“We have over 100 cases of American wine trapped at the LCBO”: Toronto’s Grape Witches on what it’s like to run a bottle shop during a trade war

Grape Witches started as an impromptu operation, an unofficial club for lovers of weird and wonderful wine. Now, they operate two wine bars, event spaces and a booming online business. They also run an importation operation, which includes a stable of artisanal American wines—currently locked in LCBO purgatory with all the other boycotted US-made bottles.

Related: How Torontonians feel about the looming US tariff threat and boycotting American alcohol

They’re still selling the American bottles they have in stock, which has ruffled some feathers. Some customers say they’re being anti-Canadian. They say it isn’t as simple as taking sides. We caught up with co-owner Nicole Campbell and director of operations Nicole Raufeisen about navigating boycotts, importing American wine and supporting the Canadian economy during its trade war era.

What’s a regular day in the life of Grape Witches?

Nicole Campbell: Grape Witches is unique because we do so many things! We have two wine shops and bars—our original Dundas West location and a new one in the Waterworks Food Hall. We host educational and community events at both. We also import wines from around the world, including from Canadian and American producers.

Nicole Raufeisen: We signed the lease for our first space right before the pandemic, so we’ve had first-hand experience with how quickly liquor laws can change and how profoundly that change can affect culture. We like to think we were Ontario’s very first bottle shop.

You import and stock a lot of American wines. What’s going on with those?

NC: When the tariffs were first announced, we had less than a day’s notice to access our American wines from the LCBO’s warehouse. It’s critical to understand that these wines had already cleared customs before any of this took place. It’s not new wine coming in that’s taking the heat—it’s the stock we already purchased.

These small producers are only paid when the last case is pulled, so this was a really big deal. We stocked up as much as we could to help them get paid, but as a small business, there was only so much we could do. We currently have over 100 cases of American wine trapped in the LCBO. They are stuck. We love these wines, and we have close, long-term relationships with these farmers. Many of them are just across the border, in places like Vermont and New York.

NR: In the best of times, Ontario’s consignment system is challenging and painfully slow. Now, payments are completely frozen. It’s heartbreaking. It’s one thing to pull American wine off the shelves and suspend future orders. It’s another to hold products hostage without any way for winemakers to get paid or sell their wines to other markets. We’re punishing the wrong people.

Related: Canadian-made substitutes for American beer, wine and spirits

The last few cases of American wine are still for sale at Grape Witches. How are people reacting to that?

NC: Some people are confused to see these wines on the shelf. We’ve had customers say, Oh, that sounds like a beautiful wine, but I’m not buying American right now. Of course, we understand. But the American wines on our shelves are made by small, artisanal wineries, and we purchased them before the tariffs began. Once we’re sold out, we can’t purchase more. Not selling this inventory would only hurt us—it’s not allowing a local Canadian business to sell their product.

Are people buying up Canadian wine instead?

NC: Ontario wine sales are strong. When we look at our 10 bestselling bottles this year, more than half of them are local. People are ready to support Canadian winemakers, and that’s amazing. We had a Canadian wine education session last night, and it sold out online before we even had the chance to announce it. That’s never happened in our nine years of hosting events. We added another session, and it also filled up quickly.

Related: Six Toronto restaurants serving up all-Canadian menus

With California out of the picture, is this a big moment for Canadian wine?

NR: We so badly want it to be. Unfortunately, restrictive interprovincial laws are getting in the way. Right now, all wine made outside of Ontario—including by producers we work with from BC, Quebec and Nova Scotia—is taxed at the same rate as international wine: 71.5 per cent. This puts everyday wines from other provinces at a luxury price.

Finding a great bottle of Ontario wine on our shelves for less than $30? No problem. But wines of the same quality from British Columbia are closer to $50. On a restaurant wine list, those bottles are well over $100. Folks are asking for Canadian wines from other provinces, but they’re not always buying them, because prices are inflated—they can’t compete price-wise with European wines. People are excited to show up for Canadian wines, but they don’t want to be ripped off.

Related: One woman’s week of buying Canadian

What do you hope to see from the government to support the wine industry?

NR: Allow our Canadian wine industry to thrive by removing devastating taxes that hold us back and keep provinces isolated. A true Canadian wine scene can only develop if Ontario and other provinces eliminate exorbitant mark-ups and facilitate the importation of wines from out of province.

NC: In most wine-producing countries, local wine sales make up over 50 per cent of the market. Canada is one of the few exceptions. But it’s not because Canadians don’t want to drink local wine or we don’t have amazing wine produced across the country—our inter-provincial taxes choke our wine culture. If these laws were to change, a true Canadian wine scene could develop for the first time. Great producers from across the country could replace American and international listings permanently, even if tariff policies revert. And of course, we’d love the ability to support our American friends and farmers. They’re our community too.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.