Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
My name is Patrick Gedge, and I'm president and CEO of the Winery and Grower Alliance of Ontario.
As you mentioned, Del Rollo is with me, who is the secretary/treasurer of the Winery and Grower Alliance of Ontario, as well as the director of Eastern Estates Wineries and government relations, Constellation Brands Canada.
We are very pleased to be with you today, and we are very proud to discuss our industry and its impact on the economies of Ontario and Canada.
The WGAO is the only trade association in the Ontario wine and grape industry that is composed of both wineries and independent grape growers. Our members produce 85% of all the wine produced in Ontario; purchase over 85% of all the grapes grown by independent farmers in the province; operate the largest iconic tourism wineries in the province, such as Inniskillin, Peller Estates, Jackson-Triggs, Trius Winery at Hillebrand, Château des Charmes, etc.; and represent 89% of all the exports of Ontario wine to some 73 countries around the world.
Every single person who deals with the wine and alcohol file comes away with the realization that this is really complex. I cannot tell you how many public servants and ministers have ended a discussion with that comment. But we could not agree more, because our major role as an association is to inform and share facts and experience about the industry with government. More often than not, there are unintended consequences that need to be understood and analyzed before final public policy decisions are made.
Our core message to government is that our $3.3 billion, 14,000-job industry in Ontario creates jobs and investments in this province and in Canada through agriculture, manufacturing, retailing, and tourism. Nationally, our economic impact, as you know, is some $6.8 billion and 31,000 jobs. Every bottle of Ontario wine sold generates $39.67 of economic impact. Imported wines are our competitors at all price points, and they create jobs and investments in Italy, France, California, Australia, Chile, etc.
So the best and most sustainable source of increasing revenue to the government is through supporting the growth of the domestic wine and grape industry in Canada, not in other countries. The driver of such growth is an increase in the sales of Ontario VQA wine, which represents 25% of all Ontario wine sales, and International Canadian Blends—ICB—wines, which represent 75% of Ontario wine sales. Both of these categories of Ontario wine compete against imported wines: VQA against appellation wines over $10, normally over $12; and ICB against imported value wines, which are under $10.
Our potential to grow the sales of both categories of wine is enormous. Overall in Canada, our market share of wine is some 30%, compared to 70% for imported wine. In most wine-producing countries, their domestic market share is typically between 75% and 99%.
At the same time, the portion of wine sales to all alcohol sales continues to increase, making our category more and more attractive but also more and more competitive. As one example of an opportunity for growth, the market share by value of Ontario wines sold through the LCBO is some 22%. In British Columbia the comparable number for B.C. wine sales through their liquor board is 43%. In many provinces in Canada, the market share of domestic wine is higher in their liquor boards than that of the LCBO, home to the largest wine and grape industry in Canada, so there are real opportunities for growth.
Please continue, Del.