N.S. wine subsidy plan uncorks dispute between importers and growers in Canada

The provincial government’s plan to increase subsidies for Nova Scotia’s wine industry is on hold due to a dispute over how much cash goes to bottlers importing foreign grape juice. After industry groups Wine Growers Nova Scotia and Grape Growers of Nova Scotia announced their opposition to the province’s plan on Wednesday, the government held a technical briefing Thursday to lay out what it had proposed. Neither Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow nor Premier Tim Houston participated in the briefing, where the plan was pitched as being born from consultations with industry and the analysis of a study of Nova Scotia’s wine industry produced by Acadia University professors Donna Sears and Terrance Weatherbee. The plan that's on hold The new subsidy scheme for wine made from grapes grown in the province or bottled in Nova Scotia would have come into effect Oct. 1. It would have seen the province fund the creation of the Nova Scotia Wine Authority at an anticipated cost of $500,000 ...