Has anyone sold wine in Canada?

Hello again Berserkers!

I have been away from this excellent forum for a few years. Unfortunately, due to a mixture of medical issues and family priorities, I have sadly begun to explore selling my beloved wine collection. However, I understand that there are not many options for selling wine in Canada. I am hoping that I could lean on the Berserkers here for your experiences and wisdom in this area. Has anyone sold wine in Canada before, and what was your experience?

Here are some options that I was considering for liquidating my collection:

-Canadian auction house. Apparently the only auction option in Canada is Iron Gate Wine Auctions, who I understand just recently in 2021 began holding online auctions for Canada. Has anyone sold through them and did you get a decent price? I’d just be concerned if there was enough volume of buyers, before I shipped my collection to them.

-American retailers or auction houses. I was thinking places such as Winebid, Benchmark, etc. This would require shipping the wine from Canada to the US. However, only quote I received for shipping wine from British Columbia to California was in the range of $3,000-$5,000, which would really cut into profits.

-Selling to Canadians piecemeal online. Either through local Craigslist ads, Wineberserkers, etc. I’m assuming this would take the most effort and time. Has anyone parted out an entire collection this way, bottle by bottle? Would I have the problem of having all of the Chave, Trotanoy, Ducru Beaucaillou, Haut Brion, d’Yquem, etc. cherry-picked first and then have trouble selling the less desirable bottles?

If it matters for answering my question, CellarTracker tells me that I have 422 bottles, made up of 239 from France (148 Bordeaux mostly classified growths, 43 Burgundy, 29 Rhone), 115 USA (100 California, 12 Oregon, 3 Washington), along with a smattering of Canada, Australia, Spain, Italy, and Germany. A lot of bottles fall in the 2000-2012 vintages. I really enjoyed the 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux vintages, for example.

Thank you so much for any advice or tips that you can provide, it is really appreciated.

Bear in mind that IronGate has two outlets for Canadians to sell their wines. They have their auction house and their ‘retail’ store that sells wine from Canadian collations to US buyers. I can’t speak to the process as a seller, but I’ve purchased wine many times from IronGate’s retail store with no issues.

It’s not the only option in Canada. It depends where you are located (QC, ON, etc.). I take it you are in BC so unfortunately I am not aware of the options over there. Also, you might have a hard time selling an entire cellar through auction. They will recommend you break it up in lots and then it will be similar to your third option (see below).

Yes. It’ll get cherry-picked and you’ll be stuck with lesser known bottles.

If you are aware of any local tasting groups, private clubs, etc. you could always inquire if you can advertise (email, etc.) your collection for sale. Someone could be interested for themselves or even for their kids and buy it as a whole.

I am sorry that you have to consider selling as I know how much we get attached to our curated cellars. I wish you good luck and hope that it sells quickly and for what you’re hoping for!

In Ontario the LCBO facilitates private sales through a company called Waddington which runs four auctions a year. You pay a pretty penny to these guys to get your wine in the auction but the lots seems to sell at high prices.

Unlike ON and QC, BC allows private wine stores - would you not be able to sell directly to such BC retailers?

Just to provide an update here, for anyone that this information be helpful to in the future:

-I’ve had very good success selling through Craigslist. Maybe it is just the location, but a lot of responses to the Craigslist ad. In less than a week, I’ve sold about half of my collection, to various individual on Craigslist. All of the buyers were extremely pleasant to transact with and I had some great conversations with these individuals. It makes it easier having to sell my cherished collection, when I know that it’s going to someone who will appreciate the wines as much as I would. Overall a great experience and I would recommend considering Craigslist for anyone that has to sell.
-Despite an initial email that I sent (and then a follow-up when I did not hear anything), I’ve had no response at all from Iron Gate. Odd, as they seemed the most promising when I started exploring selling wines. I had envisaged sending the entire collection off to auction.
-I’ve had some helpful messages from a couple of great 'Berserkers with some tips. Contrary to my previous mistaken belief, you can apparently sell directly to private wine stores in BC. I contacted Liberty Wines in Vancouver, and heard back right away. Once the Craigslist route dies out, I will be in further touch with Liberty and some other retailers to see what they are interested in.
-For bottles that don’t sell, I am going to pop them open for family at Christmas and other events, and will at least have them enjoy some of the wines.

Thank-you to everyone who responded to this thread or sent me messages with your great advice! [cheers.gif]

I’ll take something if you ship to Ontario!