Grocery stores will be allowed to sell BC wine on shelves alongside food
Posted December 19, 2014 10:32 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – You’ll be able to pick out your wine right next to the cheese and crackers in the grocery store starting in April — but only if it’s BC wine.
The “wine on shelves” model is in addition to the liquor “store within a store” that’s already been announced.
Myles Prodan is the president of the BC Wine Institute and is applauding the move.
“It’s something we’ve been talking to government about for some time: increased access to consumers. And it looks like it’s going to be a reality for consumers here, April 1st 2015,” he tells us.
But Jeff Guignard, who speaks for BC’s private stores, says this experiment failed in Washington State.
“It increased prices… decreased selection. A couple of large wineries made deals with large corporations to flood the market with their wine. And… little neighbourhood shops had to close. So, that’s why they had to reverse it,” says Guignard.
“This is a way of getting around a licencing system, in some ways,” he argues. “It starts off with BC wine, then becomes BC beer, then becomes BC spirits. And then the private industry ends up kind of being decimated.”
The province did not talk about the controversy around its new price and tax structure for wine, which critics say will make bottles $20 and above more expensive.
In the “store within a store” model, wine from anywhere in the world, as well as beer and spirits, will be sold.
Wine producers in this province may be celebrating, but what about the exploding craft beer industry?
Ken Beattie with the BC Craft Brewers Guild thinks there are some positives in today’s announcement when it comes to licencing and consumer access, however …
“Certainly, the one miss, is we’re not going to be on shelves right on April 1st, but that being said, we;ve also been working with the government to define what is BC craft beer, it’s not as simple as the wine.”
He says that’s because some ingredients for craft beer must be imported.
But he is hoping to work out a deal with the province to get BC beer next to wine on grocery shelves in the not-too-distant future.
