Why can't I buy Canadian wines in U.S. stores?
 

Aside from Icewine, of course. In my local stores, I can get wine from Hungary, Argentina, Australia, Japan, South Africa, and of course France, Italy et al. Why none from our neighbors to the north? I spoke with a friend who works for one of the larger wine & spirit stores here, and his answer was "Other than Icewine, Canada doesn't export their wines". Can this be true? If so, why?

We really enjoyed the wines we tried in Ontario and loved browsing the LCBO stores.

I have not had much luck googling retail or online sources of Canadian wines in the U.S. Most of the websites I've found are not very up-to-date.

Any information about how to buy Canadian wines in California would be greatly appreciated!

lvk - I don't have a specific answer to your question, but I don't think your friend is correct. We have a very large store here in Houston which carries Canadian wines (along with about every place else in the world). But I'm curious why you can't apparently get them there.

The Pa Liqour control board lists 30 Canadian white wines.

http://tinyurl.com/36hmx9 ((*))

There's no law against Canada selling wines in California. They import California wines, so there is a reciprocating rule that allows them to ship here. (The rule states that if California wines are not allowed to be shipped to your location, then you can't ship your wines to California.)

My guess is that they are building a strong interest in their wines outside of California before they come here and compete against the California wines. It's been done before (think non-Napa wines) with big success. Get everyone else talking about Canadian wines and then let California start asking for it.

One reason is simply supply.

The best Canadian wines are produced in fairly small quantities, and the worst Canadian wines are produced in larger quantities.

The result is that for discerning wine buyers (at wholesale) the available products aren't the ones they really want in their stores.

I've been to Arizona to photograph Canadian food, and wine was included. And I've been to California and Florida to photograph[h Canadain beer, lots of which is sold in the USA. And I'vbe photographed Canadian liquor in several states.

BAK

Many of the best Canadian wines from the Niagara area aren't even available at the liquor stores here in Ontario, but must be purchased directly from the wineries. It's because they need to sell hundreds of cases of a vintage before the LCBO will stock them......unfortunately.

As BAK mentioned, the best Canadian wines are produced in small quantities. Some of the websites even state:

"Due to our limited production the wines are currently only available at the winery. Tastings and tours are by appointment only."

It's why we go to Niagara at least twice a year. :)

Well, then, I'm kicking myself for not buying more of the wines we liked when we were there.

The supply thing makes sense to me. Also, yesterday I spoke to a wine buyer for Bristol Farms (one of our high-end grocery stores here in Southern Cal.). He told me that he has been in the wine business all of his life and that, of all countries, Canada has some of the most difficult rules for those wanting to import their wines. The Canadian government, that is, not the the Canadian wineries.

How about wine clubs that ship Canadian wines to California?

Have you tried contacting any of the Canadian wineries directly? Some of them will arrange shipping within Canada. I don't know about across the border, may be too much red tape involved. But, in any event, they should be the experts in telling you what the possibilities are, the government regulations, and who in the U.S. might carry their wines.