LCBO strike intensifies
As I discussed last week, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) controls liquor, beer and wine sales in the province. Last Friday, 9,000 of their employees, belonging to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), walked out when negotiations between the OPSEU and the government of Ontario broke down. The main sticking point was that employees would like ready-to-drink cocktails to be exclusively sold at LCBO retail stores rather than be available at all licensed retailers – namely grocery stores and convenience outlets as is planned for later this summer.
The strike has resulted in the closure of 669 LCBO retail locations. The LCBO has been offering online sales with free home delivery but has experienced challenges – the online platform has seen demand outstrip supply at least once in the last week and the most frequently ordered items often show up as out of stock. On Monday 8 July the Ontario government launched a map of all non-LCBO retailers to help aid consumers with purchasing.
This week the news intensified. The LCBO had planned to reopen five distribution centres to make sure that restaurants, bars and other licensed alcohol retailers were able to continue to stock their shelves. The union has successfully picketed those locations and delayed the trucks responsible for restocking warehouses. The ability of restaurants, bars and convenience outlets to restock is currently uncertain.
To all the Ontario wine enthusiasts, I would like to ask you to please share your favourite local wineries in the comments and on our forum to help your neighbours with recommendations on who to direct-order from! We also have nearly 600 tasting notes for Ontario wines in our database.
Will spirits overtake wine?
It hasn’t officially happened yet but, according to a report released last week by World Spirits Alliance, ‘should current trends in both categories continue, spirits volumes will soon surpass those of wine.’ The report cites 2022 figures that show that 9.9% of total beverage alcohol sales by volume were spirits, with 10.4% being wine. In the last two years spirits sales have grown by volume while wine sales have shrunk. Spirits sales by value are more than double those of wine, with spirits representing 40% of total beverage alcohol sales by value compared with wine’s 17.6%.
What I would like to know is how, in an increasingly health-conscious world, the most industrial, siloed and nutritionally barren alcoholic product is increasing its market share?
About those wine capsules …
According to Future Market Insights, the wine-capsule market is projected to grow 5.2% in the next 10 years – spurred along by the demand for premium wine finished with tin or aluminium capsule.
It is crazy to me that while wine sales are in decline, the demand for wine capsules is increasing.
Capsules, for those of you who don’t know, were originally made of lead and were meant to keep cork weevils and rodents from gnawing on wine corks. These days most wine is (a) not bottle-aged prior to release and (b) not stored prior to drinking. In essence, there are very few wines that need capsules … which makes this growth even more confusing.
Fires in California
For the last week the entire US West Coast has seen a massive heatwave. As a result of the spiking temperatures and dry vegetation, a number of wildfires have taken hold. The largest, Santa Barbara’s Lake Fire, has burned more than 34,000 acres (over 13,700 ha) and directly threatens a number of wineries. More than 2,000 people have been evacuated. Thus far there have been six damaged structures but no fatalities.
Hail in Bordeaux
Meanwhile, yesterday, 11 July, Bordeaux was hit by a third bout of hail in as many months. On 5 May 500 ha/1,236 acres in the Dordogne were affected. On 18 June a major hailstorm damaged more than 1,900 ha (4,695 acres) in the Médoc as well as damaging vineyards in the communes surrounding Libourne. Yesterday’s storm damaged vineyards in Entre-deux-Mers, Fronsac, Côtes de Duras, and southern Bergerac. The extent of damage is still being evaluated but a representative of the Fronsac Wine Council estimated that 70–80% of the area’s vineyards were damaged. I can only imagine how disheartening this has been to growers in Bordeaux.
Grubbing up vineyards in the EU
French publication Vitisphere has reported that France, Italy and Spain are united in requesting governments make funds available for grubbing up vineyard land – even if only temporarily. France’s FranceAgriMer has drawn up a map, released on 11 July, of 22,195 ha (54,845 acres) that French growers have said they will pull if provided government subsidies. Most of the vineyard land on this map lies in the Languedoc, Bordeaux, the Rhône Valley, Provence and South-West France.
‘Come Over October’ campaign
On 9 July, Come Together – A Community for Wine Inc – an organisation created by wine writer Karen MacNeil and two public relations companies, Charles Communications Associates and Colangelo & Partners – hosted a press conference for their ‘Come Over October’ campaign. The campaign advocates for wine consumers to invite friends, colleagues and neighbours over during the month of October to share wine and spend time together. MacNeil said during the press conference that the movement was originally conceived of as a response to Dry January and Sober October – the latter of which she sees as promoting a binary between either being a non-drinker or an over-consumer as opposed to promoting any message of moderation. The goal of Come Over October is to recognise wine as a communal beverage with a role in bringing people together. The organisation is encouraging wineries and individuals to host events and is providing educational resources and tools and tips for entertaining on their website. They plan to launch a global event of some sort later this year.
This is a transcript of our weekly five-minute news broadcast, which you can watch below. You can also listen to it on The Wine News in 5 Podcast. If you have breaking news in your area, please email news@jancisrobinson.com. And if you enjoy this content and would like to see more like it, please subscribe to our site and our weekly newsletter.
Photo of hail at top by Luis Diaz Devesa via Getty Images.
