Answering the Challenge

I was surprised that the name "Ontario Wine" was available here. That it was may reflect the challenge our wineries have in convincing Ontario residents that the wine made in our part of the world belongs on our tables. Our wines account for just over four of every ten bottles purchased in the Province. That compares to 9.5 of 10 in France, 9 of 10 in Italy and Australia, 8 of ten in the US. And this despite the value to our economy of $4.29 per litre from an Ontario bottle versus fifty six cents ($0.56) from an imported bottle.

Back in early July (2008) the Retail Council of Canada's e-newsletter carried a headline describing Premier McGuinty's call to Wine Secretariat Chairman (and Minister of Transport) James Bradley, to sell more Ontario wine in Ontario. I followed the link to a Toronto Star article that fleshed out the story and fired my curiosity. In the month or so since I've filled a binder with research material, visited Ontario's newest wine region (Prince Edward County) and corresponded with Minister Bradley's Chief of Staff and with Global TV's Sean Mallen, whose television program "Focus Ontario" did a feature on the subject the same week I saw the Star article. A transcript is available at the moment, in PDF form, here.

My interest is not entirely newborn. I made my career in the retail industry in Canada, thirty years in department and specialty store management. For the final 19 I was in the Ontario Wine industry, managing first the Wine Rack store chain (for Chateau Gai which became Vincor) and then the Kittling Ridge store group, all of whose locations I put into supermarkets, where they remain today. I have played some small role in the evolution of the industry from paper bag wines to International award winning vintages. I'd like to see Ontario wines taken up by more of my fellow Ontarians and I'd like to be a part of the challenge to make that happen. I discovered in the early days of my fascination with digital video that taking responsibility for an information channel creates some useful pressure to remain current, and over time stimulates contact and conversation with other folks who share the interest. So, let's see what we can do in our little part of the world wide web to answer Premier McGuinty's challenge, improve our economy and enjoy the fruits of our shared garden.