A Niagara winery makes its New York debut under the looming threat of a U.S. ban on Canadian alcohol | Canada Voices

This week, the first shipments of Canadian Leaning Post wines were sent out for delivery from their U.S. distributor to fine dining restaurants and wine bars in New York and New Jersey. Restocking the expressive pinot noirs and chardonnays from the family-owned craft winery in Stoney Creek, Ont., on the edge of the Niagara region, could prove impossible if the U.S.’s proposed ban on importing Canadian alcohol comes into effect on Sept. 29.

Steve Remming, sales director at New York distributor Lieber Fine Wines, had approached Leaning Post winery after being impressed by a bottle of their pinot noir about a year and a half ago. At a blind wine tasting where bottles are wrapped to disguise their origin, the group of collectors he was with believed it was an extremely high-quality, expensive red from Burgundy until its label was revealed.

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Lieber’s initial order, a 56-case mix of chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir, as well as the single vineyard Senchuk Pinot Noir that first convinced Remming, arrived at the company’s temperature-controlled warehouse in suburban New Jersey last month. Soon after, U.S. and Canadian negotiators failed to reach a trade agreement, and President Donald Trump’s 50-per-cent tariff on a range of goods, including many types of alcohol, took effect on Aug. 22.

“It’s sad for the wine drinking community in New York, who will love wines with this profile at this quality and price point but won’t be able to buy them or will only be able to buy them at a dramatically increased price,” says Remming.

While there is always risk involved in launching an unknown brand, an outright ban would be the worst-case scenario for establishing Leaning Post in his market. If their wines are available, he anticipates a positive reception and intends to expand his range to include other Leaning Post labels.

“The typical pinot noir drinker at a Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan or a wine bar in Brooklyn isn’t wearing a MAGA hat,” he says. “Even with the 50-per-cent tariff, the wines from Leaning Post and other producers of similar quality from Niagara are still worth the money. They are less expensive than their counterparts from Burgundy and California.”

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For Leaning Post co-owner Nadia Senchuk, exporting the wines her husband, Ilya, makes isn’t strictly about turning a profit, it helps build a strong reputation for Niagara wines and other Canadian producers. “Oregon didn’t only sell its wine in Oregon. Those winemakers sold to other markets right from the start and now Oregon pinot noir is established around the world,” she says.

Leaning Post is participating in an upcoming trade mission to Singapore and has completed industry trips to the United Kingdom to help open markets abroad while increasing sales to the LCBO. Senchuk says sales through Ontario’s provincial liquor stores went from 300 cases in 2024, to nearly 4,000 cases this year.

“We continue to change people’s minds about the quality of local wines a glass and bottle at a time,” she says. “Building our reputation by selling our wine abroad helps sell our wine at home.”