More than 300 wineries in B.C. can once again ship wine directly to consumers in Alberta under a new agreement effective immediately.
But the agreement announced Tuesday by B.C. Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is temporary and some key details still need to be worked out.
Alberta informed B.C. wineries in January that they would have to stop selling their wines directly to Albertans or see their products removed from liquor store shelves. Alberta claimed B.C. wineries were using direct sales to escape taxation, a charge the B.C. wine industry rejected, noting that wineries would be more than happy to pay the necessary taxes if a mechanism existed.
Eby said the agreement is great news for the provincial wine industry, which has been dealing with the economic effects of wild temperature swings during the past years.
“Today’s agreement ends the temporary ban on direct sales to customers in Alberta and that’s a win for B.C.’s grape growers and wineries, as well as a win for Albertans who have excellent taste in wine,” he said.
Appropriately, Eby marked the occasion by presenting Smith with a bottle of Rose from an Okanagan winery.
Miles Prodan, president and chief executive officer of B.C Wine, said Alberta’s move has hurt the industry. While direct sales account for only one to three per cent of B.C. wine sales into Alberta, they help maintain direct contacts to buyers and encourage regular visits to wineries in B.C., he added.
“The timing could not better given that it is now right in the heart of wine tourism here in B.C., in which Alberta plays a big part in that,” Prodan said.
While details of the deal are still emerging, its central aspect amounts to what is a quid pro quo.
Smith said it allows wineries in each province to sell directly to consumers.
“This means more consumer choice, more market access for businesses, more prosperity for Albertans and British Columbians.”
Alberta has about 16 wineries — a far cry from the 350 grape wineries in B.C., most of them in the Okanagan.
The agreement will only last for one year. Officials still need to work out the logistics when it comes to collecting a direct sales fee wineries from either side of the Rockies will have to pay. Each province must also develop a system to prevent minors from purchasing alcohol through direct sales.
“So we are going to create a virtual warehouse to make sure that those fees are collected…and we are going to work to see if we can also find ways to expand the offerings in both provinces,” Smith said.
Prodan said it remains to be seen how much certainty this one-year-deal gives the industry and acknowledged that the “devil is always in the details.”
But he reiterated previous comments that the industry has always been more willing to pay its fair share of taxes to Alberta, which never replied to industry’s offer.
“So we consider this (agreement) to be a good indicator that there will be a process in place where we can remit the appropriate taxes and keep everyone happy,” he said. “Consumers can get the wine and we can continue to make the wine and the appropriate regimes can collect their tax.”
Smith said a lot of Albertans like B.C. wine.
“So we were hearing that they wanted a solution,” she said. “We also heard directly from the vineyards, who are really struggling, especially with some of the weather issues that they face,” she said.
Smith said the issue was ultimately making that all the products coming into Alberta receive fair and equal treatment.
“If you are going to be selling into our market, you’d have to be treated the same way as every other person who is buying it (B.C. wine) through a liquor store,” she said. “But that is going to be one of the issues that are addressed (in this agreement) and to make the best effort to try to get our products flowing the other way as well, so that we have more options for consumers in both markets.”
Smith said Alberta does not have the same “robust offerings” of wines as B.C., adding producers in Alberta focus on items like mead and craft beers.
“But we do have a growing wine industry and that’s where we’re looking to be able to hopefully have some kind of parity.”
Eby for his part joked that wearing an Edmonton Oilers’ jersey did not hurt the cause — he had lost a bet to Smith as part of the Oilers’ playoff victory over the Vancouver Canucks — but also pointed to the advocacy work Okanagan-area MLAs Harwinder Sandhu (Vernon-Monashee) and Roly Russell (Boundary-Similkameen) did to get the deal across the finish line.
Russell, whose riding includes multiple wineries, called the agreement great news for both producers and consumers.
“Our wine sector underpins so much more of the Okanagan economy as it contributes to our tourism, hospitality industry, fruit harvesting, food security and our leadership in our made-in-B.C. agricultural industry,” he said. We will continue to work to support B.C. wineries and grape growers.”
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