Page 71 - Grapevine May-June 2019
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International News
that officially verifies the origin and quality of However, according to Director of Business-to-
Ca-nadian-made wine—have less than a 3% market Consumer Operations, Amber Fountain, even if
share. In Quebec, the market share for VQA wine is Kwäf could ship anywhere in Canada, the company
less than one percent at the province’s Société des would still focus on promoting Ontario wines to
Alcools du Québec (SAQ) stores. “We don’t even Ontarians. The foot traffic from wine tourism is a
have a category at the SAQ,” Paskowski said. vital spinoff benefit for Kwäf’s winer-ies. Most of its
customers are in the greater Toronto area, within
If the provinces do come on board, the impact on easy road trip distance to many of the wineries that
Canadian wineries could be significant. Cur-rently, supply Kwäf.
about four million tourists visit Canada’s 700-plus
wineries every year, Paszkowski said. Those who “Us sending their wine across the country isn’t
like the wine often want to ship a few bottles really going to help them get people to their door,”
home, but under the current regula-tions, wine Fountain said. “We want people to become fans of
producers are prevented from doing so. our wineries.”
“Wine is one of the only products in the country The almost five-year-old company, which was
where you visit the retailer, and they want it deliv- recently acquired by Calgary-based alcohol e-com-
ered, and you have to say no. You can order a gun merce company Blacksquare, has succeeded on the
from another province, but you can’t order a bottle strength of the mutually beneficial partnerships it
of wine shipped in another province,” Paszkowski has cultivated with local wineries, Fountain said.
said.
Kwäf promises customers it will send only “good”
It’s not just sales to tourists that Canadian win- wine, so the company’s sommeliers spend a lot of
eries are missing out on either. According to Sta- time sourcing and tasting new wines, searching for
tistics Canada, most of the wine sold in Canada, tastes that are new and exciting. Kwäf makes a spe-
about 74% of reds and almost 60% of whites, is cial effort to seek out small-scale producers whose
imported from other countries, while Canadian- wines are not carried by the Liquor Control Board
made wine only represents about 12% of the pre- of Ontario (LCBO) stores, even purchasing the full
mium wine market. production of a particular wine to offer as an exclu-
sive release for members.
“The government’s very interested in the export
market, but when you only own 12% of your mar- Partner wineries often include gifts and value-add
ket, well, we can’t really turn our back on Canada. to encourage subscribers to visit in person, which
Our opportunity to export is when our market can help cement a winery’s relationships with their
share is greater,” Paskowski said. customers. Tasting passes, dis-counts to restau-
rants, exclusive winery experience tours, and
Wine Clubs opportunities to meet the wine-makers are import-
ant perks of the club. The ultimate goal, Fountain
Although online wine sales and wine clubs are said, is to help cultivate a greater appreciation for
only 2% of the market in Canada, they are an local wines, particularly those customers won’t find
important sales channel for boutique wineries, on liquor store shelves.
especially those whose wines are not stocked in
provincially run liquor stores. “We understand our customers won’t only order
wine through us for day-to-day consumption.
Ontario’s Kwäf wine club, for example, has It’s meant to supplement people’s enjoyment of
become an important sales channel for many small wine. It’s more for exploration, to try new wines,”
wineries in the province. Club subscribers receive Fountain said.
six sommelier-selected Ontario wines deliv-ered to
their homes every three months for $125 to $138 Perhaps one day, the rest of Canada will be able
CAD per box. The club ships only to subscribers to enjoy exploring new tastes shipped directly to
living in Ontario and the handful of provinces that their doorsteps as well.
have relaxed restrictions on in-terprovincial wine
trade.
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