Allison McNeely
Allison McNeely is the web editor of Wine Access. Her work has appeared on websites, blogs and in print. She loves running and is the magazine's resident web nerd.
Canadians want value wine, not trophy wine
Canadian vintners are changing production in response to demand for value wines
Canadian wineries are going to be offering consumers more value-priced wines in response to lower demand for "trophy wines."
According to the Vancouver Sun, the presidents of Andrew Peller, Ltd., CedarCreek Estate Winery and Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery agreed that the 2008-2009 recession changed the drinking habits of Canadians. Between 2005 and 2007, people loved to brag about the price they paid for a trophy wine — now they like to brag about their steal of a wine at $20.
The change in demand has caused wineries to alter their production. For example, CedarCreek now only offers two ranges of wine, instead of three. CedarCreek president Gordon Fitzpatrick says that this change has resulted in Canadians getting better wines for less.
Producers are turning to the export market, particularly China, to boost their sales. They are also investing in new technology and focusing more energy on marketing their lower price wines.
A BMO report released this summer found that Canadian wine sales account for only a third of the total wine sales in Canada. The report recommended that Canadian producers focus on increasing their market share domestically and abroad.
Fitzpatrick says that it is hard for Canadian wineries to compete with the scale of industry giants such as Australia. As a result, the average prices of a Canadian bottle is slightly higher ($17 for B.C. VQA), but the value is superior.
When it comes to Canadian wine, are you prepared to pay more?
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Comments
Anonymous
Nope, I would not pay more. BC wines should be better than they are, especially the reds. There is much better value from Australia, Chile, Argentina, Italy, Spain, France, Italy AND Portugal in the under$25/bottle market to want to buy a $35 BC Syrah that tastes like green pepper.
Too many wineries are making consumer driven wines out of grapes that simply do not do well in a cold climate system like the Okanagan. The growing season is just too short.
BC wineries should market and brand varietals that are suited to their land. It's silly to try to make a Cote Rotie style wine in a climate that's more similar to northern Germany than southern France.
However, the whites of BC are fabulous and there is value to be found.
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