An increasing buy local sentiment strikes home differently for Canadians working at or with American wineries who are caught in the crossfire of a political battle with no clear resolution in sight.Bob McClenahan/Visit Napa Valley
David Tate was going to cancel a visit to Calgary this month to market wines he has made in California for 20 years. That was, until he confirmed collectors were eager to try – and buy them.
“I know quite a few people that are coming,” says Tate, a Vancouver Island native who is winemaker at Barnett Vineyards in the Napa Valley who is travelling to Calgary to host a wine dinner and a private tasting organized by his (longstanding) local importer. “They’ll buy wine and take it home, but I don’t imagine we are going to get a lot of sales from wine shops or restaurants.”
Canada has long been the largest export market for U.S. wine, with a reported $538.4-million in sales last year, according to Statistics Canada. But that loyalty is being threatened.
While provinces including Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, are planning to pull U.S.-made alcoholic beverages from their shelves in retaliation to President Trump’s tariffs, consumers are already adjusting their buying habits.
The increasing buy local sentiment strikes home differently for Canadians working at or with American wineries who are caught in the crossfire of a political battle with no clear resolution in sight.
Tate graduated from Brock University’s oenology and viticulture program and worked in Australia, France and New Zealand before settling in California in 2002 to join the winemaking team at Ridge Vineyards in Santa Cruz. He moved to the Napa Valley boutique producer, Barnett Vineyards, in 2007, where he oversees production of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. (He also makes wine with his wife Suzanne for their label, Tate, since 2011.)
Barnett Vineyards produces roughly 8,000 cases of wine each year, working with grapes grown in the vineyards on top of Spring Mountain in St. Helena and from local growers. The family-owned operation’s small scale means Tate’s role extends beyond the cellar and the vineyard. He routinely promotes sales initiatives in the United States and in Canada and, in September 2020, joined co-workers and neighbours to save the property from The Glass Fire, which burned an estimated 67,484 acres of land in Napa.
The Glass Fire was one of the most destructive wildfires to hit the Napa Valley region, burning an estimated 67,484 acres. The flames destroyed Barnett Vineyards’ tasting room and a storage shed and damaged a portion of the 14-acre vineyard, but the firefighting efforts managed to save the winery and family’s residence.
Strong relationships are key for selling premium wine, he explains, which is why he’s pessimistic about the upcoming sales calls to restaurants and liquor stores in Alberta.
“Being Canadian, being from there, might mean they’re still willing to buy Barnett,” he says, adding that winery co-founder Fiona Barnett also grew up in Vancouver. “But, if we’re not well-received, I’ll understand.”
Wine producers in California have faced a steady stream of challenges since coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. A worsening wildfire situation threatens communities and properties, while lingering smoke over vineyards during the growing season risks turning the famously juicy character of regional reds into an unpalatable acrid and bitter wine. Declining wine consumption and tourism, in part due to reports about related health risks from drinking alcohol, threaten the business models for wineries and grape growers across the state.
“This is something we didn’t need,” says Megan Schofield, a St. Catharines, Ontario native who has worked in the California wine industry since graduating from Brock University’s wine program in 2000. She’s now the director of winemaking for Joel Gott Wines, a family-owned winery based in St. Helena.
“I am proud of what we make. I love that when I go home every summer, I can grab those bottles and talk with my family and friends about what we did,” she says. “Now that’s threatened.”
Schofield’s team bottled sauvignon blanc from the 2024 vintage for the Canadian market last week. A blend of grapes grown in Napa, Sonoma and other parts of California, it’s the same refreshing and fruity white that’s sold in the United States, but with labelling tweaks to satisfy labelling requirements for Canadian provinces. “What is going to happen with that?” she wonders.
Schofield keeps tabs on things in Canada by speaking with family and friends at home and following social media. From her vantage, she finds herself conflicted by current events.
“It warms my heart to see Canadians come together to support local and make informed consumer choices,” she says. “But Canada is an important market for us – has been for a really long time – and it’s going to impact my livelihood.”
The strained Canadian and U.S. relationship also risks spoiling the party at this year’s Vancouver International Wine Festival where America is featured as the theme country. Producers from California, Oregon and Washington will take centre stage in the tasting room, alongside participants from 14 other countries including 20 wineries from British Columbia, during the February 22 to March 2 event.
Winemaker Ray Signorello, who divides his time between Vancouver and Napa, where his family established Signorello Estate in 1985, is the honorary chair of the Bacchanalia Gala, which kicks off this year’s celebration and hopes to promote goodwill and a good time for all in attendance despite the political tensions.
“None of us want this,” Signorello says. “The industry doesn’t need this at this point, it’s just been one thing after another. It’s a difficult time, but we will get through it.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby’s response to the proposed tariffs was to instruct the BC Liquor Distribution Branch to stop buying American liquor from “red states,” removing bourbon and other liquor producers from shelves but keeping wines made in the Pacific Northwest and California available.
Signorello believes American wine was excluded in part because of the support British Columbia wineries received from vineyards in Washington, Oregon and California to make their wines in 2024, following the devastating loss of the domestic grape crop after a severe frost in January.
The replacement wines, which are labelled accordingly, will help wineries retain workers and operate tasting rooms while they maintain and replant their vineyards.
Now in its 46th year, the wine festival announced America as its 2025 theme county in March 2024. Last year’s festival reportedly raised more than $165,000 for its charitable partner, Bard on the Beach, a not-for-profit Shakespeare festival held annually in Vancouver.
Since launching the family’s first vintage in 1988, Signorello has never missed an opportunity to pour his family’s wines at Vancouver’s wine celebration. “The festival holds a space place in my heart and has been a big part of building our business and brands,” he says.
