With a country as large as Canada, the second largest in area on the globe, one would expect a healthy and vibrant wine industry. Considering that for all its mass there are only 35m people (fewer than the number of sheep in New Zealand), Canada’s thirst is strong, and increasing all the time, partially fuelled by the country’s vibrant local wine, beer, and spirit industries.
Statistics Canada’s report as of May 2017 showed that Canadians still prefer beer, with C$9.2bn ($6.9bn) in sales, but it’s the share of other alcoholic beverages, notably wine, that is showing the most growth. In terms of volume, wine sales grew to 496m L, and increase of 3.3% from 2015 to 2016. This equates to 24.4 bottles of wine sold per person over the legal drinking age in Canada. The growth in volume of Canadian wine (+3.4%) slightly outpaced that of imported wine (+3.3%).
In total, liquor stores, agencies, and other retail outlets sold C$22.1bn worth of alcoholic beverages during the fiscal year ending March 2016, up 3.5% from the previous year. The total volume of alcohol sold increased to 31m hL, or by 2.2% from 2015 to 2016. Of course, most provinces’ alcohol sales are partially or fully ruled by the monopolies. The net income realised by provincial and territorial liquor authorities increased by 7.2% from 2015 to 2016, to C$6.1bn.
So Canadians are drinking. But who is ruling what is being consumed, sold, and produced? Again, the size of the country makes that tricky, as Vancouver, British Columbia, in the far west, has little to do with Toronto, Ontario, 3,500 km to the east. And then there’s Québec, with its francophone culture, and an entirely different focus on wine and beer than their anglophone Canadian kin. The 2016 Canadian Wine Market Landscape Report published that the main trends are divided between the nation’s two biggest cultural groups and two official languages. The long-held Québécois bias towards Old World wines remains true, with French wines by far the most popular in the province, followed by Italy and Spain. The Québécois are also more likely to drink rosé (more than half partake in pink) compared with just a third of regular wine drinkers in the English-speaking provinces.
Most of Canada is uninhabited land, or rural, agriculture-based communities, and the majority (estimated at 75%) of Canadians live within 160 km of the US border. A multicultural mosaic, the restaurant scene is strong in Canadian cities, with a healthy wine culture a natural pairing. Vancouver (BC), Toronto (ON), and Montréal (QC) lead in this regard, with top tier sommeliers and wine education opportunities. UK-based research and reporting company Wine Intelligence reports that that 87% of Canada’s regular wine drinkers reside in three provinces: Ontario (40%), Québec (28%), and British Columbia (19%). Smaller cities such as Victoria, Calgary, Québec City, Ottawa, and Halifax also have a buzzy and active wine scene. Consumers in wine producing regions, notably British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, are well accustomed to drinking local wines, and locavore support is strong (sometimes fervent).
All of this is to show that what, or who, is influential in one part of the country is often entirely irrelevant in other areas. Wine media, shops, and sommeliers are localised and specialised, although there are some notable national exceptions that aim to bridge Canucks coast to coast.
Wine retail
The powerful monopolies still rule the liquor landscape in many provinces. British Columbia (BC Liquor Distribution Branch, BCLDB), Ontario (Liquor Control Board of Ontario, LCBO), Manitoba (Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, MBLL), Québec (Société des alcools du Québec, SAQ), Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, NSLC), New Brunswick (New Brunswick Liquor Corporation or Alcool NB Liquor, ANBL), and Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, SLGA), are all monopoly dominated, fully or partially. Their category managers and buyers have great buying power and reach, often across hundreds of outlets.
In fiscal year 2014 to 2015, Canada’s largest monopoly and one of the most powerful buyers globally, the LCBO, passed C$5bn in sales through their 600-plus retail outlets. In Alberta, the sole province with no government liquor monopoly (though one exists for distribution), private retailers have the power though lack the reach. Liquor Depot is the largest wine retail chain in Alberta, with over 170 locations.
In British Columbia, there is a mix of private liquor stores and the BCLDB, and private stores have the ability to list and carry ‘speculative’ listings not carried by the BCLDB – one of the few benefits. These private stores are known as the place to find unique and boutique products that don’t fit into the monopoly’s mould. Vancouver’s Marquis Wine Cellars and Liberty Wine Merchants are two private shops that have been leading the way for decades. A few wine retail chains, like Everything Wine and Liquor Depot, span provincial boundaries, but with liquor laws being so restrictive and singular to each province, few have made the leap and spanned the fence.
Recently, there has been a move for increasing wine sales in grocery stores in many provinces, posing a potential threat to the monopolies. Grocery has been an important sales channel for alcohol in some Canadian provinces for many years, while others have just recently allowed or are considering the sale of alcohol through this channel. In 2015 and 2016, two of the monopoly provinces, British Columbia and Ontario, respectively, announced they would allow the sale of alcohol through grocery stores.
Wine importers
Most Canadian wine importers operate within their own province, building up relationships with the monopolies that largely control their livelihood. There are a few that span neighbouring provinces: Crush Imports, The Wine Syndicate, and Sedimentary Wines are active in British Columbia and next door in Alberta, for example. There are only a few agencies that have national representation, and even then, the portfolio will vary from province to province. Charton-Hobbs, Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants, Trialto Wine Group, International Cellars, and Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits are strong agencies with national or near-national reach.
Wine media
The main wine media are predominantly influential within their own regions, loosely Western Canada, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. Nearly all wine media write for multiple outlets, and most also explore other means of communication such as radio, television, blogs, and podcasts. Numerous wine media also have their hands in education and consulting. Major newspaper columnists and long-time writers, like The Vancouver Sun’s Anthony Gismondi (BC) and The Globe and Mail’s Beppi Crosariol (ON) have great influence, and syndication can reach millions of readers with each weekly column. After the major papers, regional newsprint and magazines (and digital editions) are the most influential, and columnists are well known in the local wine communities for doing more than solely writing. In the western provinces, Anthony Gismondi, Kurtis Kolt, Rhys Pender MW, Daenna Van Mulligen, Michaela Morris, Tom Firth, Ben McPhee-Sigurdson, and Gurvinder Bhatia are a few of the key wine media.
In Ontario, Beppi Crosariol, John Szabo, David Lawrason, Tony Aspler, Christopher Waters, and Sara d’Amato are influential names. And in Atlantic Canada, the torch shines mainly on Craig Pinhey, one of the few wine specialists in the east.
In Québec, the wine media is divided by language. Bill Zacharkiw, the columnist for the Montreal Gazette, is the main English-speaking wine writer. For French Québécois, Véronique Rivest, Philippe Lapeyrie, Nadia Fournier, Élyse Lambert, Jessica Harnois, Michelle Bouffard, and Jean Aubry all have strong presence and influence.
There are a couple of print wine publications with national reach, Quench Magazine and VINES Magazine being at the fore. There is one digital national wine portal, WineAlign, which is a collective of writers who review wines and write articles (featuring many of the names above). Uniquely, WineAlign has a very active public component, whereby users can publish their own wine reviews and link with like-minded tasters. WineAlign also administers the annual National Wine Awards of Canada, the main wine competition in the country.
Sommeliers
Almost all of Canada’s influential sommeliers are based in the main cities. Most don’t limit themselves to the restaurant floor, but work in wine journalism, consulting, importing, and education. That’s key, as the vast geography of the country can easily keep ideas and information isolated. The Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS) has active chapters in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, and Atlantic Canada, providing networking, mentorship, and training for national and international competitions.
Vancouver’s Bryant Mao, wine director at Hawksworth Restaurant, runs arguably the country’s most exciting wine programme, honed by his experience at London’s Chez Bruce. Mao oversees a team of young sommeliers, and a stint working at Hawksworth cements your status in the industry. In neighbouring Alberta, Brad Royale is the province’s most influential fine wine buyer and director, overseeing seven different restaurants and resorts. He also is founder of Kitten Swish, a micro-négociant label with small lot wines he makes around the world.
Toronto’s John Szabo was Canada’s first Master Sommelier, and while he’s no longer on the floor, he still advises on wine programmes, including his own Hungarian wine project, J&J Eger. His latest book, Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grit and Power, was released last fall to critical acclaim. Québec’s Véronique Rivest is perhaps the country’s most recognisable sommelier. She’s twice won Canada’s Best Sommelier, been awarded Best Sommelier of the Americas, and took second place at the World’s Best Sommelier Competition in 2013 – the first woman to take to the podium. In addition to opening wine bar Soif Bar à vin in 2015, she is also the company sommelier for Air Canada.
Generic bodies
The Canadian Vintners Association (CVA) is a national voice for wine in Canada, created in 1967 as the Canadian Wine Institute and renamed in 2000 to better reflect the growth of Canada’s winegrowing and production industry. CVA represents over 90% of all wine produced in Canada, including 100% Canadian, Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) wines, and International-Canadian Blended (ICB) wine products. Their role is to represent and support their membership by working cooperatively with governments and other stakeholders to further the industry.
The main provinces that produce wine each have their own membership and certification bodies. The BC Wine Institute (BCWI), Wine Marketing Association of Ontario (WMAO), and the Winery Association of Nova Scotia (WANS) each serve as the voice for their local industry and membership, while also operating tourism and marketing campaigns locally and internationally. The three provinces and the CVA often band together at international tradeshows, like ProWein, where attendees are still surprised that Canada is warm enough to even grow grapes, let alone make premium wines. The latter task is one that Dr Janet Dorozynski focuses her time on. As trade commissioner of Canadian Wine, Beer and Spirits and Tourism, Dorozynski, through the federal government’s Global Affairs Canada department, has been the country’s top wine diplomat for nearly 15 years, and responsible for much of the international recognition of the wine industry.
