Since the banishment of hugely popular California/Napa big reds in most of Canada last March, the question has been “who offers the best alternative?” Everyone making a red anywhere near the full bodied “Bordeaux” style has been saying “pick me.”  I would pick Australia and Chile as the most likely stylistic pure comparisons, in a general sense. But not Canada.

Yet an LCBO end-of-year report shows sales increases from almost all countries, and Ontario reds have done very well with a 66% sales increase in 2025. Some will surely be in the category loosely called Bordeaux blends, and sometimes called Meritage (although use of this term is fading)

The Bordeaux idea is based on the blending of a family of five red grape varieties — cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot — which each do their job to tweak, nuance and balance the final wine. They originated in the region of Bordeaux in southwestern France, and given that Bordeaux has been shuffling the pieces for almost 400 years, they have learned a thing or two, and set the bar on style, textural elegance and (high) price.  

Most countries have been trying to emulate the world’s most recognized regional wine style for at least a generation.  California cottoned on in the 1970s with wineries like Mondavi, Heitz, Beaulieu and Beringer leading the charge. But California’s Mediterranean climate (Napa is 38 degrees latitude) renders ripeness, richness and softness that Bordeaux (45 degrees) will only approach in the hottest years. 

And Canada is even further removed from the California style, and generally too cool, with a shorter growing season that makes it harder to ripen these late-ish ripening varieties. British Columbia, at 49 degrees, is much cooler. Niagara, at 44 degrees, is much more similar to Bordeaux. And, in some instances — here’s a new idea — I am finding Niagara’s blends also being more like coastal Tuscany (Bolgheri) which also lies between the same 43 and 44 degrees latitude band.

So Where in Canada are Bordeaux Blends doing Well?

Given the huge commercial imperative to make Bordeaux red blends, Canada’s most expensive reds fall into this camp, whether deserving of price or not. Oculus from Mission Hill was the first to position at the apogee (more below) but the field is expanding rapidly within three key climatic zones. Sorry, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but you are not among them because you will rarely ripen these red varieties.  

All three of the more successful zones are very small, which is why Canada will never be a world power in this style. 

Most of B.C. is too cold and the season too short. But there are two linked pockets right on the 49-degree of latitude where it becomes possible, especially thanks to long summer days this far north. The southern Okanagan Valley is desert-hot in the summer, within four sub-regions enclaves of Osoyoos, Black Sage Bench, Golden Mile and Oliver. (For perspective, these are all within a 15-minute drive of each other.) The soils are essentially sandy producing softer, gentler but not necessarily lighter wines. They can have an impressive sense of volume and richness, thanks largely to hot, arid conditions. Most like California in Canada!

The other very important B.C. region is the Similkameen Valley — literally over one low mountain ridge to the west. But the gravel, mineral soils on southwest facing benches are very different, resulting in more tension, minerality and structure. Getting a bit more subjective, Similkameen is my favourite for the style in all of Canada, but the winemaking prowess needs to expand beyond the current handful of best producers.

In Ontario the primary zone for Bordeaux reds is Niagara-on-the-Lake, where proximity to the huge body of summer-warmed Lake Ontario stretches the growing season to accommodate the later ripening Bordeaux varieties. This includes the Niagara River (foremost), Niagara Lakeshore and Four Mile Creek sub-appellations where lake proximity promotes longer “hang time” and flavour development beyond sugar ripeness, which is an important precept of quality. There are also pockets on the Escarpment and below the Escarpment (Lincoln Lakeshore) that are delivering as well.

What’s Different About Canadian Versions?

The world’s Bordeaux blends are largely led by cabernet sauvignon, the latest ripening variety, which does not ripen well in Canada. So earlier ripening merlot has become — and should be — Canada’s dominant Bordeaux blending variety. (It is B.C’s most-planted red grape.) Merlot-based blends will tend to be a bit softer and richer. Its weakness, however, is that it is the most susceptible to winter damage, which of course is a constant threat. 

In all three successful regions in Canada, vintage variation is very real. The warmer and longer the season the better it is for Bordeaux reds. So, consumers, especially collectors, need to be paying as much attention to vintage charts and reviews as do Bordeaux collectors. And I would love to see Canadian producers reflecting vintage variation in the prices of their wines, as they do in Bordeaux itself.

All vintages since 2020 have been relatively strong for Bordeaux reds, perhaps due to global warming.  Early signs for 2025 are excellent. In 2024 in B.C., the crop was severely limited due to a winter cold event, but it was a very good vintage in Niagara. In 2023, B.C. crop size was also down, but quality was excellent, and Ontario was strong. The 2022 vintage was also notably warm and ripe in B.C. and Ontario. The 2021 vintage was variable in both parts of the country. The 2020 Covid vintage may be the best vintage in both regions in recent memory.

And finally, Canadian examples, with their natural acidity, age very well, which many seem to ignore. I would follow the Bordeaux ageing grid for Canadian examples, starting to show well and soften at five to seven years, hitting prime at 10 to 12, and capable of lasting 20 or more years. I often marvel at how delicious these wines can be in maturity. 

Here are ten expensive Canadian Bordeaux blends that have earned a track record of excellent quality and reliability.