LCBO buyers discover the latest Australian wine trends on visit
Last week, Wine Australia wrapped up an in-market education and scouting visit for buyers from the Canadian Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), one of the world’s largest buyers and retailers of wine.
The three LCBO guests were Colby Norrington, Category Manager (New World Wine Vintages), Greg Tranah, Category Manager (New World Wine LCBO General List) and Charan Bhogal, Director of Integrated Marketing.
This was Ms Norrington’s and Mr Tranah’s first visit to Australia and between them they are responsible for more than CAD$150 million in Australian wine sales each year.
The two-week visit took in regions across three states including Barossa and McLaren Vale in South Australia; Hunter Valley and Riverina in New South Wales; and Mornington Peninsula, Strathbogie Ranges and Yarra Valley in Victoria.
Head of Market for The Americas Angela Slade said, ‘The Canadian market is vital to Australian wine exports and Ontario is the leading province, where 34 per cent of our Canadian exports are sent. As a monopoly, LCBO represents more than 80 per cent of all wine sales in Ontario, so they are incredibly influential in regards to what consumers are buying and drinking.
‘We worked hard to get these buyers down to Australia for the first time and they’ve already told us that they had an exceptional experience. It was great to travel with them for the first days of their trip.
‘LCBO will be looking at new wines to range over the next year and I’m confident there’ll be greater interest in some of the Australian wines and regions that they experienced throughout their visit.’
Canada is Australia’s fourth most valuable export market for wine. In the last 12 months, exports to Canada have increased by 4 per cent to A$189 million.
About Liquor Control Board of Ontario
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is an Ontario government enterprise and one of the world’s largest buyers and retailers of alcoholic beverages. Through more than 650 retail stores, catalogues, special order services and more than 210 agency stores, which provide cost effective, convenient and socially responsible access for rural consumers, the LCBO offers nearly 24,000 products annually to consumers and licensed establishments. In 2014-15, LCBO sales topped the $5 billion mark for the first time, at $5.214 billion.