Wine Soon to Hit Grocery Store Shelves: What You Need to Know

Coming shortly in the new year, B.C. citizens will have the opportunity to buy their groceries and their wine in the same store, but there's a catch. Wine in supermarkets is the second phase of the liquor-in-grocery model, and is designed to allow existing VQA stores and independent wine stores to relocate or transfer their licence to an eligible grocery store—as long as the licence is only used to sell 100 per cent B.C. wine.

Grocery stores will be allowed to house wine on their shelves as early as April 1st, 2015.

“100% B.C. grown and made wines have become one of our province’s largest and fastest growing industries, and have garnered attention both at home and within the international community. By sharing these wines through our province’s grocers, we stand to expand the accessibility of the wines of B.C. with a new group of wine-lovers. Food and wine are so closely intertwined and embraced by British Columbians that this partnership is a natural progression for our province’s burgeoning wine industry,” said John Skinner, owner of Painted Rock Estate Winery.

In addition, licences are not subject to the one-kilometre restrictions, allowing more flexibility and choice of locations when moving into a grocery store.

In an effort to support B.C. made products, a limited number of new licences will be made available specifically for the 100 per cent B.C. wine-on-shelves model.

“The B.C. wine industry is entering into a new era of winemaking – and offering B.C. winemakers an opportunity to shine is a positive move by government for industry. As a winery using local grapes, we’re excited to be a part of this change, and look forward to seeing this new market create more places where we can make our wines available to British Columbians,” said Eugene Kwan, co-owner of Chaberton Estate Winery.

Although you are buying wine in the grocery store, all wine from the store is to be purchased at designated registers. These registers will be staffed by employees who have their Serving It Right certification and are at least 19 years old.

Eligible grocery stores that sell 100 per cent B.C. wine off the shelves must align with the “store-within-a-store” model criteria.