Monday, 14 July 2008
-
VQA Stores - My two cents
Recently the Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, said that he is open to ways to promote Ontario wineries better. This statement set the Ontario wine world on fire with buzz: change is coming in the way the LCBO is going to promote and even sell local wines. There has even been talk of high-end boutiques that will only sell VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) wines.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with VQA wines, the VQA is the governing body that promotes Ontario wineries and wines. To be considered a VQA wine, the wine must be made from 100% Ontario grapes from a list of approved varietals. These wines must be fermented, processed, and bottled in Ontario and pass strict quality control tests. VQA wines are labelled as such, and usually have the VQA symbol somewhere prominent on the bottle. The VQA has done a lot over the years to improve both the quality of wine produced in Ontario as well as improve the image of local wines to Canadians and non-Canadians alike.
Personally I think having a VQA boutique would be a fabulous idea. I'm a big proponent of local wines, and I think other Canadians need to be educated about how great Ontario wines really are... and I'm not just talking about ice wines. Yes, ice wines are great, but there is so much more to Ontario wines than dessert wines. Ontario produces great table wines, especially white wines like riesling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and gewurztraminer. I'd like to see more people get excited about Ontario wines, and a VQA boutique would do wonders for building a "VQA Wine" brand: something that says "quality", "premium", and "Canadian". Something we can be proud of... assuming, of course, that it is executed properly! I'd like to see something along the lines of Vintages, but only for VQA wines: well designed, classic shops that are nicely merchandised and staffed by knowledgeable product consultants that can both educate and assist the public.
Now all we can do is wait and see.
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Post a Comment
- Back to WineGeek's Xanga Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in WineGeek's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (3)
I certainly am open to Canadian wines!!
i think there's a lot of LCBOs that're pretty crap to begin with... they could really push them to educate the public more. the SAQ in Quebec has done pretty well with all their informative campaigns educating people about wine pairings and mixing and etc - at the same time, they haven't had to open any separately branded stores. they do have different types of stores like SAQ classique or SAQ express (sub-brands), and that helps distinguish what sort of collection each one would have.. i think the same could also be applied to LCBOs and keep the branding within the family
@sebastian86 - I agree. The LCBO has "Vintages", its premium wine and spirits arm. Vintages has some of the better quality VQA wines, but they are a small part of the overall offerings. Having a seperate boutique with limited locations, like in tourist areas of Toronto, Ottawa, and around Niagara Falls would allow the stores to showcase the best of the best and address the issue of limited quantity. (Since a lot of the wineries are small and their production is limited, they do not produce enough wine to distribute through the existing supply chain.)