Tom Moher believes it's a matter of time before every province legalizes private-store wine, beer and spirit sales.

The 33rd annual Okanagan Fall Wine Festival begins Thursday in British Columbia, and a recent study indicates wine-related tourism in the Okanagan Valley generates $139 million annually to the region's economy.

Premier Kathleen Wynne may uncork a surprise for fans of Ontario's craft wines. Wynne suggests it is time to loosen Ontario restrictive laws around booze sales in order to boost the province's wine industry.

Plympton-Wyoming council has passed a bylaw for an area wide tourism exemption under the Retail Business Holidays Act. The exemption will allow retail businesses in the Town of Plympton-Wyoming to stay open voluntarily on five of nine statutory holidays (Family Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day).

The so-called Monsanto Protection Act is set to expire, and will not be included in a bill designed to avert a government shutdown, according to a statement Tuesday from the press office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Three enthusiastic supporters of both the trades and Okanagan College have offered to head up the campaign team to raise funds for the new Trades Training Complex at the Kelowna campus.

The improvement in quality of wines from Chile, while maintaining value prices over the last ten years has been truly remarkable. I highlight a few below but read about all 13 on my Top 50 Value Wines list.

The LCBO has launched Windsor's first "Our Wine Country" boutique in the LCBO store at Tecumseh Road East and Lauzon.

Devonian, which owns and operates Jost Vineyards and Gaspereau Vineyards, announced late Friday that the transaction is slated to close on Sept. 30.

Neil McGuigan, Australian Vintage CEO, tells db why he's impressed by the Chardonnays of the Okanagan Valley and inspired by Philip Shaw.

"It was a classic Sparkling harvest," said Lawrence Buhler, Colio's Winemaker. "The initial pressed grapes are exhibiting a nice bright acidity and great flavour." Buhler felt the Pinot Noir definitely hit the mark for an ideal Sparkling Wine.

Grape growers across B.C.'s Okanagan Valley are expecting a sweet and abundant payoff thanks to a long spell of warm, dry weather that has baked the region for months.

Wineries optimistic about 2013 crop

The complete results of the National Wine Awards of Canada are now posted on WineAlign at: http://www.winealign.com/awards.

Sales revenues are up in B.C., but market share and price per bottle dip.

New research from Wolf Blass and Trend Hunter suggests Canadians are becoming "everyday sommeliers" with the help of social media, smartphone apps, and unprecedented access to vintners. The report notes that there were more than 450 wine apps for the iPhone alone in 2011, and nearly two million wine-related blog posts as of 2009.

Canadians love their wine. So much so, we're not only among one of the fastest growing wine consumers globally1, we're fundamentally changing an industry centuries in the making as wine continues to become a key part of our lifestyle.

With this year's conditions cooler and dryer than the banner year of 2012, Niagara's grape crop needs to stay on the vine a bit longer to reach full maturity, say researchers at Brock University's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.

This major shift in agriculture came about after the federal government eliminated the tobacco farmers' quota system as consumer demand waned, a blow that was softened through Tobacco Transition Program grants in 2008, funded by fines paid by tobacco companies for smuggling offences.

Cooler temperatures in Ontario have slowed this season.