It’s a mark of how strongly Ron Kubek feels about the political mismanagement of Canada’s wine industry that he took time out from bringing in this year’s grape harvest to vent.

The owner of the Lightning Rock winery in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley said that he can export his award-winning Pinot Noir into Washington State tariff free under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.

But if he wants to access Ontario’s LCBO or Quebec’s SAQ liquor stores, he is obliged to pay markups of 71 per cent and 130 per cent respectively. Lightning Rock has been ranked in the top 25 wineries in the country, but it is a small (3,500-case), relatively high-cost producer, making delicious, jammy pinots.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

To match the $38 retail price for a bottle on his

See Full Page