for all Canadian fruit wines under a rating system that qualifies the wines by bearing the trademark or status of  "FWQC" Fruit Wine Quality Certified or "Q.C." - Quality Certified. (e)       To establish standards covering general areas such as vintage dating, estate bottling, growing areas, etc., which will compare favorably with similar standards established elsewhere in the fruit wine world. Further development of "Q.C." standards will be established as a better understanding of the fruit characteristics, growing areas and production standards for Canada is advanced. 1.2       Board of Directors The FWC Interim Board of Directors shall consist of seven winery representatives (one from Western Canada, two from Ontario, two from Quebec, and two from Atlantic Canada). Board members must own or be employed by licensed wineries in Canada that produce at least one fruit wine that is eligible for quality certification. 1.3       Changes to Rules & Regulations Any proposal for changes to these National Quality Standards & Regulations, must be circulated in writing to the FWC Board of Directors at least thirty days prior to any meeting of the FWQC Board of Directors called to consider such changes. 1.4             Funding Upon approval by the FWQC Tasting Panel, the producing fruit winery shall be assessed a bottle fee to be determined from time to time by the FWQC Board of Directors.  The bottle fee shall be payable for use of both FWQC geographic indication and use of the Q.C. seal.   2.      PRODUCTION STANDARDS  To qualify for a QC rating a Fruit Wine must qualify for a category and must comply with the standards required for the appropriate designation, as set out in Section 2.  2.1         Categories of Fruit Wines  2.1.1   Fruit Wine (minimum 7.1% Alcohol)  Shall be an alcoholic beverage produced by the complete or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh fruit or fruit juice. Fruit wine shall have an actual alcoholic content not less than 7.1% unless otherwise defined in Section 2.  If a product is over 14.9% alcohol by volume, a producer may, at their discretion, label the product “dessert” or “aperitif”.  2.1.2  Iced Fruit Wine Iced Fruit Wine means any fruit wine that has been fermented from juice through cryo-extraction. At this stage there is no measurement of what fruits should yield in the must. 2.1.3   Fortified Fruit Wine Shall be the product obtained by adding alcohol, derived from the alcoholic fermentation of a food source and distilled to not less than 80% alcohol by volume, including grape brandy and/or fruit spirit. In addition, a fortified fruit wine shall have an actual content no less than 14.0% alcohol by volume. 2.1.4  Sparkling Fruit Wine Sparkling Fruit Wine shall be:  a)         a wine impregnated with carbon dioxide to a minimum of 200 k Pa at 10. C (at sea level) and has an actual alcoholic strength, including the alcohol contained in any ‘expedition liqueur' added, of not less than 8.5% by volume. b)         or derives its effervescence exclusively from a primary or  secondary alcoholic fermentation in a closed vessel. c)         In order to be able to use the terms “Traditional Method” or “Charmat Method” the wine must derived its effervescence exclusively from primary or secondary alcoholic fermentation in a closed vessel’ as described:  Traditional Method – is a method of producing sparkling fruit wine by a secondary fermentation in a glass bottle having a capacity not exceeding 5 L, in accordance with the following: i)                    it shall be made exclusively from one or more authorized fruit species listed in Section 2.2; ii)                  the wine is separated from its lees by disgorging after a minimum maturation period, on the lees, or 12 months for vintage-dated wine and 9 months for non-vintage dated wines; iii)                the finished wine shall be sold in the bottle in which the secondary fermentation took place; iv)                the wine shall at no time have left the bottle prior to final corking; and v)                  shall be produced either as a varietal wine or as a blended wine, in accordance with the provisions listed in Section 3.2 and 3.3. Charmat Method – is a method of producing sparkling wine by a primary or secondary fermentation in a closed vessel having a capacity exceeding 5L, in accordance with the following: i)              the duration of the process to make sparkling wine from the start of the alcoholic fermentation designed to make the fruit wine sparkling, including aging at the undertaking where the fruit wine was made, shall not be less than six months; ii)            the duration of the alcoholic fermentation process designed to make the “cuvée” sparkling, and the duration of the presence of the “cuvée” on the lees, shall not be less than 80 days, or 30 days if the fermentation took place in a tank with a mixer; iii)          shall only be entitled to a Provincial designation; iv)          may be produced from one or more authorized fruit species listed in Section 2.2; vi)          shall be produced either as a varietal wine or as a blended wine, in accordance with the provisions listed in Section 3.2 and 3.3. 2.2       F.W.Q.C. Authorized Fruit Species   Apples Cloudberries (Wild) Peaches Apricots Dog Berries Pears Aronia Berries Bakeapple Elderberries Pimbina Berries Black Raspberries (Wild) Gooseberries Pin Cherries Blackberries Highbush Cranberries Plums & Prunes Blackcurrant Jostaberries Raspberries Blueberries Kiwis Red Currants Boysenberries Lingonberries (Wild) *Rhubarb Cherries Loganberries Saskatoon Berries Chockcherries Mulberries Strawberries Cranberries Partridge Berries (Wild) White Currants     Wild Blueberries                     *MOTION TO: “Add Rhubarb to the list of FWQC Authorized Fruit Species as it is commonly viewed as a fruit. /Flynn/Sanft/carried. NOTE: This motion should be considered a “one time” ruling of non-fruit species that qualifies as fruit owing to tradition, heritage or from a cultural attitude to that species. 2.3       Amelioration/Addition of Water The addition of water to any QC wine after fermentation is complete is prohibited, however, it may be needed to induce fermentation in certain fruits owing to the high acidity. A maximum amelioration standard by species may have to be established in order to calculate reasonable recoveries for audit purposes”. 2.4       Chaptalisation Chaptalisation is defined as the addition of sugar to the fruit must prior to or during fermentation.  Chaptalisation is permitted in all Q.C. wines. 2.5       Sweet Reserve Juice Qualifies for both the species component and vintage components. 3.      PACKAGING & LABELLING 3.1       GEOGRAPHIC INDICATIONS 3.1.1       Provincial Geographic Indication(s) A provincially designated fruit wine will bear the Provincial geographic indication provided that it meets the following standards: (a)       It is produced one hundred percent (100%) from fruit grown within the provincial boundaries of the province or territory. (b)       It is produced from one or more of the authorized fruit species listed in Section 2.2. (c)        Provincial Designated Geographic Indications:  i.g. ON, QC, BC, AB, SK, MB, PEI, NB, NS, NF, NWT, YK, NVT. (d)       The Canadian geographic indication may be used instead of the Provincial geographic indication at anytime 3.1.2       Canada Geographic Indication  A Canadian designated fruit wine will bear the geographic indication "Canada" provided it meets the following standards: (a)       It is produced one hundred percent (100%) from fruit grown within the boundaries of Canada. (b)       It is produced from one or more of the authorized fruit species listed in Section 2.2. 3.2           Species Fruit Wines 3.2.1   A species specific fruit wine is one which: (a)               Bears the name of an authorized fruit species listed in Section 2.2. The use of the grape species in any "Q.C." certified fruit wine is strictly prohibited. (b)               Has the appropriate character of the designated fruit species, as determined by the FWQC Tasting Panel. (c)               Conforms with the standards required for the appropriate designation, as set out in Section 3.1. 3.2.2   Single species fruit wine must have a minimum of 90% of that species with a maximum of 10% undeclared. (a)       Dual species fruit wines must have 2 species with a sum of       90% and 10% undeclared with a minimum content of 15% for the second species. (b)       Triple species fruit wines must have 3 species with a sum of 90% with 10% or less undeclared and a minimum content of 15% for the second species and 10% for the third species’.” (c)        Fruit species shall be listed in descending order of quantity in identical type and identically displayed. (d)       A proprietary name or brand may appear on the principal label panel in conjunction with the named species. 3.3             Branded Fruit Wine 3.3.1        In addition to the criteria set out in this section, to qualify for a Q.C. rating, a proprietary branded fruit wine must conform with the standards required for the appropriate designation, set out in Section 2. 3.3.2       Proprietary branded or multiple species fruit wines that qualify as Q.C. rated wines are those which are produced from authorized fruit species, listed in Section 2.2. The use of the grape species in any "Q.C." rated fruit wine is strictly prohibited. 3.3.3       Proprietary brands must list the species on the package and must meet the criteria outlined in Section 3.2”. 3.4             Vintage Dated  - Fruit Wine Where a vintage date is stated on the label, at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the wine must derive from the fruit grown in the designated vintage 3.5             Estate, Domaine or Farm Bottled Fruit Wine 3.5.1       An Estate, Domaine or Farm Bottled fruit wine may only be produced from authorized fruit species listed in Section 2.2 below and is defined as a fruit wine which derives one hundred percent (100%) from fruit grown on land owned or controlled by the bottling fruit winery. It is understood that the bottling winery shall have harvested and crushed the fruit, fermented the resulting must, finished, aged, and bottled the wine on site. The "Estate Bottled", “Domaine Bottled” or “Farm Bottled” designation denotes the origin of the fruit, not the location of the processing facility, provided that the processing facility is located within the estate and the provincial boundaries of the geographic indication. 3.5.2       For the purposes of this section, "controlled by" refers to property on which the bottling winery has the legal right to perform, and does perform, all of the agriculture acts common to growing under the terms of a lease or similar agreement of at least ten years duration.  During the first three years of any such leasehold term the bottling fruit winery will not be entitled to use the term "Estate Bottled".  That entitlement will be reserved for the fourth or subsequent years of the leasehold term. 3.5.3       No terms other than "Estate Bottled", “Domaine Bottled” or “Farm Bottled” may be used on a label to indicate combined growing and bottling conditions. 3.5.4       The geographic indication within which the land is owned or controlled by the bottling fruit winery must be declared on the label and the wine must comply with all standards set out in Section 2 (1) above. 3.6       Bottle Size and Cork Finish A wine approved through FWQC certification that bears the seal declaration, as part of its package shall be bottled in one or more standard size glass bottles. Bottle sizes 375ml or greater must be finished with a closure as specified in Section 3.6 of these standards. Standard size glass bottles shall be 50, 250, 375 2000 250, 375, 500, or 750 milliliters, or 1, 1.5, or 3 litres, or any sizes authorized for use under the Food and Drug Act and Regulations, and approved by the FWQC authority. An approved QCFW must be finished with a closure of one of the following descriptions: i)          natural cork, natural pore-filled (colmated) with a) resin or b) with dust or, ii)                  cork composite with natural cork disc(s); or iii)                cork composite (both particle and agglomerate) or iv)                100% synthetic. All closures must be the traditional, simple, cylindrical shape (with the exception of traditional cork “stopper” shapes, for fortified and liqueur wines) and may be any colour. A fruit wine that has been awarded a Q.C. Status may be bottled in any standard size bottle, and sealed by any approved closure. 3.7       Labeling 3.7.1       F.W.Q.C. Geographic Indication (G.I.) Any fruit wine which meets the minimum production and standards set out herein and which is also passed by the FWQC Tasting Panel may display the Q.C. Trademark as part of its package and the letters F.W.Q.C. on the label, provided that: (a)       The type size is equal to, but not greater than, the type size used to designate the provincial or geographic indication, as the case may be; and (b)       The letters F.W.Q.C. appear on the same line as, and on either side of the provincial or geographic indication, but nowhere else on the label; (c)        The letters F.W.Q.C. appear without artistic embellishment        and in the same colour and typeface as that used for the provincial or Canada designation. 3.8       F.W.Q.C. Certification Seal A fruit wine must first be approved by the FWQC Tasting Panel in order to achieve a Q.C. status.  This approval shall be granted if a majority of the Tasting Panel feels that the fruit wine’s attributes fairly reflect the agricultural and ecological quality standards established in these Rules & Regulations.  In addition, the fruit wine must be without fault and representative of quality fruit wines of the stated species or the stated fruit variety or varieties.                           English Version French Version Any fruit wine which meets the minimum production and geographic indication standards set out herein and which also scores 14.0 or more at the FWQC Tasting Panel shall be entitled to display the FWQC Seal as part of its package.  Reproductions of the FWQC Seal must conform in all particulars with the designs and specifications itemized on Schedule "A" attached hereto. Producers are permited to use the English or the French version of the seal. 3.8.1   The following forms of the FWQC Seal are permitted: (a)       Self-adhesive sticker, which must be placed on the front shoulder of the bottle or on the front neck only (see Schedule "A"); or (b)       Printed on paper neck or shoulder label, which must be placed on the front shoulder of the bottle or on the front neck only (see Schedule "A"); or (c)        Evenly spaced and printed three times on the capsule  (see Schedule "A"). 3.8.2   Fruit Wines not Approved by FWQC Tasting Panel Any wine which fails to be approved by the FWQC Tasting Panel shall prohibited from displaying the following on its label: (a)       FWQC Seal (b)       FWQC Trademark Letters 3.9       Synonyms In those cases where the name of a fruit species has a synonym containing a numerical designation, only the prime name shall be used on the front label. 4.      STANDARD ENFORCEMENT AND REGULATIONS 4.1             Audit Procedure to Certify Geographic Indication In addition to the normal information required by the Liquor Board audit department or provincial authorized authority, the following information shall be provided for all Q.C. wines: (a)       Varieties stipulated by individual tank; (b)       Quantities for Farm Designated Fruit Wines duly identified; (c)        Quantities for Estate Bottled Designated Fruit Wines duly identified; (d)       Quantities for Provincially Designated Fruit Wines duly identified. (e)       Quantities for Canada Designated Fruit Wines duly identified; ((f)         Quantities indicated in these various categories will be Reconciled with recorded fruit purchases to assure reasonable feasibility of reported recoveries. 4.1.2       Tank Records and Racking Orders Tank records and racking orders for all Q.C. wines setting out the complete processing record up to and including the bottling stage must be available for audit purposes.  When racking orders are not used, the maintenance of a "Day Book" indicating quantities processed to bottling will be acceptable for audit purposes. 4.1.3   Authority to Conduct Audit In the course of the normal (Liquor Board) audit, notification will be provided to the FWC Board of Directors indicating either compliance with the Rules & Regulations or outlining the circumstances of exceptions. The Director of General Audit will advise the FWC Board of Directors of non-compliance with these Rules & Regulations. 4.2       Tasting Panel 4.2.1       Composition The FWQC Tasting Panel shall consist of between for (4) and six (6) members. To qualify for membership on the FWQC Tasting Panel, candidates must have previously been certified as a sensory evaluator and have taken the fruit wine sensory evaluation course. If employed by a member of FWC, FWQC panelists must not be present when wines that they are professionally associated with are judged. 4.2.2       Sensory Evaluation (a)       All products shall be tasted blind in their respective groups, e.g. fruit species, sugar code, specialty fruit wine, etc. (b)       The scoring system used shall be a 20-point scale as set out on the Grading Sheet attached hereto as Schedule "B".  (e)      In the case of species fruit wines, specific species character shall be an important component of the overall grade, and will be noted under the score for aroma and flavour. (f)           In the event that a wine is defective, a second bottle will be opened and tasted by the FWQC Tasting Panel.  If the second bottle contains a similar defect, the mark assigned to the first bottle will stand.  4.3             Laboratory Analysis  (a)             All products applying for QC status must previous have complied with the laboratory analysis required by their provincial authority. (b)             In the event that laboratory analysis is not required by the provincial authority, each wine must be analyzed by the winery to determine the following readings: 1.                  Alcohol by Volume 2.                 pH Level 3.                  Residual Sugar 4.                  Total Acid 5.                  Volatile Acidity 6.                  Total SO2 7.                  Free SO2 (c)             The winery may conduct this analysis themselves or by using an independent laboratory. (d)             Each sensory evaluation panel will randomly check the submitted laboratory analysis to ensure accuracy. (e)             In the event that a winery is found to be submitting inaccurate laboratory analysis for wines apply for QC status, the FWC Board of Directors could revoke the wineries right to conduct in-house analysis and demand that an independent analysis accompanying each QC evaluation submission for a period of one year. (f)               An additional sample of each fruit wine, which passes sensory evaluation, shall be maintained in a library for future reference. (g)             Products may be checked by a Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer to ensure that wine grapes are not being used. 4.4             Score Notification The provincial QC evaluation authority shall notify the FWC Board of Directors of scores and submit a summary of reasons for rejected wines.  The FWC Board of Directors will make the final decision if a wine passes or fails and then notify individual wineries of the wine status. Scores and evaluation comments will not be issued for wines that pass, but will accompany wines that fail. If a winery wishes to obtain a score for a passed wine, a written request for this information must be made to the FWC Board of Directors. 4.5       Appeal Panel 4.5.1       Composition  The FWC Board of Directors will act as the FWQC Appeal Panel. 4.5.2   Criteria For Submission A wine that has previously been failed by the FWQC Tasting Panel may be resubmitted for evaluation one time. The resubmission must be accompanied by a letter from the winery management indicated why the wine should be reevaluated. In the event that the wine is failed again, it cannot be resubmitted to the FWQC Tasting Panel and may not carry the QC Certification Mark. Discover....a new world of wine!

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