Terroir, Policy and Identity Construction: Public Marketing of Wine in Ontario

Abstract

The article studies some elements of the public governance of wine marketing in the Canadian province of Ontario. It shows that the implementation of a real public policy of support to the wine industry in Ontario is not exclusively the product of an economic logic, but more fundamentally of a political logic. The promotion of Ontario wine as a product of “terroir” par excellence is directed at building a true Ontarian identity centered on the notion of comfort, well-being and quality of life. The case of Ontario illustrates well the use of the promotion campaigns of wine for political as well as economic goals.