Richard Deslandes has been making wine at Green Gables Vines just north of Spencerville, Ont. since 2013.
“We’re a small winery,” he said. “It means that you have to do everything yourself.”
Green Gables is one of 12 wineries represented by a group called the Ontario Artisan Wineries (OAW) and all say they can’t afford to sell their wine in provincial liquor stores, restaurants or convenience stores.
“Event venues a few minutes from where I live have approached me repeatedly (asking), ‘Can we get your wine?’ And I have to say no,” said OAW chair Craig MacMillan, who also owns his own vineyard near Alexandria.
Ontario vineyards that want to sell their wine in stores must pay a fee between 49 and 55 per cent to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). If the wine is certified by the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), the fee is reduced 20 per cent.
None of the wineries with the OAW are certified VQA because they use cold-weather grapes for their wine, despite growing everything locally.
“We’re growing what is suited to the environment that we live in,” said MacMillan.
“It’s 100 per cent Ontario wine. We’re only using grapes grown in Ontario, and for a number of us, we only use grapes that we grow at our vineyards.”
The OAW’s frustrations have been ongoing for a few years, but as wine has become more available to consumers in Ontario with liquor now available in convenience stores, they’ve reached a breaking point.
“What we want is access to local convenience stores, local restaurants and local LCBO’s. We’re not looking to take over the world,” MacMillan said.
In a statement to CTV News, Ontario’s Ministry of Finance says it “recently concluded a review of taxes, fees, and mark ups and is currently undertaking analysis on all the input to ensure a competitive and fair marketplace.”
For small wineries, tastings are their main source of revenue, but it isn’t very profitable until the summer. Having product on shelves year-round would be a game changer.
“Our problem is getting people in the Ottawa region to know that we actually exist,” said Deslandes. “That’s the recurring pattern that we see, people just don’t know we exist.”
