Happy holidays for VQA wines
It is a holiday bright spot for Niagara during these troubling economic times.
Sales of Vintners Quality Alliance wines, made of 100 per cent Ontario grapes, have been on the rise at LCBO stores in recent weeks.
In the lead-up to the holiday liquor surge, sales of VQA wines between Nov. 9 to Dec. 6 were 13 per cent higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, the amount spent on imported wine dropped by one per cent.
There was a time when imported wine sales outpaced Ontario sales, said Chris Layton, spokesman for the LCBO.
Layton said the spike could signal that people want to support local products as the economy slumps.
“I think, I can’t quantify this, but maybe what we are seeing is that people feel that they are showing some support for the local economy by putting their dollars behind Ontario VQA wines,” Layton said.
Adine Fabiani, VQA brand manager for Peller Estates, Hillebrand and Trius, agreed support for local wines is on the rise.
Locally sourced wines, made under the Andrew Peller Ltd. company umbrella, has noticed “double digit growth” in November, Fabiani said.
She credited a fantastic 2007 vintage that is now on shelves, a strong brand, and a groundswell of support for Ontario wines.
“With regard to the success of VQA overall (not just within our company but the entire category) we do believe the local message is finally hitting home,” Fabiani said in an e-mail.
“In these times, people choose to keep their spending within the local economy, supporting not only local brands but the growers we work so closely with, protecting their livelihood as well.”
It’s not all good news.
Sales of champagne, sparkling wines and icewine have dropped, including Ontario brands.
Champagne sales between April 1 to Dec. 6 are down 6.6 per cent for 2008 and icewine dropped 8.2 per cent, continuing a trend of years of decline, Layton said.
Sparking wine dropped by 0.1 per cent.
Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Inniskillin Wines, a huge icewine producer, is holding its own but sales have slightly weakened, said Scott Starra, marketing director for the winery.
Depending on the harvest, up to 40 per cent of the winery’s sales come from icewine.
Starra said the weakening economy is taking a bite out of the sales of luxury goods, and that includes more expensive wines.
“But the biggest selling days are yet to come,” Starra said recently.
Peter Bodnar Rod, director of sales, marketing and hospitality at 13th Street Winery, said customers are still coming in but some are spending a little less.
The Jordan Station winery makes a variety of wines, including sparkling wine.
“We’re certainly feeling the pinch. People are still coming in and maybe spending a little less than they would normally,” Bodnar Rod said last week.
“Maybe they would have left with a couple of cases in the past and this year they’re buying eight to 10 bottles or they’re downgrading the quality of wine they go for a little bit.”