Whatever happened to Marechal Foch wines in Ontario?

I often wondered whatever happened to wines based on the Marechal Foch varietal in Ontario. In the 1980s it was quite common to find winemakers selling it.  As wikipedia describes it:

Marechal Foch can withstand freezing temperatures, below 32° F (0° C), for extended periods of time. Several amateur growers told me that they thought Marechal Foch could grow in Alaska, which might be an exaggeration, but the point was made. The variety was planted extensively in France during the latter part of the 1800s right through the latter part of the twentieth century, until the French government mandated that hybrid, non-noble varieties be removed.

Yep, it was a pretty hardy grape capable of growing in a lot of different places, and if you were taking a chance with a vineyard in a cold place like Canada, going with that made sense. But then something changed. Here’s Tony Aspler: The Wine Guy with some history:

For all its success with Maréchal Foch, Inniskillin has none planted in its own vineyards. When Ziraldo, a nurseryman turned winery owner, first planted the 30 acres of what is now the Seeger Vineyard, he put in Riesling, Gamay and Chardonnay, defying the accepted wisdom that vinifera could not survive Niagara’s climate. Advice from a vineyardist who had recently returned from Russia (and how they) kept the plants alive: bury them for the winter…. According to Dave Gamble, who publishes BC Wine Trails, a magazine devoted to the wines of the region, “In the Okanagan there is no longer any real need for either variety with the milder climate regimen of the past ten years. Those who make it do so because there is a specific customer demand for it… In all cases Foch has been treated like a vinifera, especially in the vineyard. They are a pain to grow because of their vigour and erratic shoot growth and it takes some effort to maintain a proper open canopy during the growing season.” ….At Henry of Pelham in the Niagara Peninsula, winemaker Ron Giesbrecht has established a cult following for his Baco Noir. He likes working with it because it “makes a consistent and reliable red of good weight and concentration.” Giesbrecht harvests his Baco a week later than the industry norm, but even so it comes into the presses well before Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

in that quote are three things that led to the decline of Marechal Foch in my opinion: 1) winemakers learned to successfully grow more popular varietals like Riesling, Gamay and Chardonnay 2) Marechal Foch is a pain to grow 3) Baco Noir has won over wineries and is the preferred varietal to Marechal Foch.

There’s a fourth thing too, as My Wine Canada explains:

Typically, it produces a deep, dark, robust purple-coloured red wine that has strong acidity and mild tannins.

While I am sure some customers appreciate that acidity and even mild tannins, it’s not for everyone.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means. Indeed, I’ve had some of the 2020 Old Vines Foch by Malivoire Wine Company and it was superb. But I get now why winemakers in Ontario have all but replaced it with other varietals. Nowadays you can easily find Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir  and Baco Noir and some really good Gamay: Marechal Foch…not so much.

If you want to taste what it’s all about, I recommend that wine from a Malivoire. It’s like drinking history. Delicious history.