Ontario Marks Craft Beer and Ontario Wine Week

Wednesday, 17 June 2020 16:33

The Province of Ontario is encouraging people to shop local at the LCBO. They are going to increase the selection of locally made craft beers and wines.

ONTARIO - The Ontario Government is encouraging everyone to support local as they mark Ontario Craft Beer Week and Ontario Wine Week.

You can help alcohol producers recover from the impacts of COVID-19, by simply buying locally made beer and wine.

The government is adding more locally made beers and wines at the LCBO. This includes increased marketing, converting available shelf space to profile Ontario products, and making more products available for sale, including bag-in-box wine and those made in the province. The supports are effective June 21 until October 2020.

Minister of Finance Rod Phillips says buying local not only supports Ontario's wineries, breweries, cideries, distilleries and other local producers, but it also means getting a quality product to enjoy responsibly.

"Our alcohol sector told us they are being negatively impacted by the measures that have been necessary to contain COVID-19. That's why our government is taking steps to help these local businesses continue providing good jobs for people in Ontario and producing the products consumers enjoy."

This initiative is part of a number of ways the government is supporting Ontario's beverage alcohol sector, including:

- Pausing increases to beer and wine taxes, previously scheduled to take effect in spring 2020;

- Temporarily allowing licensed restaurants and bars to sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery orders between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.;

- Temporarily allowing licensed restaurants and bars to sell spirits at a lower price with food takeout and delivery orders;

- Allowing restaurants and bars to temporarily create or extend outdoor patio spaces to safely accommodate patrons and staff once licensed establishments are permitted to reopen for business;

- Making it easier for cideries to sell directly to consumers by temporarily removing the requirement for cideries to have five acres of planted fruit to qualify for an on-site store;

- Extending the Ontario Wine and Grape Strategy to 2021-22, providing $7.5 million annually for VQA Support, $4.8 million annually for marketing and promotion, $250,000 for research and $250,000 for benchmarking;

- Extending the Small Cidery and Small Distillery Support Program to 2021-22, providing $2.6 million annually to help eligible businesses grow and scale up their operations.

Local MPP and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ernie Hardeman says buying local, when it comes to alcohol has never been easier.

"Our province is home to some of the best breweries and wineries in the world who produce top quality craft beers and world-class wines. Now more than ever, I encourage you to support Ontario's many great craft producers by choosing and responsibly enjoying local."