Shea

Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival 2012: Festival Tasting Top Picks

March 3, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

The VPIWF has always been one of Vancouver’s premier consumer events. It is a very well organized festival and has many excellent secondary seminars and dinners. However, it would be nice if the regulatory exemptions that allow this festival to exist were extended to other festivals, particularly those concentrating on tiny family producers. But that’s life in BC’s regulatory morass. That said, every year I always make at least one exciting discovery at the VPIWF.

Chile

This year’s theme, Chile, has always played a very minor role in my wine tasting habits. I mostly spend my time with old world wines, and occasional wines from California, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve generally had a hard time with Chile because of my perception of a lack of distinctiveness in the wines – reds that either pander to the tried and true overly rich, volatile acidity heavy and sometimes reductive under $25 price point or the bland and overpriced super-premium Cabernet Sauvignon. With all this in mind, my biggest discovery this year was Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.

I have had a number of excellent examples in the past, particularly from Casa Marin in the Leyda Valley, but this year’s festival gave me the chance to taste several dozen Sauv Blancs from Chile’s various valleys side by side. The vast majority of these wines were very good and exhibited unique terroir. And, most importantly, the majority sold for under $25. Here, finally, was Chile’s value and terroir driven wines I’d been hearing so much about.

My picks for Chile included:

Junta Viognier Sauvignon Blanc 2011: It is not common to see Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc blended together. Here, the experiment works. Big bold Viognier aromatics but freshness and zippy acidity on the palate. A surprising 13.5% ABV, this is orchard fruit rich meets mineral lemon cleanliness. A great value wine that will accompany plenty of pacific northwest cuisine very well. $? Very Good.

Undurraga T.H. Sauvignon Blanc Leyda 2010: To me the most exciting Sauvignon Blanc of the tasting was this example from the Leyda Valley’s Udurraga. Grown in unique chalk soils, the minerality in this wine almost dominated over the typical big bold Leyda fruit and jalapeno pepper notes. Because of this the 14% ABV was irrelevant to the wine’s lightness and extreme complexity. A fascinating finish and a superb wine for the price. $24 at BCLDB. Very Good+.

Sena 2008: A classic premium Chilean blend, this was well made, balanced and delicious. I’m not sure about the price point but of all the premium wines I thought this was the best and most interesting. Very Good+. ~$100.

Misiones de Rengo: All of these wines were well made, good value and had balanced acidity. The reds avoided that weird rubbery Chilean funk that seems to dominate so many red wines from this country. They also all had great acidity compared to many others in the tasting. The wines are all $20 or $25. Recommended and generally all Very Good.

Rest of the World

It is generally the case that the theme region offers the greatest wine discoveries in any given year. However, there are always a few gems to be found from the rest of the world. Here are my picks:

Schloss Reinhartshausen Pinot Noir 2007 Dry: A weird name (is there sweet German Pinot Noir?), this German Pinot Noir was actually quite accessible and less green and brambly than most Spatburgunders (german for Pinot Noir). At under $30 I think this is an excellent value play with real terroir but also accessibility and deliciousness. Very Good. ~$24 at BCLDB.

Sacred Hill Riflemans Chardonnay 2010: A standout, just like last year, for its balanced but nuanced take on Chardonnay. You’d be hard pressed to find this level of complexity and length of finish in most places for $40, including Burgundy. A perennial favourite of mine, this year did not disappoint. Excellent. $40 at BCLDB.

Majella Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon 2009: For $32 this is bang on textbook Coonawara cabernet. If you don’t like those eucalyptus and chocolate notes, then don’t go here. If you are sensitive to and appreciative of Coonawara’s fantastic and unique terroir, then Majella is a very good value bet. Very Good+. $32 at BCLDB.

Majella the Malleea 2008: Unfortunately unavailable in B.C. right now, this is one of Australia’s great Bordeaux style blends, though it bears little resemblance to Bordeaux. Think classic Coonawara cab, but greater length, depth and complexity. The strucutre is impeccable and built to age for a decade or two. One of my favourite reds of the festival. ~$100 at BCLDB if it were available. Excellent.

Paul Hobbs Cross Barn Cabernet Sauvignon 2009: This is, no doubt about it, very modern, very ripe and very in your face. Nonetheless, it is balanced and quite delicious. It is also fairly priced for the quality at $40. Paul Hobbs is rarely good value, but this wine is a good introduction to his skills. $40 at BCLDB. Very Good to Very Good+.

Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009: Now we’re into estate fruit and the difference is palpable. An excellent wine with tremendous complexity and good balance and structure. Of course this is very modern wine and I’m not sure I’d pay the $100 they are asking. Nonetheless, it stood out from many other reds at the show. Excellent. ~$100 at BCLDB.

Regusci Cabernet Sauvignon 2008: One of the few family owned wineries left in Napa, and in particular Stag’s Leap. Sandwiched between Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Chimney Rock, this winery, housed in a 100 year old barn house, often goes unnoticed. That’s probably why this high quality Cab from one of Napa’s best AVA’s sells for a mere $50. When you compare to its neighbour’s wines at twice the price, I think this wine comes out standing strong. Very Good+. $50 at BCLDB.

Filed Under: Features, Vancouver International Wine Festival

Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival: Dinner with Damilano at Cru

February 29, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

I was extremely fortunate to receive an invitation to attend a dinner with Piedmont’s Damilano at Cru Restaurant as part of the wine festival. Cru is a great little neighbourhood restaurant in Fairview making ingredient focused pacific-northwest inflected international cuisine. Damilano is the winery that first got me excited about Piedmont many years ago – during a previous iteration of the wine festival.

History and Expansion

Damilano is one of the oldest names in Piedmont and one of the original three wineries in the region. They own vineyards in various regions in Piedmont, but most importantly in La Morra and Barolo where they hold properties that become their single vineyard wines “Cerequio”, “Brunate”, “Liste” and “Cannubi”.

The family has recently expanded by purchasing a long term lease to an additional 8 hectares of Cannubi (a monstrously expensive proposition as land prices sit at around 2 million euros per hectare). Cannubi is one of the reverred vineyards in Barolo and with its recent purchase Damilano now controls 60% of the vineyard’s production. Export manager Giuseppe Cristini noted the challenges that come with increased production, particularly in keeping the quality high and in ensuring sales of the vastly increased quantity of wine.

Tasting Perspectives

Wine writers often draft tasting notes with little thought to their communicability to the reader. Indeed, many writers simply write as if their perspective is immediately understandable. This is, in reality, rarely the case and sometimes it is important to be reminded of this fact.

I was sitting across from Tom Firth of the Wine Advocate. Tom was an extremely interesting fellow with plenty of insight into the wine industry. Tom is a more experienced taster than myself, but as an experiment we ‘live’ compared tasting notes of the Damilano Cannubi with considerably different results. I noted primary fruit, cherry, medium+ acidity, solid structure and balance but a closed quality to the wine and a lack of aromatics for a high-level single vineyard Barolo. Tom noted florality, cinnamon, and bing cherries. He agreed on the structure, but found the finish very nice and believed the wine needed several more years to open up. Certainly there was some consensus on the key points, but the differences were just as interesting. Yet further proof that wine can be difficult to pin down.

The Wines

I am a fan of these wines. They are produced in a modern style, but are sufficiently adept at balancing accessibility with character that I would recommend them to many. We spent most of our time drinking the Nebbiolos, but the initial glass of Langhe Arneis 2010 was pleasant as many Arneis’s are – with orchard fruits, clean zippy acidity and a touch of minerality. It was a solid pairing with the squid based appetizer.

The entry level Nebbiolo d’Alba Marghe 2009 was a well made modern nebbiolo with classic cherry aromas and flavours. This didn’t go into the realm of expressivity and excitement that you find in Barolo, but it is a varietally correct and tasty Nebbiolo for under $30 and so this is a recommended bottle from me. I’d rate it Very Good+.

The most interesting wines were, of course, the Barolos. We started with the Barolo Lecinquevigne 2006, a blend of five vineyards in Barolo, Derduno, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra and Novello. This was denser and more tannic than the basic Nebbiolo d’Alba and had greater aromatics. It was still too young, but I appreciated the traditional styling of this wine and think it represents decent value. Very Good+.

The 2006 Barolo Cannubi, grown in sandy soils, was still quite closed, even though it was smoother, fruitier and more accessible than the Liste. As noted above, I thought this was well structured but still young, with good acid and balance but ultimately drinking now is infanticide. Excellent.

The 2006 Barolo Liste was much more tannic than the Cannubi right now. Of course, it is pretty silly to evaluate Barolo so young. Clearly this will be a very good wine with age. Floral and more feminine than the Cannubi, this is densely packed but still holds an innate deliciousness. The modern use of oak is apparent, as with the Cannubi, but I think it is integrated well and that this will be a very tasty wine in 5 years. Excellent.

In conclusion, this was a very good dinner and start to the Vancouver Playhouse wine festival. I look forward to continuing my coverage of future events and the festival tasting, always looking for great new values, and small passionate producers.

Filed Under: Features, Vancouver International Wine Festival

Springfield Estate Methode Ancienne Chardonnay 2005

February 24, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

I rarely drink South African wine, partially based on availability and partially because while there are some very good wines out there, my preferences tend towards the old world. Springfield Estate, however, is one of the more interesting estates in South Africa.

Seriously Old School

Located in Robertson, SA, Springfield is a family winery owned by the Bruwers, descendants of French Huguenots immigrants to South Africa in the 17th century. Coming from a Loire-based wine making family, the tradition of the vine stems all the way back to that original immigration.

This spirit of adventure and do-what-it-takes is reflected in the Bruwer’s non-comformist approach to wine. A pioneer of using wild yeasts in South Africa, Springfield Estate uses very low intervention to ensure that these yeasts survive through the entire fermentation process. This includes night harvesting (the 15 degree nights are a far more ideal time to harvest than the 30 degree days as the grapes’ metabolisms shut down at night), and all the wines are unfined, unfiltered and unstabilized.

This ‘Method Ancienne’ Chardonnay is made in the Burgundy style and uses new and old Allier barrels along with 12 months on the lees to produce its luxurious texture.

These guys also make a fascinating sounding “Whole Berry” Cabernet Sauvignon that generally sits at about 13.5% abv and is made in an old school style, with whole berry maceration and gravity fed winemaking.

The Wine

The wine pours a very dark golden – so dark I thought there may be premox here, but there wasn’t. Aromas and flavours of butter, honey and lemon that are deep, rich and full-bodied but very balanced. There is a nice honeyed length with some orchard fruit and lemon squeezing out over the finish. The key to this wine’s success is the superb oak treatment – a feat that is not so easy to accomplish.

I wouldn’t call this “Burgundian”, but I would call it extremely well made Chardonnay that is also distinctive, interesting and delicious. For these reasons, it’s definitely worth a try.

Very Good+
$58 at Liberty Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $40-$60, Chardonnay, South African Wine, Very Good

Teutonic Wine Company “Laurel Vineyard” Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir 2010

February 19, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

I’m always on the lookout for wines that challenge preconceptions and the status quo. In fact, this has been a trend with everything in my life, whether it was the years I spent studying how to use art and aesthetics to think about social and political theory, the literature and music I have tended towards over the years or even my current legal career. Something special happens when one is forced to rethink.

Of course, such rethinking is hard work. It often requires us to throw away ideas that we have personally invested in for a very long time. It often means writing off considerable time spent pursuing a mistaken path. This is why ideas (or wines) that challenge will never be the big sellers – it’s just too much work to get to know why they matter. Nonetheless, they remain the critically important catalysts for change.

Teutons in Oregon

Teutonic Wine Company was founded by Barnaby and Olga Tuttle on the principle that cool climate wines have greater nuance and complexity. Inspired by Alsace and Germany (in particular, the wines in the catalogue of US Importer Ewald Moseler), Barnaby and Olga have sought to emulate these regions by choosing to work with similar varieties and seeking fruit from sites that share climactic similarities and allow for longer hang times with lower ultimate brix. Grown in the Chehalem Mountains (their Alsea vineyard is west of the coastal range and only 22 miles from Oregon’s Pacific coast), all of their wines range from 9-12% alcohol and are made in a fresh acid-driven style to pair with food. Teutonic has even spent considerable time working with producers from the Mosel to learn effective techniques for producing wines with similar character and vivacity. If you remain unconvinced, Teutonic even imports a few very small family wineries from Germany and sells them through their website.

These guys are also ‘biodynamic’, use indigenous yeasts, etc. etc. You know, they put a lot of effort into respecting natural ecosystems and treating their vines as part of a greater whole.

An Oregon Pinot with Ideas

There is little point comparing this Pinot Noir on some sort of unified rating scale to other wines being made in the region. It is also not inherently superior to the other style of Pinot Noir being made in Oregon. However, it is fundamentally unlike any other Pinot Noir I’ve tasted from the United States.

Grass, minerals, ripe wild bush berries and a fundamental wireyness characterize the fruit, much like German Spatburgunder. This is not, however, lean wine. Nor is it acidic or washed out. It is easy to drink lip smacking wine that is the antithesis of the confected Pinot Noirs that have dominated consumer buying since Sideways. In fact, the Teutonic is so focused on cool-climate freshness and brightness that it managed to make the other ‘restrained’ Oregon Pinot Noirs (from the likes of Brick House and White Rose) we tasted with it seem overly rich.

There are ideas in this wine. The idea that not all wines need be alike and not all palates seek sledgehammer flavours. The idea that idiosyncratic wines can be made in a sea of mediocrity. The idea that $20 can buy far more profundity and character than $80. These are not new ideas, particularly in Europe. But these are ideas that I very rarely encounter in Oregon or anywhere in the New World. It is also a sign that a few have started to rethink. These are made in very small quantities but are worth seeking out.

Very Good+ to Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$20 at Soul Wine in Seattle

Filed Under: $20 and under, Excellent, Highly Recommended Values, Oregon Wine, Pinot Noir

Pax Cuvee Moriah 2005

February 17, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

Continuing the trend of writing about wines you can’t get, I yet felt compelled to write about this beauty from Pax (back when Pax Mahl was still winemaker). I purchased this when I was living in California 3 years ago. Time served it well.

I didn’t think new world Grenache could taste like this (technically this wine is 75% Grenache, 14% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, and 1% Roussanne). Underbrush, molten licorice, smoke, leather, pepper and crushed rocks – oh and beautiful raspberry and strawberry fruit. Impeccable balance. This is another example of real California wine. And the real reason I wrote this brief note: Pax Mahl really is a genius – follow him now at Wind Gap Wines, which are currently available in B.C. at Kits Wine and perhaps other shops.

Excellent to Excellent+
$45 in California (purchased 3 years ago) (I’ve seen some Pax in the B.C. market from time to time for $180+)

Filed Under: $40-$60, Californian Wine, Excellent, Grenache

Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay 2004

February 14, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

While I like to focus on wines currently available in the market, after drinking an aged bottle of Ridge’s top Chardonnay from my cellar I felt compelled to share my impressions.

California Chardonnay, once all the fashion, is now much maligned. Most of us know the story and now the majority of casual drinkers are ABC and averse to ‘oak’. Of course those old style crowd pleasing chards fundamentally misunderstood the nature of Chardonnay, just as oak-phobes miss out on some of the greatest white wines in the world.

I’m not here to tell you that all California Chardonnay should be reconsidered. But the state does have a few choice sites that produce wines to rival the great whites of Burgundy. Ridge’s Monte Bello Chardonnay is such a wine. This is massal selected old clone material grown at high altitude in one of the greatest vineyards in the United States – a combination you don’t find often in California.

At eight years of age, this wine is now peaking as it pours a golden sunset yellow and offers a nose of such opulent complexity that you would not be wrong to think aged Meursault. Hazlenuts, minerals, white flowers and a textural completeness perfect this wine – which sings with a fully harmonious 14.7% ABV. I have no doubt this is amongst the very best examples in the state, and a subsequent discussion with John Clerides from Marquis confirmed that Monte Bello sits amongst the very best along with Mayacamas, Tor, Kongsgaard, and Montelena.

In conclusion, this wine has convinced me to make a few carefully selected additions of California Chardonnay to my cellar.

Excellent+
$75 at BCLDB (purchased 4 years ago)

Filed Under: $60+, Californian Wine, Chardonnay, Excellent

Champagne Day: Coessens “Largillier” Blanc de Noirs Brut

February 11, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since the last Champagne day. I had this wine for New Year’s, brought back from Lyon, France, where it was recommended to me by the fantastic staff at Georges Five.

The Coessen family owns the entire Largillier vineyard, located in the Cotes des Bar (the largely maligned and forgotten region in south eastern Champagne), and dedicate their production entirely to Pinot Noir. The 35 year old vines are planted in clay-calcerous soils and with southern slope exposure. This wine is whole cluster pressed and fermented in tank. It sees extended lees aging and very low dosage.

This is miniscule grower stuff. It is crazy wine. It has the purity of fruit like Cedric Bouchard and a hell of a lot of extract and weight with no obvious oak influence. It is one of the most delicious Champagnes I tasted last year and proof that we are only drinking the tip of the grower Champagne iceberg here in North America. Find it, buy it, drink it.

Excellent to Excellent+
35 Euro in Lyon

Filed Under: $40-$60, Champagne, Excellent, French Wine

Claus Preisinger Heideboden 2008

February 7, 2012 By Shea 2 Comments

Austria produces some of the greatest white wines in the world and yet they are nearly impossible to find in North America. In British Columbia, I can count the number of worthwhile Austrian wines available on one hand and the bottles are generally relegated to the “other” or “eastern europe” section of the wine store.

The sad reality is that these wines are hard to sell, probably due mostly to lack of knowledge. For those in the know, however, you can get world class wine that pairs very well with B.C.’s pacific northwest cuisine for the price of mediocre wine from California, Australia, and, yes, British Columbia.

Fresh but Serious

Claus Preisinger is a young guy, born only in 1980, and yet he is making some brilliant wines farmed biodynamically. This wine is predominantly Pinot Blanc, harvested from vines planted in 1964 in flint soils and blended with some Chardonnay.

This is a delicious wine and well balanced. The Pinot Blanc characteristics show strongly – pear and pear skins, spice – and the wine also carries a touch of apple and minerality from the Chardonnay. This is fruitier than straight Chardonnay up front, but with considerable minerality on the back end and a touch of savory spice that brings the wine into a more serious territory than a simple sipper. 13% ABV.

Excellent
$33 at Kits Wine Cellar

Filed Under: $30-$40, Austrian Wine, Chardonnay, Excellent, Pinot Blanc

Memaloose Estate Cabernet Franc ‘Idiot’s Grace Vineyard’ Columbia Gorge 2009

February 5, 2012 By Shea 1 Comment

Washington State was once the great promise land of American wine. A beautiful climate that can produce wines with great fruit but also freshness, cheap land and a willingness to innovate all suggested great things. Now, however, most Washington wines are mere copies of the big California blockbusters – overripe, over fruity and over priced. How some wineries can justify $50 USD price tags when some of the great wines of Italy and France sell for the same price shows a sad predilection in the market (though I suspect these wines are having difficulty selling these days).

Doing Washington Right

Enter Memaloose. These guys get Washington right – quirky yet delicious wines that merge new world and warmer climate fruit with freshness and great respect for old world traditions and flavours. Memaloose is not concerned with maximum extraction and extreme fruitiness. At the same time, they clearly do not shy away from the greater ripeness of the grapes in Washington compared to France (their inspiration).

Owner Rob McCormick has a history as an executive and consultant in the food industry. Winemaker Brian McCormick trained in Enology at UC Davis and spent time at Zind Humbrecht and in the Dry Creek Valley. However, this is clearly no stereotypical UC Davis project – rather, these guys are serious about making lighter styled wines that pair very well with food. Their achievement with this wine is all the more impressive considering that they only produced their first vintage in 2006.

Gorge Terroir

Columbia Gorge is situated just on the Washington and Oregon border. Extreme weather variations, including very high winds, make this a challenging but unique place to grow grapes. It is challenging insofar as one has to carefully match the right microclimate to the right grape – but unique insofar as almost anything can find a place in one of the many diverse climatic sub-zones. The Idiot’s Grace vineyard, where the grapes for this wine are grown, is at 300 feet elevation and sits on clay/loam soils.

Loire Meets Washington

Cool climate varietally expressive Cabernet Franc. Like Bernard Baudry meets Washington fruit lushness and all at 13% ABV. The wine is beautifully expressive both aromatically and on the long palate. There is almost nothing like this wine being made anywhere in the New World – in fact, it speaks of varietal and place so well that I think it is a new world benchmark for immediately delicious, perfumed, seductive Cabernet Franc – you know, the kind of Cabernet Franc that great producers in the Loire have been making unnoticed for generations. However, here you have a wine that is even more accessible and even more guzzle-inducing given the sheer lushness of the fruit and textures.

I have to place this as one of the most delicious wines I’ve had in months. It is too bad the production is limited to a mere 165 cases.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$25 at Soul Wine Seattle

Filed Under: $20-$30, Cabernet Franc, Excellent, Highly Recommended Values, Washington Wine

Understanding Liquor Reform: Discretion, Policy and the Law of Liquor in British Columbia

February 2, 2012 By Shea 4 Comments

A wave of discussion about British Columbia’s liquor laws has recently swamped both social media and the traditional media. Much of this discussion has been prompted by a number of high profile issues surrounding the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch’s (the “LCLB”) refusal to grant a special occasion license to a Whistler pride event and a condition the LCLB placed on the Rio Theatre’s license that it cannot show movies at any time while holding the liquor license. Vancouver’s Mayor, Gregor Robertson, has picked up this issue and has signalled that the city supports the Rio and would like the LCLB to reform the rules. Additional pieces by reform stalwarts Mark Hicken (a lawyer in Vancouver) and Kurtis Kolt (a highly respected independent wine consultant) have further catalyzed the debate.

Amongst all the chatter I have noted a continued misstatement or misapprehension of the legal structures that create and give jurisdiction to both the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (the “LDB”) and the LCLB. Calls to reform “liquor laws” are imprecise and regularly inaccurate, which is a problem when asking for change to big powerful bureaucracies. As a lawyer I feel that it is my duty to clarify how the system works so that proponents of change can understand what it is exactly they are asking to be changed. This article is thus meant as a primer for those who are interested in the legal structure of these issues and I hope it will contribute to the dialogue by making discussion more accurate and more precise.

The Legal Structure of the Liquor Bureaucracy in British Columbia

Liquor in British Columbia is governed by two entities, the LDB and the LCLB. Each of these entities was created by an act of the legislature of British Columbia. The LDB was created by the Liquor Distribution Act (the “LDA”) and the LCLB was created by the Liquor Control and Licensing Act (the “LCA”). Both the LDB and LCLB operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

The LDB is responsible for the sale and distribution of alcohol in the Province and the LCLB is responsible for alcohol licensing and enforcement of offences under the LCA along with license conditions.

These acts give the Lieutenant Governor in Council (i.e. the executive branch of government) the authority to pass regulations. The most important regulation is passed pursuant to the LCA and is called the Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation.

And even further down the chain, the LDB and the LCLB have the legal authority to create certain “policies”. Most policies are not publically published, though they must be made publically available on request. However, this is the meat of where most decisions that impact the industry are made.

Policies are subordinate to the regulations and the legislation. This means that LDB and LCLB policies must be consistent with the acts that grant these entities the authority to create such policies. Additionally, there are a number of legal principles that restrict the creation of policies and the manner in which policies are implemented by the LDB and LCLB. This area of law, known as administrative law, is extremely complex but also fundamentally important to understanding what the LDB and LCLB can and cannot do.

The Acts

The Acts are the source of authority for the LDB and the LCLB. These establish the structure of the organizations and grant them the discretion to make decisions with respect to a very wide array of matters pertaining to liquor.

For example, the LCA prohibits any person from selling liquor without a license and requires licensees to purchase all liquor from the Liquor Distribution Branch.

As a further example, the LDA grants government control of all liquor distribution and retailing in the Province. In particular, it requires all liquor sold in the province to go through the LDB, it requires that title to all liquor be surrendered to the government upon entering the Province, and it places all liability for losses, damages or costs upon importers, retailers and other private entities.

The LDA also grants the general manager of the LDB the authority to create specific restrictions on the storage and movement of liquor, including the physical structure, operations and security measures of all facilities storing liquor prior to retailing (i.e. the ability to govern warehousing in the Province).

The Regulations

The most important regulation is the Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation, which was promulgated pursuant to the LCA. It sets out the various restrictions on license types such as liquor primaries, food primaries, agents, retailers and wineries (both commercial and land based).

For example, these restrictions include (at s. 8(2)) barring granting or transfer of a Liquor Primary License to entities that are predominantly by or directed to minors, motion picture theatres, restaurants and video arcades.

The regulations (s. 14(1)) also grant the LCLB the authority to control the sale of food and the consumption of liquor on premises licensed as Liquor Retail Stores.

The Policies

As I mentioned earlier, the policies are the real meat for the majority of issues in the industry. Examples of policies include the restriction on LRS’s not to sell food or coffee, the LDB “mark up” of 123% for wine, use of inefficient forms and methods to sell and order wine, and the ban on corkage.

Policies must be consistent with the legislation that governs the given agency. In other words, there must both be legislative authority to implement a policy and that policy cannot conflict with other parts of the relevant statutes and regulations.

The Legal Basis for Challenge

The various legal bases for challenging decisions of the LDB and LCLB, including challenging policies, are quite vast. I will only outline the basic parameters of the most important administrative law principles and remedies.

The most important concept to understand in the liquor context is “discretion”. The LDA and the LCA grant the LDB and LCLB quite a broad discretion to make decisions. This includes, for example, the LCLB’s discretion to grant licenses and the LDB’s discretion to set prices, grant a direct shipping exemption to B.C. wineries, or appoint agency stores.

However, there are rules that restrict the exercise of this discretion. It is an abuse of discretion, for example, if the LCLB takes into account irrelevant considerations or fails to take into account relevant considerations, if it makes a decision for an ulterior purpose or in bad faith, or if it fetters its discretion.

This idea of “fettering” discretion is especially important with respect to the LDB and LCLB because most of the issues arise from policies that they create. It is a fettering of discretion to rely on an inflexible policy without considering the individual merits of a particular matter. Many of the complaints I have been reading about in the media arise out of these sorts of inflexible policies. If such policies are too inflexible, and decisions are made in reliance on these inflexible policies, then such decisions are susceptible to a “judicial review”, which is a petition to the court to review the decision made by an agency (in this case the LDB and LCLB).

If this petition is successful the court can “quash” the LDB or LCLB decision and return it to the relevant board for reconsideration. Reconsideration must be made in accordance with the reasons provided by the judge. As such, judges can create parameters that restrict the LDB and LCLB decisions in the future. However, judges cannot, in most cases, tell the LDB and LCLB what to decide. Rather, they can only restrict the manner in which the decision must be made. Courts will also sometimes provide comment on what they view to be reasonable. All of this can lead to the LDB or LCLB reversing its decision.

There are other principles such as bias and procedural fairness that restrict the manner in which the LDB and LCLB can make decisions.

The second fundamental way in which to legally challenge an LDB or LCLB decision is by way of a jurisdictional argument. The LDB and LCLB can only make decisions if they are made in accordance with the authority granted to them under the LDA and LCA, respectively.

In the case of the LDB, there is little, if any, direct legislative authority for most of their policies. Rather, the LDB is operating mostly on a discretionary basis. Since policies are essentially the nuts and bolts of how the LDB is run, these nuts and bolts are subject to the general principles discussed above. That is, the discretion to implement these policies must be exercised reasonably. It is unreasonable, for example, to consider something that is entirely irrelevant to the decision being made. Determining whether or not something is relevant can be complex and requires analysis of the wording and the purpose of the legislation, regulations, and policies at issue.

In conclusion, there are quite a few legal avenues by which the actions and decisions of the LDB and LCLB can be challenged. The arguments can be complex and require lawyers, but this is a proven and effective method to challenge certain decisions. However, one cannot change the acts (the LDA or LCA) or the regulations by legal challenge unless they violate the constitution. That said, courts will provide interpretation of statutory provisions that can be beneficial to those who wish to challenge LDB and LCLB decisions.

The Political Basis for Challenge

While all policies must be reasonable and within jurisdiction, any policy that meets the administrative law requirements will be upheld by the court. The only way to challenge these policies is for the LDB or LCLB to change them internally.

Additionally, if change is to be made to the act then these changes must be made by the provincial legislature. Any change to regulations must be made by the executive (i.e. the Ministry).

The incongruity I have been seeing is that many call for the “law” to be reformed without considering whether they are asking the government to change the act, the regulations or LDB and LCLB policies. Each of these requires a completely different mechanism and involves very different stakeholders. It is also important to consider that any changes to the act are likely to still grant the LDB and LCLB considerable discretion. Thus, the question becomes: what changes are most likely to ensure the consistent results I want in the future?

The LDB and LCLB have always slightly modified their policies over time to ensure that no major challenge is made to their overall structure. Those interested in reform must therefore question whether all they want is a change in a policy or whether they want a change to the structure of the organizations. If structural change is desired, then reformers must ask what is the effective mechanism to both achieve this change and to ensure that changes to the governing act and regulations translate into policies that ‘reformers’ want to see and prevent policies that ‘reformers’ want to avoid.

I would also note that most of the complaints about the LCLB pertain to the regulation and policies, while most of the complaints about the LDB pertain both to policies and to the fundamental restrictions on the industry created by the LDA.

I think it is fundamentally important for those discussing reform to aim their hammers at the correct nail and make sure their efforts land squarely on the appropriate entities. Otherwise, such discussions risk diffusion and present opportunities for political misdirection.

*The author practices law in Vancouver. His profile and contact information can be found by clicking here

Filed Under: Building BC's Wine Industry, Features, Wine Law in British Columbia