Taste Local During LCBO's Month-Long Ontario Wine Promotion

TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2014 /CNW/ - Together with Wine Country Ontario, LCBO presents Taste Local, the 2014 Ontario wine promotion running at LCBO stores across the province until October 11. This year's promotion – the largest of the year - is not just about sharing the pride of locally-produced wines from three of Ontario's distinctive wine regions -- it's about discovering and celebrating all things local.  

Throughout the month-long promotion, customers are encouraged to share photos and stories of how they taste local and live local with Ontario wines though Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@LCBO and #LCBOtastelocal).  

There are 173 wines featured in this year's promotion from more than 30 different Ontario wineries. Of these featured wines, 21 are completely new to LCBO. An additional 22 new VQA wines are also available in the September 13 VINTAGES release. As well, four new, finely-crafted VINTAGES Essentials products are being launched in LCBO stores.

LCBO's eight events kitchens are featuring live demonstrations by local chefs every Saturday during Taste Local, where customers can sample local food and wine pairings.  In addition, more than 1,200 in-store Ontario wine tastings are being conducted in more than 200 LCBO stores.

A unique, customer-focused Ontario wine and pie pop-up tasting event will be held on Friday, September 19 at 1095 Queen Street West, Toronto (Queen and Dovercourt) featuring great wine and incredible pie pairings.  Guests will weave their way through a sensory experience of the wine regions of Niagara, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore - without leaving Toronto. Tickets include three sampling chits, as well as the opportunity to meet local winemakers and pie makers. See www.lcbo.com/events for details.

On October 2, 2014, VINTAGES presents Taste Ontario, its signature Ontario wine experience at the Royal Ontario Museum.  Tickets to this highly-anticipated tasting event, showcasing more than 100 premium Ontario VQA wines, are available through www.vintages.com. 

New interviews and videos of winemakers and local influencers will be available exclusively on www.lcbo.com, including three video shorts featuring celebrity chef Lynn Crawford on a Taste Local tour of three Ontario wine regions. B-roll and high-resolution images are available to media upon request.

For more information on the Taste Local Ontario 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.

QUOTES

"This year's promotion puts the focus not only on the incredible VQA wine we make here in Ontario, but on the many things that make 'local' so special," said Kerri Dawson, LCBO Vice President of Marketing. "Whether it's the local winemaker, cheesemonger, pie maker or chef, we want to celebrate home-grown talent."

QUICK FACTS

• Sales of Ontario wine at LCBO were $396 million in fiscal 2013-14, 4.1 per cent higher than the year before. VQA sales ended the year at $123 million, up nearly 2.1 per cent over 2012-13. Year-to-date 2014-15, VQA wine sales are up an impressive 5.8 per cent and significantly outpacing imports.
• Since 1991, when the first year of recorded VQA sales at LCBO were approximately $5 million, sales in this category have increased more than 2,300 per cent.
• In fiscal 2013-14, VQA reds showed the strongest growth of 5.4 per cent, demonstrating that customers are embracing Ontario red varietal specialties like Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Baco Noir.
• Other up-and-coming VQA categories included sparkling wines and rosé, which are becoming signature styles of Ontario. Total Ontario VQA rosé table wines grew by 3.8 per cent last year, while imported rosé table wines declined by 1.4 per cent.
• In 2013-14. LCBO sold 1147 different VQA wines from 104 different Ontario wineries

SOURCE: LCBO

Media Contacts: Heather MacGregor, Media Relations Coordinator, LCBO Office: [phone], Cell: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Monica Narula, The Mint Agency, Office: [phone], Email: [email protected]