Half of Canadians support Canadian wines: Mintel research

Great news for Canadian wine producers: while the international wine industry remains competitive in offering a variety of different wines, Mintel’s latest research shows that demand for Canadian wines within Canada is among the strongest.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of Canadian wine drinkers agree they prefer to support Canadian wines, whether national or regional, with less than one third (29 per cent) agreeing that wines from other countries offer better quality than Canadian wines. And three in 10 consumers (30 per cent) agree that smaller wineries typically produce better-quality wines.

Region is a factor in whether wine consumers are more likely to support local wineries. Support for Canadian wine is strongest in British Columbia (60 per cent) and Ontario (53 per cent), provinces with prominent and developed wine regions, for example. Meanwhile, Quebec consumers are less likely to support local wineries (37 per cent) and more likely to agree that wineries from other countries offer better quality wines (35 per cent). Nearly half of Canadians (48 per cent) identify the country where a wine comes from as a top consideration for choosing a wine.

“It comes as somewhat of a surprise that Canadian wine consumers are more likely to support local or national wines rather than look to other countries,” says Joel Gregoire, Senior Food & Drink Analyst at Mintel. “However, this is in line with Mintel’s Locavore trend, which is reflective of the global demand for local products, that extends beyond food and drink, to support local economies and afford consumers with the feeling of greater traceability of product origin and transparency from brands.”

Between 2010 and 2015, wine sales grew at a relatively high rate, at just over five per cent per year. Mintel forecasts sales growth to continue through 2020. The average rate of sales growth is expected to fall in just under four per cent per year from 2015 to 2020, down from 5.4 percent between 2010 to 2015.

Red wine, the most commonly purchased wine, is forecast to continue showing strong growth at an average rate of 4.1 percent in the next five years, outpacing white wine’s predicted growth of 2.7 percent.