Sales of VQA wines up nearly 12%

A strong 2006 grape harvest, a bigger sales push and a consumer preference for higher-priced wines helped drive sales of Vintners Quality Alliance wines at the province's liquor stores, an LCBO spokesman says.

Sales of 100 per cent Ontario wine rose 11.8 per cent to $58.9 million in the 2007-08 fiscal year, up from $52.7 million in 2006-07.

Nearly one of every four bottles of Ontario wines sold at the LCBO were labelled VQA. The remainder were Cellared in Canada brands, which is a blend of local and imported wines. Overall, Ontario wine sales were $286.1 million in 2007-08, up from $269.4 million.

LCBO spokesman Chris Layton said much of the improvement stemmed from having more VQA wines from Niagara and other parts of Ontario to sell.
A short crop in 2005 left many vintners scrambling for local grapes and left a dearth of 100 per cent Ontario wines on LCBO shelves.

LCBO sales top $4 billion; 2 million challenged in fiscal 2007-08

Highlights of the year include:

- VINTAGES products were up more than 13 per cent to $300 million.
- Beer and ready-to-drink products were up eight per cent to $990 million.
- Ontario craft beers rose 37 per cent, and the Cocktails to Go segment was up 35.3 per cent.
- Wine sales rose almost six per cent to $1.41 billion - Ontario VQA table wine sales were up 11.8 per cent while total sales from Ontario wineries were up 6.2 per cent; imported wines were up 5.9 per cent.
- Red wines were up 6.6 per cent, whites up 6.4 per cent.
- Wines priced $15-$20 topped all price bands in growth, up
19.3 per cent.
- Vodka led all major spirits segments, up nine per cent. (On a smaller base, Tequila rose 12.3 per cent).
- LCBO gift card sales were up 20.7 per cent.
- LCBO opened five new stores and upgraded 12 stores in 2007-08 to expand product selection.