Cider maker 'elated' at province's about-face on orchard sizes

An eastern Ontario cider maker is lauding the province for reversing a rule that kept businesses like his from opening their own retail stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before this week, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) required cideries to grow at least five acres (or just over two hectares) of their own fruit before they could sell directly to customers.

On Tuesday, however, the AGCO announced it was "temporarily" suspending that requirement.

"You could say that I'm elated. It's been a long journey. Been working on this for a few years," said Peter Rainville, the owner of the Flying Canoe cidery in Spencerville, Ont.

Because Rainville uses fruitfrom an orchard in nearby Dundela, Ont., Flying Canoe was in danger of closingafter the pandemic hit and various buyers cut back on their orders.

Rainville told CBC News in April that he'd gone from shipping more than 200 cases a week to less than 20, and that he'd laid off his only other employee.

When he learned the AGCO was lifting the restriction during the pandemic, Rainville said he spent all night getting his application for a retail store ready.

"It's all dependent on when the approvals happen, if they happen. But I would say as soon as those approvals are ratified then we will be able to ship over 100-plus orders that we've been sent unsolicited from all across Ontario," Rainville said Wednesday.

Possibly permanent

In a statement posted to their website, the AGCO said the rule was suspended as part of a "broader package of measures to support Ontarians and businesses that have been significantly impacted by the outbreak ofCOVID-19."

Cideries that get approval for a retail store will also be able to sell to customers online, the AGCO said.

Rainville said he's planning notonly to bringback the employee he laid off, but also hire new salespeople to help with the nascent storefront.

He expectsthe AGCO won'tgo back to the old ways of doing things once the pandemic is over.

"I would hope, and I would predict, that this would be [made] permanent at some point," Rainville said.