Uncertainty from U.S. trade war, booze ban leaves Beamsville winemaker in the red

As the trade war between Canada and the U.S. drags on, and a week after U.S. President Donald Trump’s absolute ban on Canadian alcohol imports took effect, a Beamsville winemaker outlines his struggles.

He says the uncertainty of the trade war and their booze ban have put his already struggling business in the red.

“My grandmother and grandfather on Maple Grove Road here in Beamsville,” said John Kocsis, the owner of Atlantis Niagara Wines.

Kocsis comes from a family of farmers and winemakers.

“This is the first farm we bought in Beamsville, in 1965,” said Kocsis.

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He has carried on the craft since then, opening Atlantic Niagara Wines in 2018, but the doors are about to close.

“The only thing that will keep us in business right now is a miracle,” said Kocsis. “You feel like a failure.”

Koscis says when the winery opened business was good, but then the pandemic hit.

“That literally shut us down,” said Koscis.

They got through that, but then just as they were finding their footing years later, tariffs.

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“It shocked everybody,” said Koscis. “There were all kinds of horror stories about going across, buying something, and getting nailed with a tariff that’s worth two or three times worth more than the product you were bringing back.”

Business plummeted, especially since Koscic’s winery relies on tourism.

“We are strictly a tourist winery, so we don’t sell to LCBO or to restaurants,” said Koscis.

The absolute ban on Canadian alcohol imports last week put Koscic in an impossible situation.

“We are so far in debt and not being able to generate any cash, within the next several months, we could be shut down,” said Koscis.

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One expert says that a business’s proximity to the U.S. can have a major impact on how they’re being affected by this ongoing trade war and they say the Niagara region and its businesses are one of the most being impacted.

“Geography is fundamental to this, it matters to the business and what markets they’re reaching,” said Tara Vinodrai, professor with the Institute for Management and Innovation at the University of Toronto. “A place like Niagara, connections to the U.S. markets, both from a tourism perspective, also from an export perspective, matter a lot.”

Koscic says he will keep fighting, and hopes Canadians support each other during this economic uncertainty.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on in the world,” said Kocsis. “The whole thing seems crazy, but if you’re gonna support anybody right now, it should be your own.”

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