Additional Support For Wine Industry

The Province has proposed new support for Nova Scotia’s wine industry, which will increase funding available to wineries.

The new program includes direct funding for farm wineries and commercial wineries, with the Province covering costs for a new wine authority and the development of a broader long-term wine sector growth plan.

The proposed program enhancements are the result of months of consultation with the industry and aligns with the advice of an independent third-party report by Donna Sears and Terrance Weatherbee. Ms. Sears name was put forward by the farm wine working group, which was created to provide input on new wine programming.

The farm wine sector has indicated that these supports, worth $6.6 million, do not meet their asks, which total nearly $14 million.

“The situation we are in today was the result of a trade challenge which we were able to resolve,” said Allan MacMaster, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. “The proposal we put forward is informed by an expert report, which concluded both sectors of the wine industry can be more successful with government support based on what each contributes back to our economy.”

As part of the proposed program enhancements, farm wineries would receive direct payments at a rate of 65 per cent, up from 50 per cent, for eligible products sold at Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) outlets. This represents an increase of $1.6 million above existing supports of $5 million for a total investment of $6.6 million.

Commercial wine bottlers would receive direct payments at a 35 per cent rate, with funding capped at $1 million per fiscal year for each producer.

The departments of Finance and Treasury Board and Agriculture and the NSLC will continue to work with the sector.

Quotes:

“We appreciate the role that Nova Scotia grape growers and farm wineries play in the agricultural sector. As we work to increase the production of local food and beverages, we have supported them with a number of provincial and cost-shared programs as well as dedicated funding for their development. The proposal put forward would see that support continue and be expanded.”
— Greg Morrow, Minister of Agriculture

Quick Facts:

• on March 18, Premier Tim Houston met with the wine industry to hear from them directly before forming two working groups to help inform future program enhancements
• the grape and wine sector has received approximately $40 million over the last five years, including supports through the NSLC and the departments of Finance and Treasury Board and Agriculture
• the independent report was commissioned from Donna Sears, Associate Professor, Marketing, Acadia University, whose research focuses on wine consumers and wine tourism, and co-authored by Terrance Weatherbee, Professor, Management, Acadia University

Additional Resources:

The report is available at: https://novascotia.ca/news/docs/strategic-assessment-wine.pdf

The Province’s proposal and response to the industry is available at: https://novascotia.ca/news/docs/terms-summary-wine.pdf

Finance and Treasury Board on X (formerly) Twitter: https://twitter.com/NSFinance