Do I require a country of origin declaration?

All wines and brandies not produced entirely in Canada require a country of origin declaration. Note that grappa and marc are considered to be brandy for this requirement.

Country of origin declarations are not required for other products except in the following circumstances:

• The dealer address used is in a country other than the country of origin. The declaration must be made next to the address. (If the dealer cited is the importer and is prefaced “imported by”, “imported for”, “importée par” or “importée pour” then a country of origin is not required.)
• The Canadian organic logo is used.

What is the country of origin for a wine made in one country with grapes or juices from another country?

The country of origin is where the wine is made but the foreign source of grapes or juice must be acknowledged. There are several acceptable ways to phrase this declaration. Example:

What is the country of origin for a blend of wines from different countries?

Use a format “Cellared in Canada from domestic and imported wines”. The word “blended” may be substituted for “cellared” if desired.

What is the country of origin for a product made in one country but bottled in another?

The country of origin is where it is made. No reference to the bottler is required unless the manufacturer or bottler is in Canada. In that case, the name and address or the name and excise number of the bottler is required.

If the name and location of the bottler is given, it should be prefaced “bottled by”.

What formats are acceptable for a country of origin declaration?

The following formats are officially accepted by the Canadian government. They are written here using Canadian wine as an example.

1. Product of Canada / Produit de Canada
2. Wine of Canada / vin de Canada
3. Canadian wine / vin canadien
4. Statements given in questions above for products of mixed origins

Options 2 and 3 are particularly useful to save space as they combine the common name and country of origin declarations.

Can the dealer address be used as a country of origin declaration?

It is a common to combine dealer information and country of origin declarations for products of mixed origin (e.g. Cellared in Canada by XYZ Winery, town from domestic and foreign grapes). It is not common in other situations. If used, it must be in the same field of vision as the alcohol, net quantity and common name declarations. The dealer name and address must also be prefaced with a declaration that the product was produced there (e.g. Product of XYZ Winery, city, country). “Bottled by” is not a declaration of production.

When this option is used, the dealer information must be that of the manufacturing site.