Wine tourism is commonly defined as a form of tourism in which visiting wineries or tasting, consuming or purchasing wine constitutes a significant motivational factor for visiting a destination or influencing an itinerary . Wine tourism is a niche market that includes everything from events, festivals, courses or workshops, museums, tours, tastings, restaurants and gift shops where wine is a significant product. These activities can take place over a period of time ranging from a few hours to more than a week, depending on the tourist's involvement and interest. Wine tourism is also very popular alongside culinary tourism as incorporating wine-food pairings into contemporary lifestyles has become a growing trend in popular culture since the 1960s. (Novelli, 2005) Canada's $25.1 million wine export industry (Statistics Canada, 2007) plays an important role in influencing and informing potential tourists of Canada's sophisticated wine industry. While Canada is not an internationally leading wine producer, it has been able to gain global attention for the award-winning, high-quality icewines produced in our cooler climate. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2011). This international respect and awareness has subsequently sparked the interest of wine enthusiasts around the world to travel to Canada's major wine regions. The wine industry first began in Canada in the early 1800s, when European grape varieties were grown. Unfortunately, the Canadian climate was unable to support these varieties and into the following century only native Canadian grapes managed to survive. During this time, Ontario was able to develop its wine industry through exports to become one of the largest in North America. To better regulate...... half of the document ......tart =11&end=20The NSLC. (2011). Nova Scotia wine. mynslc.com. Retrieved March 9, 2012, from http://www.mynslc.com/Content_MarketingPages/Content_Wine/Content_WineAppreciation/NovaScotiaWines/NovaScotiaWine.aspxTourism New South Wales (1968). Understanding the tourism market. archive.tourism.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from http://archive.tourism.nsw.gov.au/Sites/SiteID6/objLib13/understanding_your_market.pdfWikipedia, Foundation, Inc (2004). Wine tourism. eNotes.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012, from http://www.enotes.com/topic/Wine_tourismWinery Association of Nova Scotia (March 2012). www.winesofnovascotia.ca. Retrieved from http://www.winesofnovascotia.ca/about/index.php© ​​​​Queen's Printer for Ontario (2012). Ontario's wine strategy. news.ontario.ca. Retrieved March 14, 2012, from http://news.ontario.ca/mcs/en/2010/04/ontarios-wine-strategy.html