Wineries may be authorized to operate a wine boutique inside the shopping area of an eligible grocery store if they hold an offsite winery retail store licence and a wine boutique endorsement.
A wine boutique endorsement permits the endorsement holder to sell VQA wine manufactured by another licensee that does not have an offsite winery retail store licence or that has more than two winery retail stores licenses.
The applicant must enter into a wine boutique agreement with the holder of a beer and cider grocery store licence that holds a wine sales agent endorsement, under which:
- the winery agrees to lease or license space in the shopping area of the eligible grocery store in which to sell wine operate its retail store;
- the operator of the eligible grocery store agrees to sell, as agent of the winery, wine that is available for sale to the public in the leased or licensed space; and
- the initial term of the lease or licence is at least three years.
More detailed information and requirements with respect to the application process and how to maintain your endorsement once it has been issued can be found below.
Helpful Resources
Registrar’s Guidelines for Advertising and Promotion
AGCO services for Ontario’s Grocery Store Authorization holders are now available online! For more information, please visit the iAGCO Information page.