Grants for local wineries
How wineries that produce VQA table wines can get a grant to grow their business.
How it works
The Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) Wine Support Program encourages wineries to undertake new or expanded activities to grow their VQA business and become more competitive in the wine and grape industry.
Grant amount
Eligible wineries can receive up to a maximum of 30% of the supplier quote of VQA table wine sold through the LCBO during the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2013 - March 31, 2014).
For example:
Bottle of VQA table wine sold at the LCBO = $10.45.
Producer revenue (with program funding) = $5.93 (an additional $1.37).
Producer revenue (without program funding) = $4.56
Who is eligible
To be eligible, you must:
- be an existing legal entity
- be a licensed winery or a corporation with a controlling interest in one or more wineries
- have production and sales of Ontario VQA wines in Ontario
- have certified the accuracy of your LCBO VQA table wine sales data for the previous fiscal year (with the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure)
- have appropriate governance structures, accountability and control processes in place to administer and manage the grant funds and complete the project
- complete the program application form, providing all requested information and data, and submit it before the appropriate application deadline
Please note that a submitted application that is missing any of the requested information or data will be disqualified automatically.
How money can be used
Grant funds can only be used for business development purposes, such as:
- product and sales growth
- capital investment
- marketing
This includes:
- purchase of new production machinery and equipment or a new technology
- purchase of information and communications technology equipment, software or services
- marketing and promotional expenses
- costs associated with developing growth strategies (e.g., export/tourism development, introduction of a new product to the domestic or export market)
How to apply
The Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure oversees the application process.
In 2014, grants will be issued under a new, interim two-payment system.
| Application Periods 2014/15 | Qualifying LCBO Sales Periods | Target Grant Payment Date | Grant Calculations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24 – Mar 21 (Interim payment) | April 1, 2013 – Jan 4, 2014 (Includes first 10 of LCBO’s 13 promotional periods in 2013-14) | May 23, 2014 | At the Ministry’s discretion, eligible applicants may receive a rebate on up to 50,000 litres of eligible VQA wines sold through the LCBO during the first qualifying LCBO period. |
| July 4 - July 25 (Final payment) | Jan 5, 2014 – March 31, 2014 (Includes final 3 of LCBO’s 13 promotional periods in 2013-14) | September, 2014 | The Ministry will consider a winery’s total sales of eligible VQA wines sold through the LCBO in 2013-14 and the program’s $6-million funding cap when calculating final grant payments. |
Eligible wineries will automatically receive the following information from the Ministry by email in February and May 2014:
- an application form
- their individual sales data for VQA table wines sold through the LCBO in 2013-14 that will be used to calculate their grant payment(s) in 2014-15.
You need to:
Step 1: confirm your LCBO sales data. If it is incorrect, please contact the Ministry contact in the email immediately
Step 2: complete and submit the application form by the first and/or second application deadline, 5:00 p.m.
Step 3: report back on how you used the funds the year after you receive the grant