With B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 wine industry facing 乌鸦传媒榗atastrophic乌鸦传媒� crop damage from January乌鸦传媒檚 freeze, Alberta liquor branch乌鸦传媒檚 threats to restrict wine could not be worse timing, say B.C. wine growers and local elected officials.
On Jan. 22, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission issued a letter to numerous B.C. wineries informing them that, if they did not immediately stop shipping wines direct-to-consumers in Alberta, they would stop allowing those wines in their retail stores.
Wines of British Columbia estimates direct-to-consumer counts for less than three per cent of sales, with most involving high-end bottles that aren乌鸦传媒檛 even available through government channels.
The action by Alberta are baffling, said MLA Roly Russell, and the provincial government is working on this problem. He said B.C. officials have been in touch with Alberta counterparts and urged them to stop what they are doing.
乌鸦传媒淭his move doesn乌鸦传媒檛 only affect Albertans乌鸦传媒� freedom to choose what wine they can enjoy, it has serious repercussions on grape growers and winemakers where I live and throughout our province,乌鸦传媒� said Russell.
乌鸦传媒淚 know that this action couldn乌鸦传媒檛 come at a worse time for our growers, given recent climatic events, and it乌鸦传媒檚 baffling that Alberta would decide to do this now.乌鸦传媒�
Summerland乌鸦传媒檚 district council is sending a letter to the Alberta liquor branch to cease and desist.
Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola MP Dan Albas said the timing of Alberta乌鸦传媒檚 letter is 乌鸦传媒榟ard-hearted乌鸦传媒� considering the duress B.C. wineries have been under over the past few years getting through COVID, wildfires, and unprecedented crop damage due to freezing.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 Alberta乌鸦传媒檚 big liquor monopoly picking on the little B.C. wineries,乌鸦传媒� said Albas. 乌鸦传媒淲e allow Alberta breweries and distilleries to ship to B.C. but Alberta will not give the same reciprocity for our wines.乌鸦传媒�
B.C., Manitoba and Nova Scotia have free trade but Alberta said No
In 2011, Albas put forward a private members bill dubbed 乌鸦传媒榝ree my grapes乌鸦传媒� that would have allowed free trade of wine from Coast to Coast. But the Trudeau government 乌鸦传媒榩unted it,乌鸦传媒� he said.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 easier to ship cannabis than it is wine in Canada,乌鸦传媒� he added.
Along with B.C. wines suffering catastrophic vine damage, wildfires and loss of tourism, come April 1, 2024, the federal government is increasing the excise tax of domestic wine by 4.7 per cent.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 hard for the smaller family-run businesses to survive. I talked to one winery this week and they told me they乌鸦传媒檝e lost over 90 per cent of their crop,乌鸦传媒� said Albas.
There are government supports in place for crop recovery but by the time funds reach a winery, it may be too late, he added.
B.C. wineries willing to pay tax to Alberta
Carl Boucher, founder of Carl乌鸦传媒檚 Wine Club in the South Okanagan said Alberta乌鸦传媒檚 timing is 乌鸦传媒榙isgusting.乌鸦传媒� Boucher spent 17 years living in Calgary and has hundreds of wine members there.
乌鸦传媒淟ast year乌鸦传媒檚 crop damage from the freeze was dramatic. This year could be catastrophic with some worrying they will have zero crops for this year乌鸦传媒檚 harvest,乌鸦传媒� said Boucher.
Damage from the December 2022 freeze was estimated at around 50 per cent of vines that needed replacing mainly in the Similkameen and South Okanagan. The freeze in January, 2023 caused widespread bud damage across the region, said Boucher.
Coupled with Alberta乌鸦传媒檚 new threats, it could cause some wineries to close.
乌鸦传媒淏.C. wineries are willing to pay a tax to ship directly to consumers but Alberta didn乌鸦传媒檛 even give that a chance,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 easier to ship wine to the U.S. and Tokyo than it is to ship to Alberta.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 pure insanity,乌鸦传媒� he added.
Alberta club members not happy
Nancy Teghtmeyer, who lives in Calgary and regularly tours Okanagan wineries, is a wine club member at a few Okanagan wineries. She gets her wine shipped directly and doesn乌鸦传媒檛 understand the motivation behind her government乌鸦传媒檚 move.
乌鸦传媒淚f B.C. wines shipping directly are only three per cent of sales, that乌鸦传媒檚 a drop in the bucket for Alberta liquor branch. The only ones getting hurt here are the little B.C. wineries,乌鸦传媒� she asks. 乌鸦传媒淚f they want to go after someone, go after big guys like Amazon.乌鸦传媒�
Teghtmeyer is a club member at Wine Maker乌鸦传媒檚 Cut and is a big fan of Fairview乌鸦传媒檚 Pinot Noir.
乌鸦传媒淭hese are wines that aren乌鸦传媒檛 sold in our stores.乌鸦传媒�
Teghtmeyer says she loves visiting the smaller tasting rooms in the Okanagan and hearing the winery乌鸦传媒檚 story, often getting to meet the owners directly.
乌鸦传媒淭hese wineries offer a unique experience,乌鸦传媒� said Teghtmeyer. 乌鸦传媒淚 want to support them and I do that by becoming a club member and buying their wine.乌鸦传媒�
Alberta retailers offer very little selection of Canadian wines in their liquor stores as it is, said Boucher. And what Canadian wines they do offer are marked way up.
Not the first time Alberta has banned B.C. wine
Penticton乌鸦传媒檚 TIME Winery general manager Christa-Lee McWatters, daughter of the late Harry McWatters, said the B.C. government is very aware of the issue and as board chair of the BC Wine Growers Association she is headed to Vancouver to meet with the Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Tourism on the issue.
乌鸦传媒淭he last time this happened with Alberta [in 2018] it has nothing to do with wine, it was about pipelines. It乌鸦传媒檚 hard to say what it乌鸦传媒檚 about this time around. We乌鸦传媒檝e talked to a lot of people in Alberta and they think this is ridiculous,乌鸦传媒� said McWatters.
TIME Winery was one of the wineries that received the cease and desist letter from Alberta.
Alberta is the second biggest consumer of B.C. wines.
乌鸦传媒淏.C. is a big supporter of B.C. wines and in these trying times the best way to support us is to buy direct from the wineries, online or become a club member. Your support does make all the difference.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a pretty scary time for wineries. I乌鸦传媒檝e been doing this for 30 years and I乌鸦传媒檝e never seen anything like this. Some will weather this, but not all will,乌鸦传媒� she said, speaking to the difficult last few years B.C. wineries have endured.
Al Hudec is a Kelowna-based lawyer hired by winemakers to push back against the Alberta move.
Hudec said Alberta乌鸦传媒檚 letter could be a case for judicial review.
In 2018, the Alberta government stopped allowing B.C. wine after a spat over the Trans Mountain pipeline.
乌鸦传媒淲hile we are still unclear of the political motivation behind the recent AGLC letter, it is disheartening for our local growers and producers, who have already suffered great financial hardships over this past year. We are concerned about being targeted once again for political gain that has nothing to do with our industry,乌鸦传媒� said BC Wine Growers.
