Sell wine! No, just Ontario wine!
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A politician from Ontario is taking a bold stand: he wants wine to have the honor of being sold at 7-eleven.
Kim Craitor, a Liberal member of the Ontario provincial parliament who represents Niagara Falls, introduced a private member’s bill to free wine sales from the iron grip of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).
Blending wine and provincial patriotism, Craitor doesn’t want just any wine sold in the 3,000 convenience stores in the province, only wine from Ontario. The CBC reports:
“The proposed legislation applies only to wine containing 100 per cent Ontario grapes, which means “it’s not blended, it’s not mixed with foreign grapes,” he says.”
The legislation has little chance of becoming law since it does not have the support of the provincial government. Maybe Craitor could persuade them to vote for it with the promise of more than just wines from Ontario.
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On April 4th, 2007 at 5:45 am ,Lisa Roskam wrote:
Oh my goodness… as a Canadian I am so embarassed. Canadians are indeed very patriotic about their fledgling wine industry. Every time I go home everyone in my extended family proudly serves us Canadian wines. Some of the whites are quite good, but I am also subjected to mediocre and worse Ontario Cabernet francs, and other varietals completely inappropriate for the climate.
I wish Canadian consumers and would work more on encouraging the higher quality local wines rather than indescrimately supporting the industry by blind chauvinism. The final results would not only be better for our international reputation but also for our domestic market.
On April 4th, 2007 at 6:34 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Well said, Lisa! Don’t be too embarrassed–we have our share of kooky, patriotic politicians in America too.
On April 4th, 2007 at 11:50 am ,Marcus wrote:
I don’t see why it is the responsibility of this proposed bill to acquaint drinkers with that which pleases a finer palate. On top of that there is the question of how. Demanding some kind of quality control when the wines in this discussion are already meeting VQA requirements puzzles me. I think it’s a classic case of forcing a measure to be all things to all people. Calling the MPP kooky is one thing, but I do expect my members of parliament to be patriotic. If they are not, then where lies the allegiance?
I think Craitor’s serving his constituents well with this bill. He is aiming for tourists who are motoring around the Ontario’s wine regions. By expanding the legal areas of sale for this local product, he is offering it a favourable and sustainable conditions. However because the local product is alcohol it’s within the constraints of a state-run liquor monopoly. I think it’s a very admirable move given that landscape.
If you put aside people’s concern with sales to minors, the bill makes everyone happy at a basic level. Base-level wine may not please the connoisseur. That does not diminish the local economic interests of this bill.
By the way, the point about quality made by Lisa rang true with me. But let’s not forget that everyone everywhere could encourage higher quality wines in their midst. After all it ultimately has little to do with law. Just fork out a little more cash than you are used to, but then that is always easier said than done. (One case in point is this spectacular but pricey Cabernet Franc from Ontario — I don’t see it selling from convenience stores.