Big news in the wine world: the best-selling wine at the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), Kim Crawford’s Sauvignon Blanc, is now bottled in Quebec by the Canadian company Arterra. It therefore arrives in bulk, a growing trend in the industry.
Published at 7:40 p.m.
How much Kim Crawford do we drink in Quebec?
Around 75,000 cases, therefore 900,000 bottles, of this New Zealand sauvignon blanc are now bottled in Rougemont, at Arterra. This represents the annual consumption of this famous white wine for Quebec – 858,000 bottles, according to the most recent data from the SAQ, for sales of $18.6 million.
Quebec is the first Canadian province to receive Kim Crawford in bulk.
Who is Arterra?
Arterra Wines Canada has operations in several sectors of the wine industry. It owns Canadian vineyards (Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin and Clos Jordanne, etc.) and also represents foreign wines here, such as Robert Mondavi’s Woodbridge from California and the Italian Ruffino.
Kim Crawford was already part of its portfolio, but arrived in Quebec in bottles.
Arterra already imported wines in bulk, which it bottles and markets for the local market. This is the case for the wines from the Bu collection by Jessica Harnois.
The Canadian company has three bottling plants in the country: in Rougemont, Niagara, Ontario, and Olive, British Columbia
Could the Rougemont plant bottle Kim Crawford for all of Canada?
No. “We would like to do it, but the regulations depend from province to province,” explains Mira Natal, vice-president at Arterra Canada.
Change could be possible in some provinces, but not in Ontario at the moment, cites Arterra as an example.
Does this mean that Kim Crawford can be sold in grocery stores?
No, because the regulations do not allow it. “A brand that is found on grocery shelves must be developed, created, bottled in Quebec,” specifies Mira Natal.
Will the bottle be sold less expensively?
No. A bottle of Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc is $21.95 for the 750 ml format, at the SAQ. Its local bottling will not change anything, because bottling costs are similar whether the wine is bottled in New Zealand or here, at destination, argues Arterra.
Where will the bottles come from?
They come from the American East Coast.
“But it will evolve,” specifies Mira Natal. This is a major project, with large quantities required. » It is therefore impossible for the moment to move towards a local supply of glass bottles, but this is what the company wants, which understands the challenge that sourcing such a quantity represents.
The new bottles weigh 396 grams; These are therefore lightweight glass bottles since the average weight of a bottle of wine is 550 grams. In Quebec, 83% of wines priced below $25 at the SAQ are in light glass bottles.
What does this contract represent for the Arterra Quebec factory?
“Not only does it help reduce the carbon footprint of this product […]but it helps the local economy, the spinoffs, it will create jobs, replies Mira Natal. It is entirely favorable in that sense. »
Is this a common practice for Kim Crawford in other markets?
Yes. This is the case in the United States and the New Zealand wine giant is following a global movement to reduce the ecological footprint of its wines. Italy and Spain are the two countries that export the most wine in bulk.
Does the process change the taste of the wine?
No. The product will be impeccable in terms of quality, assures the bottler, because moving the wine in large plastic vats helps the stability of the wine which is even less subject to temperature changes during its journey than if it came in bottles, in cases of 12. Both the Arterra laboratories and those of the SAQ test the wine.
“We would do a blind test between a product imported in bottles or bottled here and it would be impossible to see a difference. »
Kim Crawford’s Sauvignon Blanc will therefore retain its taste of pink grapefruit.
