Nearly a month after the term “wine country” was reworded in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s new tourism strategy and action plan, the debate still isn’t over.
The town reaffirmed its wine country identity in a May 30 statement after the change drew backlash — and even attention from Toronto media — but councillors remain split on whether the decision was right and if the town has explained it well enough.
The original version of the vision statement brought forward to staff read: “Niagara-on-the-Lake is an extraordinary wine country destination, known for its natural beauty and unrivalled cultural experiences.”
But on May 6, town staff’s revised version was approved: “Niagara-on-the-Lake is an extraordinary destination, known for its natural beauty, food and wine and unrivalled cultural experiences.”
The town’s statement described the adjustment as an “intentional shift in language, not in values,” intended to encourage “a more deliberate and contextual use of wine country in marketing and communications.”
Still, some councillors say residents remain confused and more public dialogue is needed.
Coun. Gary Burroughs, who supported the final draft, argues the town should explain its decision more clearly.
“I feel it needs to be presented formally,” Burroughs said, adding Toronto media is misinterpreting the town’s decision.
“To me, just issuing a press release isn’t sufficient,” Burroughs said. “It needs to be spoken to by the lord mayor at a committee or council.”
Burroughs added that people don’t always read press releases and that “senior management” should also be addressing it.
But Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, also a supporter of the final draft, feels differently about the town statement and continuing the conversation at a future meeting.
“I have no interest in doing that. I’m very comfortable with the decision of council — I think it’s a very good decision,” he said.
The town’s statement outlines the distinct roles of the municipality and Tourism NOTL, its destination marketing organization — which Zalepa said clarifies why it’s up to Tourism NOTL to decide when and how to use terms like “wine country” in its promotions.
“It’s about clarifying the role of the organizations,” he said. “We wanted to get back onto that point.”
Zalepa said there seems to be a lack of clarity around the issue.
“That’s why we decided to put this together and send this out to help facilitate the information distribution,” he said.
Coun. Wendy Cheropita said the “revealing” media coverage reflects public concern, which should be taken seriously.
“I’ve never seen media attention to this degree, especially coming from Toronto media,” said Cheropita. “You do have to take it and listen to it — to understand where all this is coming from.”
Cheropita, who sat on the tourism strategy committee but voted against the rewording of “wine country,” said outlets like the Toronto Star and Toronto Life usually have no reason to criticize decisions made by NOTL councillors.
“Unless they really feel that it’s a big story and one that they should put forward into the public,” said Cheropita.
She added she has received calls from residents since the statement was released.
“I don’t know if that’s, then, reflective of people not feeling good about it,” she said. “I think the town did the right thing to try to defend their decision, but (the decision) is something that, obviously, I don’t agree with.”
Coun. Maria Mavridis, who supported the final draft, said she feels “frustration as a town councillor” because “misinformation is spread amongst residents and others as facts,” she said in a message. She said she agrees with the town’s statement.
“I feel that anyone who has questioned the ‘wine country’ wording hasn’t read through the entire strategy,” said Mavridis.
“And/or hasn’t taken the time to understand the difference between a strategic plan and marketing plan.”
Fellow supporter of the final draft, Coun. Adriana Vizzari, said she also feels the choice has not been fully understood by the public.
She said she believes the statement was well-written and the town has provided a clear explanation, but she is still happy to help residents better understand it, “because it’s an important topic” and she “can’t speak to how individual residents perceive it.”
“If there’s more information that someone is looking for, we’d be happy to continue the discussion,” said Vizzari.
