Buyer’s Guide to Vintages July 6th Release

The Hail Mary Strike!

By David Lawrason with notes from John Szabo, Michael Godel, Sara d’Amato, Megha Jandhyala

We are forging ahead with our review of the large July 6 Vintages release, which thanks to the LCBO strike, you can only order on-line, and wait two or three days for delivery. On July 19, if the strike is not settled, a few stores will be open on a limited weekend schedule. We also direct your attention to a recently published article by our John Szabo on the world’s first Volcanic Wine Awards that he convened in New York this summer (more below).

And now to the strike. The media — social and otherwise — has been full of piecemeal reporting and commentary about the first LCBO strike in the almost 100-year history of the organization. Some of the commentary is fallacy and misrepresentation, whether intended or not. But it does reflect the multiple viewpoints, agendas and axes being ground around a very complex issue.

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So, I am going to join the fray and stake my claim as a wine lover, writing for other wine lovers. I don’t care as much about the labour, social and financial issues. But I can, as a fine wine-oriented observer of long standing, speak up for my constituents, and provide some historical context.

To be clear, this strike is OPSEU’s Hail Mary — a desperate attempt to get Doug “Floppo” Ford to change his mind about the on-rushing liberalization of alcohol retailing. He did it on the Greenbelt, right?   

But it won’t happen this time because the privatization concept has deep roots, and the first move came in 2015 with limited supermarket sales. It was about to bust wide open in the April 2020 budget after a long government review of the system, but COVID intervened. Still, it accelerated during COVID when licensees were allowed to sell out the door and were granted a lower wholesale price. By the end of COVID some of these entities had morphed into so-called bottle shops. On Sept 5 this year, convenience stores will begin to sell beer, wine and ready to drink alcohol beverages (3,000 applications to date). And as of November 1, the field will blow wide open with big box stores, like Costco and Walmart, able to join in.

So yes, the LCBO unionized workers have every reason to fear for their job security, just like the rest of us living and working in these rapidly changing and scary times. But they have lived within the safety of the unionized monopoly bubble for so long that they have grown to feel entitled to their jobs forever. To justify this, they preach all the ills of privatization, posturing as Ontario’s guardian angels.  

Back to the history lesson. One of the most half-assed ideas out there now — often cited by the union — is that liberalization is a new idea hatched by Premier Ford to benefit his “cronies.” Which is typical NDP suds. In fact, serious study of the concept goes back more than 30 years, ever since Alberta privatized in 1993. I remember Liberal premier David Peterson campaigning on the idea, only shelving it when he ended up with a minority government and backed off in a deal to garner NDP support.

At that time, I was writing about wine for The Globe and Mail and arguing for privatization — as I have all my adult life. I was invited by then LCBO CEO Andy Brandt to share my views at an LCBO corporate retreat at a resort near Barrie, which I did, arguing that the monopoly system was severely restricting consumer choice and convenience around fine wine in particular, while choking wine commerce in the province and embarrassing Ontario on the global wine stage. The smattering of applause for my presentation was short-lived.  

I was followed on stage by a much fierier speech by former OPSEU head Smokey Thomas, who vowed that every cent the union could muster would go into advertising campaigns to sway public opinion to fight privatization from that moment on. And fighting they are.

Another frustrating media misinterpretation of the current situation is that this is only about convenience stores. They are certainly high profile and widespread, but they are really just the tug boats steering the ship into open and perhaps even more stormy waters. This option will certainly address the issue of convenience, but most wine fans, myself included, will not be shopping at these stores for wine. When the strike began on July 5, I was at a funeral in Quebec and was able to check out the rather dismal selection in convenience stores, gas stations and dépanneur stores there.

Things will really get interesting when the big box stores and virtually every supermarket and grocery store starts to carry wine and beer. The selection will widen dramatically, and be geared to the demographics of particular neighbourhoods. Quality and quantity will increase, as will price competition.  Ontario will begin to feel like almost every other jurisdiction in North America and Europe.

And lest we forget the bottle shops (and 19,000 restaurants able to sell off-premise). I have not heard one mass media story mention that these essentially private wine shops already exist, and that they have a large, alternative, interesting and sometimes eclectic selection being purchased directly from importing agents and Ontario wineries. They have sprouted impressively since COVID, although largely concentrated in downtown Toronto’s neighbourhoods. There is a website called bottleshopTO.com  that lists over 50 in operation as we speak. They will continue to proliferate as restaurants look for new ways to make a go in tough times. (Welcome the Local Bottle Shop in Innisfil). This strike will fuel their growth.

So, what is the fate of LCBO workers? They will go back to work — don’t ask me when, on what terms, or for how long.  But it just doesn’t add up that the province can quadruple retail outlets in the years ahead without the LCBO’s retail role and those jobs dwindling. There will be a noisy transition period over a couple of years. If I were an LCBO employee who actually enjoys the wine business I would be looking around for other options.

And geez, they might even help grow a high-quality, privatized industry that creates even more jobs and tax revenues. I have no doubt a privatized, greatly expanded retail system will deliver far more revenue to the government than is being delivered now, without the tremendous overhead of running 600 unionized stores. Other jurisdictions in Canada and abroad have been operating thusly for years, delivering higher per-capita returns to their taxpayers than the LCBO.

So on to our review of the July 6 Vintages release, arranged in ascending price order within style groupings.

Buyer’s Guide July 6: Whites

Abcdarium Azal Branco 2022, Vinho Verde, Portugal
$16.95, LOUIS CHARLES AGENCY

Michael Godel – From winemaker/oenologist António Sousa’s personal label and a vineyard planted in 2003, in Amarante. Sousa is an avesso specialist but never averse to other A’s, as here with azal that also works wonders from Vinho Verde.

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The World’s First Volcanic Wine Awards

This past May, John Szabo, who is a co-founder of Volcanic Wines International (VWI), collaborated with Wine & Spirits Magazine on the world’s first Volcanic Wine Awards, set to be an annual competition to recognize the top wines from volcanic wine regions around the world. After the tasting in New York City, John remarked on how fascinating it was to observe the panelists, who were not necessarily experts in volcanic wines specifically but all highly experienced tasters, converge on common ground of what constituted the most “volcanic” expressions in each flight. Click here for results, open to all, as well as reviews of the seven Chairman’s Award winners — the best of the best.

And that’s a wrap for this edition. The next Vintages release July 20 is scheduled as on online and Flagship Store release, and chances are the Flagship Stores will be open on weekends at that point. Sara and I will be at the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration in Niagara, and we hope to see you there.

Use these quick links for access to all of our Top Picks in the New Release. Non-Premium members can select from all release dates 30 days prior.
Lawrason’s Take
Michael’s Mix
Megha’s Picks
Sara’s Selections
Szabo’s Smart Buys

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