We sometimes wonder by what beautiful miracle the wine produced by the winemaker of Veneto ends up on the shelves of the SAQ or the wine merchant – and then on our table! Whether it is sold at the village grocery store, at the SAQ or exclusively in a nice restaurant in Limoilou, it is the state-owned company that takes care of transporting the wine.
99%
The SAQ handles the transportation of imported alcohol from the point of production, wherever it is in the world, for virtually all wines entering the province – 99% of the time.
The remaining 1% represents products from emerging countries. Moldova, for example, where the agency representing the winemaker must find a way to get the wine out of the country. Which is not easy in times of war…
Here we go…
The SAQ works with freight forwarders, essentially a transport agency that ensures that the bottle leaves the vineyard and arrives intact in Quebec.
Take Italian wine, for example. The truck might make just one stop, at the vineyard, if it’s a huge producer and the SAQ buys enough wine to fill a container.
At Liano’s, for example.
This is the most economical option. The truck then goes directly to the port.
14,400 bottles
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A pallet contains about 50 cases. There are about a dozen bottles per case. There are variations in the case of bottles with an atypical format – we salute here the lovers of magnums!
With 1200 cases in a container, that’s over 14,000 bottles.
300,000 liters of red
In 2023, the SAQ purchased 34,720 cases of Liano rouge, its famous blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Do the math…
Yes, yes, it’s over 400,000 bottles. Or over 300,000 liters. Just red.
Welcome little ones!
ILLUSTRATION PASCALINE LEFEBVRE, LA PRESSE
The freight forwarder’s truck can also do the run of milk, making a few stops at smaller producers to fill its container. The SAQ provides the grocery list. The truck then goes to the port once the shopping is done.
For even smaller quantities, a quarter or half a pallet, the freight forwarder will collect the order at the vineyard and put the wine in a warehouse while waiting to have a sufficient quantity. This allows for artisan products to be imported privately, but it imposes delays.
This is what means that a container arriving in Montreal can contain one and the same product – Liano – or 100 different products.
$5
Our case of Italian wine will ultimately cost about $5 in shipping.
Whether it’s a mass-produced wine or a super Tuscan prized by lovers of big tannic reds.
“It’s not the price of the bottle that determines its transportation cost. It’s the complexity of getting it,” explains Martin Lévesque, vice-president of operations at the SAQ, who oversees the supply chain with his small team.
Bulk
Some of the wine arrives in bulk, in large containers, and will be bottled here. This is the case for all imported wines sold in grocery stores, but this method will undoubtedly gain popularity, because it is a less expensive and more sustainable process. Some 46 million litres of wine arriving in large tanks were sold in Quebec last year*.
* For the SAQ’s last financial year, 53 weeks
The vagaries of maritime transport
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The sea route is not always direct: the boat may make stopovers.
If there is an obstacle that complicates trade – such as the closure of the Suez Canal which has disrupted shipping – it requires a bypass route and therefore lengthens transport times.
More expensive, the Kim!
There is still a traffic jam in the Suez Canal at the moment, so shipping wine is more expensive. In concrete terms, this adds $0.25 per bottle for wines from Australia and New Zealand. The famous Kim Crawford is therefore selling for more this fall, a direct consequence of the increase in shipping costs.
Between 0 and 10 days
Between the arrival of the wine at the port of Montreal and its reception at the SAQ warehouse, a maximum of 10 days pass. As long as there is no strike…
What about my check?
The winemaker will be paid by the SAQ 30 days after receipt of the order by the state-owned company.
The temperature
Wine can be affected by heat and cold.
“Starting in January, we follow the weather every day…”, confides Martin Lévesque of the SAQ.
The greatest risk occurs in winter, when the wine is stored for three consecutive days at 14 degrees below zero or less in a static container – that is, not in transit.
Trains, trucks, boats…
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Wines arrive by sea, rail or road, depending on the place of production.