Page 70 - Grapevine July-August 2019

International News
Of the over 700 wineries listed in the Canadian
Wine Directory, almost 300 were in B.C., 200 in
Ontario, over 150 in Quebec, with a handful in
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward
Island as well.
A 2017 economic impact study commissioned by
the Canadian Vintners Association, the Win-ery &
Grower Alliance of Ontario, the British Columbia
Wine Institute and the Winery Associa-tion of Nova
Scotia, the Ontario wine and grape industry gener-
ates about $4.4 billion in eco-nomic impact, while
in British Columbia it was estimated at $2.8 billion,
$1.1 billion in Quebec and $218 million in Nova
Scotia. For every $1 spent on Canadian wine sold in
Canada, the study estimates $3.42 in GDP is gener-
ated across the country.
Halstead said industry analysts are starting
to speculate that the same zeitgeist propelling
con-sumers to support local farmers’ markets and
neighborhood microbreweries may be influenc-ing
Canadians’ attitudes on domestic wine.
“We’re a wine research company, so we don’t
really look at craft beer except to look at how it’s
affecting our world,” Halstead said. “But there are
parallels with the connection craft beer has made
with local ingredients and making a local product
for local people, and that’s seeped into the wine
category and made buying local cool again.”
The divide between wine drinkers and beer-drink-
ers appears to be narrowing in Canada. The propor-
tion of regular wine drinkers who also choose beer,
both mass-market and craft, is growing. In 2014,
67% of wine drinkers said they also drank beer,
with 29% drinking craft beer, but by 2018, 74%
were also quaffing beer, and 40% drank craft beer.
Data released in May by Statistics Canada found
beer remained the most popular choice for
Canadians, with $9.1 billion in sales and repre-
senting 41% of total sales of alcoholic beverages
in 2016/2017. However, the market share of other
alcoholic beverages, notably wine, contin-ued to
grow. Canadians spent $7.2 billion on wine during
the same period, a year-over-year increase of 3%,
or just over one-third of overall alcohol sales.
Beer, particularly craft beer, has been growing
steadily in popularity in recent years. According to
Wine Intelligence’s report, from 2014 to 2017, the
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number of breweries in Canada increased by 115%,
mostly driven by a proliferation of microbreweries
and regionally focused craft brew-ers.
Another reason locally produced wine is gaining in
popularity is because local liquor boards have been
doing more to spotlight local wines.
“The wine world doesn’t move very fast normally,
because people’s habits are people’s habits, but the
pendulum has swung slightly toward the domestic
side,” Halstead said.
Almost three-quarters of English Canadians now
say they have selected Canadian wine in the past
year, compared to one-third of those in French
Canada. While English-speaking Cana-dians are far
more likely to drink Canadian wines, and Quebecers
to choose European brands, the report found
domestic wines are quickly gaining in popularity in
la belle province.
Canadians are now reporting drinking less wine,
yet are more willing to splurge on a good bot-tle,
Halstead said. Spending on higher priced wine has
increased, particularly when the higher price point
is linked to a good story, as with many local pro-
ducers.
The average price per bottle of wine for a relaxing
drink at home has increased from $12.79 per bottle
in 2014 to $13.44 in 2018, while the average price
paid for a bottle selected as a gift for someone
increased from $17.36 to $18.81.
“One of the differences today in Canada versus
20 years ago is that if Canadians wanted really nice
wine then, it would either be France or the top end
of California,” Halstead said. “Now they’ve also got
Okanagan wine, which is selling at $40-50 CDN for
some cabernets and char-donnays. It’s hitting a
very similar market spot that California, or at least
the Napa/Sonoma re-gion, used to own without
much competition.”
The increase in average cost isn’t only due to con-
sumer preferences, however. Increased regu-lation,
taxes, and liquor board policies have made it dif-
ficult for many producers to charge less than $10
per bottle. Regional, government-run liquor boards
have also been promoting higher-end brands to
motivate consumers to spend more on better qual-
ity products, in the hopes that this will also encour-
age citizens to drink less alcohol overall.
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