Stateways

StateWays Sept/Oct 2015

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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43 StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ September/October 2015 TequilaRose_2015RoseAd_Stateways_TP4C_V01.indd 1 8/31/15 1:42 PM Bike-riding along the Naramata Bench on the east shore of Okanagan Lake near Penticton, BC, a region known for its dramatic sand cliffs. PHOTO BY WINES OF BC (WINEBC.COM) CANADIAN WINES AT HOME OR ON THE ROAD? "The Canadian wine industry is still in its adolescent stage," says Donald Ziraldo of Ontario's Ziraldo Estate Wines, which specializes in superior icewines. As the co-founder of Inniskillin, the charismatic Ziraldo is to Canada as Robert Mondavi is to California: the inspira- tional leader and intellectual force behind the Canadian estate wine movement. "Converting skeptical gatekeepers abroad takes a lot of persistence in knocking on doors. Top independent vintners know that international recognition and export growth are the keys to long term success, but there's no question that it's simpler and cheaper to coast on Canadian demand." As a result, exports have not been a priority for most of the biggest players. "There is still a ton of opportunity domestically where the ma- jority of our focus lies for dry wines," says Ben Dollard, president of Constellation Brands Canada. Constellation's 2006 purchase of Vincor International made it the largest producer of Canadian wine, owners of some of the country's most prestigious brands like Inniskillin, Nk'Mip and Jackson-Triggs, as well as value brands sold only in Canada. But it's clear from Canada's national statistics that the tide is turn- ing. Canadian wine exports to the U.S. have quadrupled since 2010, including a 57% single year increase in sales in 2014 alone. This latest spike coincided with a dramatic jump in the value of the U.S. dollar that is making Canadian wines more affordable to Americans. It can be harder to spot the Canadian wine trend on this side of the

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