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14 WINES&VINES July 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS TA K E A L O O K AT O U R N E W W E B S I T E T O F I N D O U T W H AT M A K E S U S D I F F E R E N T w w w . g w k e n t . c o m T he threat of World Trade Organization (WTO) intervention shows that three years of criticism and even a change in government has failed to dampen British Co- lumbia's resolve in allowing only its own wine to be sold in grocery stores. U.S. Trade Repre- sentative Robert Lighthizer made good on those threats May 25 with a formal request to the WTO for a dispute settlement panel after formal complaints and consultations with Canada last year failed to resolve the issue. Argentina, Chile, Australia and Europe support the U.S. challenge, meaning the B.C. industry faces a world of opposition. The plans, first announced in December 2014, called for allowing only wines made en- tirely from B.C. grapes and bearing the BC Vint- ners Quality Alliance (BC VQA) designation to be sold in the province's food outlets. Other wines would be sold via a store-in-store model requiring a separate check-out. This drew sharp criticism from California's Wine Institute. Tom LaFaille, then vice-president and inter- national trade counsel with the Wine Institute, took issue with the provisions in a letter to the province's premier of the day, Premier Christy Clark, asking "the initiative be withdrawn or modified to allow for equal access of all wines at B.C. grocery stores." David Eby, who oversaw liquor policy for the party and now serves as the province's attorney general, initiated a review of provincial liquor laws in late 2017. Results of the review have not been made public. Provincial trade minister Bruce Ralston doubled down on supporting wine sales in grocery stores, upholding the previous govern- ment's line that the North American Free Trade Agreement allows some private wine outlets to sell only B.C. wine. Miles Prodan, president and CEO of the B.C. Wine Institute, expressed confusion over the ongoing U.S. concerns, but said he plans to be proactive in working with all levels of government and addressing con- cerns across all trade issues. Prodan and others, including Bert Hick, principal of liquor license consultancy Rising Tide Consultants Ltd. in Vancouver, say allow- ing grocery store sales to sell whatever wines they want would damage the B.C. industry because listings would tend to be from high- volume wineries selling more affordable bot- tles. "If the decision is, as a result of this, that imported products have to be there as well, it's very difficult for the B.C. wine industry to com- pete with the likes of Gallo," Hick said. Hick doesn't feel the previous government's approach to creating space for wine in super- markets was the right one, but it's tough for government to backtrack now given the number of licenses it has issued and the millions of dol- lars retailers have spent to establish the channel. The result could be a dramatic reshaping of wine retailing in B.C., which currently occurs through government stores, private liquor stores, private wine stores, stores licensed to sell BC VQA wines, winery stores as well as the wineries themselves, and now grocery stores. —Peter Mitham B.C. Resolute in U.S. Wine Trade Spat Unlike this New Brunswick supermarket, most British Columbia grocers can't sell foreign wines alongside domestic product.