Wine in grocery stores set to boost Essex wine production

Some of Essex County's wineries are set to benefit from the province's move to allow grocery stores to sell wine, says Tom O'Brien, the founder of Cooper's Hawk Vineyards in Harrow, Ont.

Up to 300 grocery stores across the province will soon sell wine, starting with 70 locations slated to begin selling it this fall, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Thursday. 

"It's going to have a very positive effect," O'Brien told CBC Windsor Morning host Tony Doucette. "It's going to make us a little bit more available because it won't just be the LCBO deciding what goes on shelves. It'll be the grocery store owners and also these private store owners."

This move has the potential to allow wineries to significantly increase production over the long term, O'Brien said. In the short term, he thinks it will be a "marginal enhancement."

"Ultimately, whatever wine gets on the shelves is going to be decided by the consumer," he said. "If nobody knows [a winery] or buys it, [the wine] will ultimately lose its shelf space. Wineries have to market their name, market their brand, do shows in the local communities."

Protections for local winemakers

The proposal also has regulations built in to protect Ontario winemakers.

For the first three years, half of licences will be for stores selling only Ontario VQA wines and a bottle cannot be sold for less than $10.95. That's essentially the break-even point for Ontario winemakers, O'Brien said.

Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said Thursday the cost of alcohol is lower than other jurisdictions.

"[The price] is socially responsible," Sousa said. "We also want to provide quality product."  

Additional jobs

O'Brien said his winery is planning to ramp up wine production to meet any additional demand. The new grocery store market "absolutely" has the potential to be a job creator, he said.

"As soon as I heard seven or eight months ago about the possibility of selling wine in grocery stores, I started looking at our long-term production capacity," O'Brien said.

"The winemakers that want to expand production and take the business risk … they're the ones that will benefit," he said. "Not every winery is geared up, nor does every winery want to be on an expanded scale. A lot of wineries are very happy with selling 2,000-3,000 cases a year at their local store and they can do quite well with that."

Ontario will also allow cider to be sold where beer is available for purchase in the province.