‘Why would we buy U.S. wines?’ Ontario vintners reap benefits of trade dispute

A boycott on American booze has uncorked a surge in Ontario wine sales. John Vennavally-Rao reports.

Heading into the Thanksgiving weekend, winemakers in Ontario’s Niagara region had plenty to be thankful for.

The grape harvest is well underway and sales of local wines are booming, thanks in part to the province’s ongoing boycott of U.S. wines and spirits.

At Hidden Bench Vineyard under sunny skies, crews have been busy picking the grapes for pinot noir. Using clippers, they snip the fruit off the vine and fill bright yellow bins. The grapes are then hand sorted to ensure only the best fruit is getting into the tanks that make their wines.

Owner Harald Thiel says the weather has been good, though a drought in July means the overall yield is somewhere between average to below average.

Still, he says it’s been an “excellent year.”

“We’re seeing the quality is just impeccable in terms of the fruit we’re bringing in,” said Thiel.

It’s also been an excellent year based on sales at Ontario’s government-run LCBO stores. Thiel says he’s selling twice as many bottles compared to last year.

“Sales have been up a tremendous amount, to the point where we have to be careful that we don’t run out of wine,” said Thiel.

Sales soaring at LCBO

According to the LCBO, sales of Ontario VQA wines – which are made entirely from local grapes – are up 67 per cent year over year, while red wines have jumped 80 per cent.

At Westcott Vineyards in Lincoln, Ont., the story is similar. Co-owner Carolyn Hurst says the boycott has allowed her to get more attention from consumers.

“With those U.S. wines coming off, we’ve had some really significant, great growth,” said Hurst. “All kinds of new customers are finding us and discovering that our wines are as good, if not better, than anything that was taken off the shelves.”

Hurst says she’s also seen a doubling of sales at the LCBO and believes once the boycott ends, she’ll keep many of those new customers.

“People now that they’ve discovered us, and they’ve made the switch, I think we’re going to have a great continuation of that.”

Shedding an old reputation

Antonia Mantonakis, a marketing professor at Brock University who calls herself “The Wine Psychologist,” says the shift in purchasing habits and the buy Canadian movement is a huge opportunity for the domestic wine industry, which hasn’t always been held in high regard.

She says half-a-century ago, wine makers in Ontario didn’t grow the right grapes to make good quality wine. While that has long since been fixed, the reputation still lingered.

“For millennial consumers who grew up witnessing their parents not choosing Canadian wine, there was maybe a little bit of hesitation,” said Mantonakis.

But she says those previously hesitant consumers are now trying Ontario wine amid the patriotic push, and finding out it’s really good. According to Mantonakis, it shouldn’t be surprising.

“Ontario is on the same latitude as other world-famous cool climate wine regions: Tuscany, California, Oregon,” she said.

As for what will happen when the boycott ends, Mantonakis thinks some consumers have become accustomed to buying Canadian product and will likely stick with it.

“These patterns of behaviour are going to stay,” she said.

Thiel says he’s also optimistic that what began as a trade spat could have a lasting upside for local growers.

“Once Canadians taste these wines, they go, ‘Why would we buy U.S. wines going forward?’”