Canadians go 'elbows up' for homegrown wine due to tariffs

In September, L'Abattoir, an upscale restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia, had a problem: It was running out of French Muscat wine, the perfect pairing for the scallop crudo on the tasting menu.

- LAUREN MCCARTHY

‘I’ve actually had a lot of fun showing people wineries they would never try before,’ said Peter Van de Reep, the head sommelier at L’Abattoir, an upscale restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia.

(NYT)

In fact, it was running out of all of the French and Italian options on its wine list, after a labour strike that halted wholesale alcohol distribution in the province, as well as tariffs and bans that had all but eliminated US wine imports.

Peter Van de Reep, now the restaurant's head sommelier, had to get creative as he searched for the right tart wine with enough fruit. After considering six or seven options, he landed on a Pinot Grigio from Salt Spring Island in British Columbia.

"It's a Goldilocks wine — it's just right for that dish," Mr Van de Reep said, adding, "This is a winery most people have no idea about."

The experience at L'Abattoir reflects something that has been playing out across British Columbia in recent months. The strike of some 34,000 public service workers represented by the province's General Employees' Union essentially shut down liquor distribution for eight weeks.

That came months after the United States imposed duties on Canadian imports, prompting Canada to adopt retaliatory levies on US imports. Some Canadian provinces put in place outright bans on the sale of American beer, wine and liquor. US exports of wine to Canada dropped 91% in the three-month period from March to July compared with the year before, according to the Wine Institute, an advocacy group that represents California wineries. The United States has a rare wine trade deficit with Canada, causing the most significant market disruption in decades, experts say.