Despite challenges with several municipalities contesting the Province of British Columbia’s new liquor policies, the second wine-in-grocery store is officially open for business at Fleetwood PriceSmart foods International in Surrey.
The Fleetwood grocery store joins Save-On-Foods South Point, becoming the second one in BC to stock and sell BC VQA Wines under the Province of BC’s new liquor regulations which took effect April 01, following the government’s province-wide Liquor Policy Review.
Under the new legislation, grocery stores fitting criteria laid out by the new regulations may offer BC VQA Wine products for sale on designated shelves under a third party operator arrangement with the BC Wine Institute (BCWI), which holds longstanding licences to operate BC VQA-only stores.
“We are very happy to finally see the opening of this second wine-in-grocery location,” says Miles Prodan, President and CEO of the BC Wine Institute. “It has been several months since Wines of British Columbia Save-On-Foods South Point opened and, after dealing with red tape from various other municipalities, we are pleased to finally have more BC VQA Wines on shelves for consumers in the Lower Mainland to pair with other great BC agrifoods that British Columbians know and love.”
Offerings at Wines of British Columbia Save-On-Foods South Point and Wines of British Columbia PriceSmart foods International Fleetwood reflect a broad range of 100% BC grape wine brands, varieties and price points from all regions of BC. In these stores smaller wineries are able to market themselves on a level playing field alongside some of BC’s larger producers. As with any agrifood product, adjustments in the product mix for these shelves will be made by retailers based on customer feedback, market trends and seasonal availability of product.
Paul and Jayne Graydon, owners of Saxon Estate Winery in Summerland were the first to showcase their wines in the new location. “We are very excited to be pouring our organic Pinot Grigio and Merlot at the Fleetwood grocery store today,” Paul remarked. “Being a small and relatively new winery, these stores have proven to be a great asset for us. 30% of our entire BC VQA Wine Store sales have come just from the South Point location and we expect to see similar results from the new location. We are very excited to be part of this program and look forward to the opening of more locations in the near future.”
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