NB Liquor savours growing wine sales

Wine is quickly becoming the drink of choice in New Brunswick as beer sales continue to drop, according to NB Liquor.

NB Liquor's annual report shows wine sales are on the rise and now the provincial government is hoping grants will help vineyards in New Brunswick cash in on the trend.

Wine sales were up six per cent in the last year in the province, hauling in almost $70 million, according to the province's liquor corporation.

The positive wine statistics come at a good time for the province's wine industry. Organizers and industry officials appeared at a publicity launch on Thursday for Moncton's annual wine expo, which starts in a few weeks.

Daniel Allain, the president and chief executive officer of NB liquor, said the liquor corporation understands the changing palate of New Brunswick drinkers and hes trying to adapt to meet those needs.

"There is a trend right now in wine, so we're certainly going to work on it. People want more wine, more diverse wines," he said.

Wine's success, to some degree, is coming at the expense of beer, which is traditionally thought to be the province's preferred drink.

NB Liquor's annual reportshowed that as more wine was moved off of the shelves, the volume of beer sold declined by 2.9 per cent in 2010. The drop was blamed on several factors, including weak economy and a lack of major concert events in Moncton.

However, the province's wine drinkers compensated for the drop in beer sales.

Wine sales also increased by 6.1 per cent to $68.3 million in 2011 from $64.4 million in 2010.

Demographics are also at play in the changing tastes of NB Liquors customers.

In the past, Allain said, wine-drinkers have been over 45 but that is now shifting and the customer base is now much broader.

"In our stores right now, the customer is 25, 26 years old. More than ever, we're finding diversity, which is really interesting," Allain said.

"And I think the wine industry, they're doing a great job to twin wine and food at the same time because, what I think is a common denominator to all New Brunswickers is, we love food."

Expanding the N.B. industry

The Moncton wine fair, which is the largest in Atlantic Canada, features almost 400 wines from around the world with one exception: New Brunswick.

Organizers say the provinces wine industry isn't developed enough to take part in the annual festival just yet.

But the provincial government is hoping that will soon change.

Roger Tremblay, a crop development specialist with the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, said the provincial government is offering cash incentives to help the wine industry mature.

"There's been a lot of improvements here in the last 10 years, and with these selections they're able to make some very good wine," he said.

Grape growers can apply for the first phase of grants by Oct. 1 with the long-term goal of boosting New Brunswick's wine profile.