Punishing U.S. wine isn’t enough to help B.C. wineries, says Summerland winery owner

A Summerland winery owner says the collapse of Canada-U.S. trade talks should be an opportunity to put more Canadian wine on B.C. liquor-store shelves.

Ron Kubek of Lightning Rock Winery says he supports Ottawa’s decision to reject a deal that would not be in Canada’s national interest.

But he says removing American wine means little for Canadian producers if the space is simply filled with wine from other countries.

“Taking American wine off the shelf is only half a policy,” Kubek said. “If BCLS fills that space with wine from every other country, as it has, except the United States, it has not created an opportunity for Canadian wineries or the Canadian economy.”

Wine Growers Canada says Canadian wine accounts for about 30 per cent of domestic wine sales by value. Its goal is to increase that to 51 per cent over the next 10 to 15 years.

Kubek says shifting more sales to Canadian wine would support wineries, grape growers, tourism, restaurants, transportation and other businesses.

He says he recently visited BCLIQUOR stores in Penticton and Summerland and found imported wine continued to dominate the shelves. The Summerland store carried wine from three Summerland wineries, he said.

Kubek also says Lightning Rock has not received a new BCLS purchase order since 2024.

He says private liquor stores, restaurants and agents supported the winery during the Bald Range wildfire while its tasting room was closed, but he did not see comparable support from BCLS.

“BCLIQUOR is one of the largest alcohol buyers in the world,” Kubek said. “If it cannot use even part of this moment to help Canadians discover Canadian wine, then ‘Buy Canadian’ is just a slogan.”

The trade dispute could also affect wineries that rely on American grapes, juice or bulk wine.

Kubek says the province’s temporary allowance for imported grapes was a one-time measure following the devastating January 2024 freeze and is no longer an open-ended arrangement.

Canada has announced new retaliatory tariffs beginning Sept. 8. Kubek says it is not yet clear whether fresh grapes, grape juice or bulk wine will be included.

He says tariffs on those products could significantly affect wineries that rely on U.S. inputs.

Kubek says he would welcome American wine back on B.C. shelves if the U.S. removes its tariffs on Canadian wine and reaches a fair resolution on other Canadian exports.

“We can compete with American wineries,” he said. “What we cannot compete with is our own provincial liquor system telling consumers to buy Canadian while failing to buy Canadian wine itself.”