LCBO Promotion Shines Spotlight on Ontario Wines

TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - The LCBO, in partnership with Ontario's wine and grape industry, is launching its largest annual promotion of Ontario wines called SHINE {ON} in all LCBO stores from September 15 to October 12. This year's promotion celebrates the best wine and local culinary talent that Ontario has to offer and showcases 167 wines from 55 Ontario producers.

"We are proud to work with our local industry to showcase the excellent Ontario wines they produce," said Nancy Cardinal, LCBO's Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing. "This promotion helps recreate the Ontario wine country experience for consumers in our stores and encourages them to share in the pride of what's truly special and ours by shining a spotlight on Ontario's quality products ."

During the month-long promotion, customers can discover many new Ontario VQA wines made from 100 per cent Ontario-grown grapes. LCBO WINES category is unveiling 26 new products and Vintages, LCBO's fine wine and premium spirits business, is releasing 23 Ontario VQA wines. There will be more than 1,200 in-store wine tastings and many opportunities for customers to sample local food and wine pairings from featured chefs in LCBO event kitchens and at food trucks at 12 select stores.

LCBO's autumn FOOD&DRINK magazine, celebrating its 20^th anniversary, also highlights the evolution of Ontario wine and looks at the next generation of winemakers. During the promotion, some 130 restaurants across the province are offering a special SHINE {ON} menu that pairs local foods with Ontario wines.

The September 14 Vintages release main feature is dedicated to Ontario VQA wines. In addition, Vintages will be hosting two Taste Ontario events featuring 80 VQA wines from 30 Ontario wineries in Ottawa on October 7 and Toronto on October 10.

The www.lcboourwinecountry.com microsite will highlight key wine regions and showcase videos and stories of some of the passionate people in the wine industry, including local winemakers, chefs and winery owners. Consumers can also join the conversation online during SHINE {ON} through Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LCBO and on Twitter (@LCBO using hashtag #shineON) to share their stories and experiences of how Ontario wine country shines.

For more information on the SHINE {ON} wine promotion, call the toll-free, bilingual helloLCBO Contact Centre at 1-800-ONT-LCBO (668-5226). In Toronto, call 416 365-5900 or visit your nearest LCBO store. The TTY number for people who are deaf or hard of hearing is 416 864-6898 or 1-800-361-3291.

QUICK FACTS

• This month, LCBO launched Our Wine Country boutiques in select LCBO stores in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Windsor, with more opening in the fiscal year. These boutiques have the look and feel of a trip to wine country and will offer an expanded selection of Ontario wines, including hard-to-find, niche and ultra-premium products. This will make it easier for customers to discover and learn about the exceptional products produced here at home and support Ontario wineries.
  
  
• In fiscal 2012-13, Ontario wine sales through LCBO and VINTAGES were 5.4 per cent higher than in 2011-12. VQA reds showed the strongest growth of 7.8 per cent, while sales of VQA white table wine grew by 2.8 per cent. By contrast, imported table wine sales were up 4.2 per cent in the same period. Since 2006-07, sales of VQA wines at the LCBO have more than doubled compared to imported wine sales  over the same period.
  
  
• In fiscal 2012-13, LCBO sold more than 1,155 different Ontario VQA wines from 101 different wineries.
  
  
• LCBO Wines category offers 520 Ontario-produced wines, including 298 VQA wines year-round.  In fiscal 2012-13, LCBO Wines category released 60 new VQA wines, including many varietal blends, one of the fastest-growing segments. Vintages offered more than 200 Ontario VQA wines, including 23 available year-round through the Vintages Essentials program.
  
  
• Ontario wines enjoy significantly more shelf space than their share of sales in LCBO stores. They are prominently located at the front of most stores, with specially-designed Ontario VQA wine displays in the 250 largest LCBO outlets. Since fiscal 2007, LCBO has added 35,000 linear feet of Ontario wine shelf space and will add an additional 20,000 linear feet by the end of fiscal 2014.
  
  
• WOW (World of Ontario Wines) leaders: LCBO employees take pride in recommending Ontario wines and staff in 327 LCBO stores have been specially-trained through educational programs run in partnership with Wine Country Ontario to promote Ontario wines with customers and colleagues.

For more information, see the backgrounder "LCBO support for Ontario wines" in the media centre at www.lcbo.com and also the attached fact sheet on the SHINE {ON} promotion.

Video B-roll and photographs available upon request.

SHINE {ON}

Fact Sheet

• LCBO, in partnership with Wine Country Ontario, presents SHINE {ON}, its largest annual promotion of Ontario wines.
  
  
• SHINE {ON} is a celebration of Ontario. It encourages consumers to share in the pride of what's truly ours and showcase Ontario's quality local wine, food and talent.
  
  
• SHINE {ON} runs in 521 stores from September 15 - October 12, 2013 and provides LCBO customers with an opportunity to discover Ontario VQA wines, made from 100 per cent Ontario-grown grapes.
  
  
• LCBO supports the Ontario wine industry year-round.  SHINE {ON} allows customers to experience more Ontario wines at the time of year when winemaking is at its peak.
  
  
• Wines featured during SHINE {ON} were selected by LCBO in consultation with the participating wineries.
  
  
• SHINE {ON} highlights 167 products from 55 Ontario wineries.
  
  
• Of these, 26 are new LCBO Ontario wines including; the fruity and vibrant Cattail Creek Cabernet Merlot; the delicious and bright Union Gold; the fun and casual Pelee Island Island Time Semi Sweet Merlot; and the full-bodied Sandbanks Dunes Red.
  
  
• Three new Ontario VINTAGES Essentials products will be launched in-store.  VINTAGES Essentials is a collection of hand-selected, finely crafted wines and spirits from around the world.  Timeless treasures, proven favourites and always available.
  
  
• In addition, VINTAGES will be releasing 23 VQA Ontario wines in their September 14 Release.
  
  
• The LCBO SHINE {ON} campaign will be supported through external advertising including print, digital, radio and out-of-home.
  
  
• LCBO invites customers to join in the conversation during SHINE {ON} through Facebook and Twitter.  @LCBO #shineON
  
  
• Extended content of new interviews and videos of winemakers and influencers will be available exclusively on www.lcboourwinecountry.com and www.vintages.com.

Events:

On Saturday, September 21, 28 and October 5 and 12, customers are invited to LCBO event kitchens to discover and experience food and wine pairings.  New Ontario VQA wines will be showcased with chef demonstrations of delicious recipes featured in our SHINE {ON} recipe book - available complimentary in all participating stores.

Event kitchen locations include:

• LCBO Summerhill, 10 Scrivener Square, Toronto
• LCBO The Kingsway, 2946 Bloor Street West, Toronto
• LCBO Bayview Village, 2901 Bayview Avenue, Toronto
• LCBO Windsor Roundhouse Centre, 3165 Howard Avenue, Windsor
• LCBO Millcroft Centre, 2000 Appleby Line, Burlington
• LCBO Rideau Street, 275 Rideau Street, Ottawa
• LCBO Nepean Crossroads, 543 West Hunt Club Road, Nepean
• LCBO Oakville, Olde Oakville Marketplace, 321 Cornwall Road, Oakville
• Additionally, the LCBO is excited to feature enhanced special events for our customers to taste the featured VQA wines from Ontario winemakers.
  
  On September 21, 22, 28 and 29, customers are invited to 12 select LCBO stores for parking lot events pairing Ontario wines with food samples served from food trucks.

• The diversity of food trucks will help demonstrate the versatility of Ontario wines with a variety of cuisines. Four new VQA wines will be featured at each event.

Food truck event locations include:

Event date	GTA locations	WESTERN locations	EASTERN locations
Sat. Sept. 21	Toronto - Queen's Quay & Yonge	St. Catharines Geneva & Scott (Fairview Mall)	Ottawa Barrhaven - Nepean Strandherd & Greenbank
Sun. Sept. 22	Toronto (North York) Crossroads - Highway 401 and Weston Road	London - Wonderland & Southdale (Power Centre)	Ottawa - Orleans Innes & Tenth Line
Sat. Sept. 28	Mississauga - Mavis & Britannia (Heartland Town Centre)	Guelph - Scottsdale & Stone Road West	Peterborough - Lansdowne West & Parkway
Sun. Sept. 29	Oakville - 3^rd Line & Rebecca (Hopedale Mall)	Kitchener - Ottawa & Homer Watson (Alpine Centre)	Kingston - Midland & Princess

• The SHINE {ON} promotion will provide LCBO customers with more than 1,200 opportunities to taste Ontario wines in more than 200 LCBO locations during the month-long promotion.
  
  
• For detailed information on all these in-store tastings, visit www.lcboourwinecountry.com.
  
  
• In addition to the LCBO in-store events, VINTAGES presents the newly re-branded Taste Ontario events.

VINTAGES will be hosting two Taste Ontario events in Ottawa and Toronto:

Ottawa: Monday, October 7, 2013 Westin Hotel Timing: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. -Tasting $65 per person

Toronto: Thursday, October 10, 2013 Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) Timing: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. -Tasting $65 per person

• Opportunity to taste a selection of 80 VQA local wines from 30 Ontario wineries.
  
  
• Discover the versatility of Icewine at the VINTAGES Icewine lounge - six Icewines will be paired with different varieties of food
  
  
• Purchase exclusive Ontario wines at the event
  
  
• Attendees can enter to win a trip to wine country

Additional Initiatives:

• Just This Month Wine Event! - International Canadian Blends products offer amazing value and, between September 15 - October 12, the value is even greater than expected.
  
  
• Food & Drink magazine will be celebrating its 20^th anniversary in the autumn issue in stores September 4.  Stories highlighting Ontario include: the Evolution of Ontario wine, a look into the Next Generation of Winemakers and Complements of Ontario, a series of delicious, locally-inspired dishes paired with Ontario's exceptional varietals from each wine region.
  
  
• Over 130 restaurants across Ontario will be participating in their own SHINE {ON} program by offering local wine by-the-glass to pair with special local menus from September 15 to October 12. Visit www.lcboourwinecountry.com for a list of participating restaurants.
  
  
• The September 14 VINTAGES Release will be dedicated to Ontario and specifically the quality of Ontario wines.  Features include: interviews with local chefs and sommeliers that champion and endorse the spirit of SHINE {ON}, a focus on Ontario's signature varietals and styles and a world stage report with international endorsements of Ontario wine.

SOURCE: LCBO

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Heather MacGregor, LCBO Media Relations Coordinator 
Tel. [phone]; Cell: 416-587-3729; E-mail: [email protected]

Lauren Wolff, Wolff Public Relations
Tel: [phone]; Cell: 416-451-2061; E-mail: [email protected]