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Ontario wineries concerned about possibility of ‘no name’ and ‘Compliments’ wine coming to grocery stores

Starting Aug. 1, consumers in Ontario will be able to purchase beer, wine and other alcohol at participating convenience, grocery and big box stores. But, will you be able to buy ‘no name’ brand wine in a grocery store? The government says not now, but that could change.
The province says the sale of private label alcohol in grocery and convenience stores will be prohibited until at least 2026, but they did say they are consulting on the matter.
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Ontario wineries say the private brands are not good for business.
Norman Beal from Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery says it’s about time consumers have the option to buy wine at their local grocery store, but having a private label wine or a grocery store brand like a ‘no name’ wine is not the answer.
“This particular issue around private label brands can be potentially very risky for small and medium size VQA 100 per cent Ontario grape users and producers. It could be very very problematic for us because frankly many of us can’t produce large volumes that the private label winery run groceries will be lucky to supply and it will be probably lower prices than we can afford to grow them here in Ontario,” Beal said.
A private label brand could mean the brand is owned by the grocer and sold a lower price therefore competing with local wineries. The Grape Growers of Ontario say they don’t support private labels.
Kevin Watson, vice chair at Grape Growers of Ontario said, “Absolutely would hurt us well, because we want to sell our own wine right? There’s no question that we put a lot of time and effort into growing our grapes and making premium Ontario wine…”
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The government told CHCH News it will continue to prohibit the sale of private labels but will consult with other market participants on the issue, including considering the appropriate guardrails if the government introduces private label products no sooner than 2026.
“More options I think are good for the consumer. We just wanna make sure that these protections you know proper protections to protect our own domestic industry right now Niagara is a huge supporter of economic growth,” Beal said.