Craig S. MacMillan is getting tired of not being able to sell his wine in the local restaurants and other licensed establishments.  Now he wants North Glengarry council to go to bat for him to help change the lass that would allow him to do so. Mr. MacMillan, owner of Stonehouse Vineyard is effectively barred from selling his wines in restaurants because his establishment does not belong to the Vintner Quality Alliance (VQA).  Non-VQA vineyards are taxed at a much higher rate than VQA producers.  

At the Nov. 28 North Glengarry council meeting, he revealed that is a $20 bottle of VQA wine is delivered to a licensee, the winery will collect 80 per cent of the revenue while the revenue while provincial fees are only 14 per cent.  That same bottle of wine coming form a non-VQA winery will carry 42 per cent in provincial fees; only 52 per goes to the winery.

“When selling 100% Ontario wine directly to a licensee, teh non-VQA winery received 28 per cent less revenue and pays 28 per cent more in provincial charges, with is a serious disadvantage and unsustainable,” said Mr. MacMillan, who added that the reason for teh disparity is that non-VQA wines are subject to LCBO markups and wine levies.

He also said that a number of local licensees have approached him about selling his wine but that he had to turn them down because it wouldn’t make financial sense for him to do so.

Mr. MacMillan chairs the Ontario Artisan wineries, an organization that was incorporated the spring and represents artisan non-via wineries across that province.

“Due to the punitive charges imposed by the LCBO, Ontario Artisan wineries cannot sell 100 per cent Ontario wine to local licensees such as restaurants and event venues, with is having a significant adverse impact on not only small artisan wineries but also restricting local agri-tourism and rural areas that need economic diversification and development,” he said.

Mr MacMillan says that Stonehouse doesn’t qualify to be VQA because his grapes are cold climate varieties that were developed to withstand extreme winter conditions.  Also,the annual fee and evaluation process, which he estimates to be between $5,000 and $7,000 per year, would be cost prohibitive.

“We’re artisan wineries,” he said.  “We’re not looking to be in teh LCBO.  We’re looking to sell to tourists.”

He asked North Glengarry for its help in persuading the government to drop the additional charges imposed on non-VQA wineries.

Kenyon Councillor Jeff Manley said it wold be a great topic to bring up with teh province’s Misitry of Finance at one of the upcoming conferences.  He asked Mr. MacMIllan if he would be willing to go to Toronto to plead his case.  Mr. MacMIllan agreed to do so.

Mayor Jamie MacDonald said that “it seems ridiculous” to impose the higher fees on smaller wine producers,  He invited Mr. MacMillan to bring the discussion to the United Counties of SDG at an upcoming council meeting.  Deputy-Mayor Carma Williams agreed that gaining support from municipal councils was a good approach, though she seemed baffled by the vineyard situation. “Clearly there’s a disparity here that doesn’t make any sense to me,” she said. “Any idea what the rational is?”  Mr. MacMIllan said it seems pretty clear that LCBO is behind it.

In the end, North Glengarry chose to advocate for him.