Travels across Canada this fall with the Gold Medal Plates Olympics fundraising program have confirmed that we are several nations when it comes to retailing of wine. And I just can’t believe that Canadians are so different in their needs and tastes to warrant such varied and arbitrary treatment. Nor that we should be restricted from shipping and buying wine across provincial boundaries, which is a real detriment to showcasing Canada’s best wines coast to coast.
Government retailing authorities still exist in all provinces except Alberta, but private retails of imported wine now co-exist in five of Canada’s ten provinces (BC, AB, MB, QC, NS).
My most recent sojourn was to Newfoundland, where the government still runs a liquor and wine monopoly, but where there is obviously some forward thinking. Two thirds of the stores are actually privately run agency stores dictated to sell core Newfoundland Liquor Commission (NLC) listings, but they also have some flexibility to list some wines selected outside the central buying program; just enough of a window to make them responsive to local community needs.
I visited the flagship NLC store in St. John’s, an outlet responsible for over 15% of the sales in the province. It is almost as large as the largest in Toronto. It’s bright and clean if a bit sterile, with a wine selection rivalling the best in the country. And it is located – like most new NLC stores – adjacent to a large supermarket. Makes perfect sense to me, but inside the supermarket would be better.
In-store shelving is logical and helpful. Within will signed regional sections, all wines regardless of price and stock levels are displayed side by side (as is also done in B.C.), so that consumers know where they are buying along the price/quality curve. The least expensive wines tend to be on lower shelves, more expensive higher up at eye-level, to promote up-selling.
Also, as in B.C., there is no separate “specialty” or “Vintages” area, nor bi-monthly releases of new products. Brands ebb and flow with those that sell better likely to be re-purchased. Some very expensive wines are behind glass within the rare wine area at the back of the store. I was most impressed here to see vertical collections of some of top wines.
The niftiest thing in the store is a self-serve “vinomatic” that dispenses sample tastings of about 20 different wines. You purchase a card, insert it in the machine, then press a button for the wine you want to taste. I put it through its paces tasting six wines, of which two showed oxidation despite being under gas (confirming my mistrust in these machines). I was told the selection is changed every five days.
My visit to St. John’s was not long enough for more in-depth study of the system, but the wine climate seems invigorated. One local wine agent reported that the annual four-day wine festival in October drew capacity crowds.
Filed under: News, David Lawrason, NLC
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