DIY wine business takes a hit while trying to survive pandemic

Owners of ado-it-yourself wine businesswith operations in St. John's and Mount Pearl say they havebeen ordered to ceaseoperation by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporationafterrestructuringto survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brewery Lane sells at-home wine kits andoffers on-site winebrewing within itsown facility where customers brew their own wine, store it, and goback after fermentation to bottle it. When the pandemic touched down in Newfoundland and Labrador, Bill and Ken Reddysay, they adapted toit like many other businesses across the province.

"We have been bringing the wine to the curb to allow the customer to sprinkle the yeast without entering the store," Ken Reddy told CBC News.

Brewery Lane is considered a non-essential business under the province's public health orders and hasn't allowed customers inside since being ordered to be shut by the provincial Health Department.

The NLC says recent changes to the Liquor Licensing Regulations were made to allow "ferment on premises" businesses to bottle finished wine or beer that were alreadyin process on behalf of customers,to clear inventory that was in process and reduce the risk of spoilage for customers.

The NLC also saidemployees cannot perform tasks on behalf of customers otherwise a ferment-on-premises business would fall under the brewery designation with a different set of regulations.

"These amendments do notallow FOP operators to start or perform any other tasks on behalf of customers i.e. the normal steps in the you-brew process, including mixing of ingredients, removing labels (if applicable), bottling the product and removing from the premises," reads a statement from the NLC.

Shutdown

Bill Reddy said he has already had to lay off some workers, andnow that his business is losing another piecehe said he'sgoing to have to lay off more.

"As far as we're concerned we maybe operate more safely than a lot of businesses that are permitted to open right now," he said.

"We can pay taxes, we're paying rent, we're a small business and we think that instead of shutting us down maybe the government should be helping us to operate safely."

The NLC said it would not be opposed to allowing customers within the licensed area, with limits, to starta brew process if it were permitted under public health orders. But, for now, it says front-of-premises businesses are not to operate under public health restrictions set by the province's chief medical officer, not the NLC.

"FOP establishments cannot operate in a manner that allows customers to enter the store to undertake the brewing process."

The Reddys hope the NLC will reconsider its decision and allowthem to continue to include customers as outlined under normal circumstances in the brew process, distantly andfrom the curb.

"We were told safety is paramount and that's what we were doing," Bill Reddy said.

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