ghost - "Yellow Tail Shiraz is very popular, but I don't like 'em.
VQA is like a cartel."
As to Yellow Tail, agree that it's popular but mainly because of it's inexpensive price. IMO, it's barely drinkable.
As to the VQA being a cartel, I would disagree, as VQA is nothing more than a label of assurance that the wine is a "better quality" of Cdn wine. If it's better quality than other Cdn wines, you will likely pay more for it. Hardly a cartel, as you can chose among wines from the US, France, Argentina, Bulgaria, Australia, NZ, Hungary, etc, etc, etc. and the VQA label does not "force" you into buying that VQA wine. On the contrary, I would say the wine market is pretty open and highly competitive.