City businesses unsure about merits of B.C. wine boycott
Alberta businesses are split on the province’s decision to boycott British Columbia wines, with support for the cause clashing with concerns that the move went too far.
“I fail to see how the oil industry and the wine industry are equivalent rivals,” said Evan Watson, owner of the upscale cocktail bar and eatery Clementine, on Wednesday. “I don’t necessarily believe that food security and agricultural sovereignty ... should be used as political bargaining chips.”
Premier Rachel Notley announced Tuesday the province would no longer import B.C. wines, hitting an industry that Albertans spent $72 million on last year.
The decision was in retaliation for a B.C. government move designed to stall Kinder Morgan Inc.’s $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which would bring oil to the West Coast from Alberta. The B.C. NDP said more spill response studies are needed and proposed a restriction on increases in bitumen shipments until research is completed.
But for drinking establishments like Clementine, located on Jasper Avenue and 120 Street, the boycott sends the wrong message. Watson doesn’t believe the ban will affect his bottom line, but he’s concerned about long-term relationships with wineries.
“We work with small family run farms,” he said, adding that he carries B.C. wines to support a burgeoning Canadian industry competing with 1,000-year-old vineyards in Europe.
He said the boycott could hurt relationships with wineries that have travelled to Edmonton for pop-up tastings — “that pipeline is shut off to us.”
Grant Schneider, owner of Aligra Wine and Spirits in West Edmonton Mall, said customers filtering into the store Wednesday morning were on board with the premier’s push to avoid B.C. grapes.
“B.C. wines are not inexpensive. If we do not have a robust economy, people are not going to be drinking $25, $30 and $40 bottles of wine,” he said.
Schneider’s cellar boasts hundreds of B.C. wines, but he said other producers will easily fill the gap. He said at least one customer who regularly bought B.C. wine asked for an alternative recommendation in light of the boycott.
The boycott could cause more serious problems, said Wade Brintnell, owner of the Wine Cellar store on 102 Avenue and 124 Street. He doesn’t sell much B.C. wine, but most of his alcohol is imported from abroad through the Port of Vancouver during the winter. He’s concerned about the long-term implications if the B.C. government retaliates against Alberta.
“Where does it end?” he said on Wednesday.