Small grape growers, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the Greenbelt, the provincial government, the two major wine manufacturers in Ontario — they’re all caught up in an ugly battle that’s getting worse in Ontario’s Niagara region. These should be heady days for small vineyards producing VQA wines, but they’re getting hammered by an outdated law that favours the major wine producers. Being located in the Greenbelt hasn’t helped them at all, and the province isn’t taking ownership. I write about the situation in today’s Urban Cowboy column in the Guelph Mercury.
Great column in the Mercury. The LCBO’s business practices (consistently promoting imported wines over doo Ontario wines — with the exception of the month of September when they buy into the harvest) are akin to the provincial government financing a campaign encouraging people to buy Georgia peaches, or imported cars. It quite simply makes no sense. While the LCBO deserves its lumps for failing to properly promote a domestic product, the major players in the Ontario wine industry have to shoulder some blame as well. They are the ones who reap untold profits from the crappy cellared in Canada wines, and they are the ones who hold all of the clout on the wine council. incidentally, it is also these major players who are canceling contracts with growers, causing whole vineyards to be ripped up or scorched. The industry is a dysfunctional mess, and this dysfunction is fostered by the warped policies of our provincial government and its liquor retailer.
KJ, thanks for the feedback.
Any ideas about how to fix this situation? Does it start with straightening out the provincial liquor board policies? I’ve seen others calling for more opportunities for Ontario VQA wines to be sold at places other than the LCBO and on-site premises (maybe Air Canada, for starters?).
And should special incentives exist for Ontario restaurants and food service outlets to predominantly feature VQA wines? I suppose that depends on consumer demand, not just incentives.
Owen, thanks for the article. An easy fix, as a start, would be to pump up Canadian content to 51%. The legislation does say that 30% is just a minimum, it could be higher. In fact, 20 Bees has a Cellared in Canada wine that is from 100% Ontario-grown grapes — no imported wine at all. A litre tetrapak sells for $9.95, good price.
I hope that you have been following the Esprit controversy, the sponsorship of Olympics 2010 with a Cellared in Canada wine (initially) before moving on to a VQA wine.
Did you also know that WATER can be added to the mix of CIC wines? So long as it does not reduce the 30% Canadian content.
Check out Michael Pinkus’s newsletter, Ontario Wine Review, and my own spoof blog FauxVoixVinCuisine.
Dean, I appreciate your message. I didn’t know about water being acceptable as a CIC mix.
I’ll check out that 20 Bees tetrapak. I still feel a desire to support that company, even though it’s far removed from its roots.
And thanks for the links. I’ll enjoy following the exploits of Brett Grimsby (http://www.deantudor.com/).
I think clarity in labelling is the first thing that should be changed, and that is a government policy piece. A wine like that 20 Bees label that is 100 per cent Ontario, but not VQA, should be able to say it is 100 per cent Ontario and it should stand out from something that is 70 per cent foreign. Next would be expanded distribution channels. With its restricted access and high overhead, the LCBO is out of reach of many smaller Ontario wineries, and in my experience it’s these smaller players who make the best wine. The government did have a good program offering a rebate to Ontario wineries selling through the LCBO, and it opened the variety up considerably. But the government has allowed that program to lapse, and despite promises it would be revived, there has been no public move to do so. Private wine stores have been suggested, which may not be a bad idea, or even allowing the wineries a licence to open an off-site store somewhere. Anything has to be better than the system we have in place now.
That Esprit controversy was a good one. The latest to stick in my craw is that an Australian wine (Wolf Blass) is the official wine of the Canadian Open. That shocks me, especially when you consider that a tour golfer, Mike Weir, has his own winery.
This quasi-Ontario wine situation is a real dilemma for me. I’m the co-chair of an international conference of agricultural journalists (up to 250) coming to Guelph and Niagara Falls in September 2011, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to show visitors from 29 countries the quality of our agriculture (including wine). At the conference meals we’ll insist on VQA wines, of course. But I can easily imagine one of the international participants wandering into an LCBO, picking up a Cellared In Canada product, and being disappointed, to say the least. I really can’t understand why the LCBO and the Wine Council don’t acknowledge the much broader negative implications of Cellared In Canada products. Even for the majors, it must be tough enough to get the world to give their Canadian wine its due recognition without complicating the situation with plonk.
About Dean Tudor’s comment on 20 Bees – Did you know that 20 Bees was the winery that had broken its contract with grape growers that resulted in all of those grapes rotting to the ground last season? Check this out – http://www.allbusiness.com/agriculture-forestry/agriculture-crop-production-fruit/11780877-1.html
Also, you may want to consider that about half of Ontario grapes go into Cellared in Canada wines, which compete head-to-head with 100% cheap imported wines in the $10 and under segment. Without Cellared in Canada wines the value segment would be dominated by 100% imports and there would be a lot more growers with left over grapes.
Sandra,Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reievw Shadow of Deceit, and also, a big thanks for inviting me to guest on you blog. Mal Olson