Intrepid Wines, different wines

The LCBO is one of the world's largest wine buyers, and the range of wines it offers Ontario consumers is vast. The same can be said of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), for that matter.

Yet, even combined, the LCBO and the SAQ distribute only a tiny fraction of all the wines produced worldwide. Riesling, for example, is the basis for wines ranging from dry to very sweet, and the aromas of these wines vary enormously from one wine region to another. It's impossible for any distributor, even the largest, to carry every style of Riesling, or even Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. Similarly, Bordeaux has 32 appellations, many of which aren't represented on the shelves of LCBO stores, and not all Burgundy wines are available there either. There are simply too many.

Furthermore, global wine production is now concentrated around a relatively small number of grape varietals (between 30 and 50, depending on the calculation method). Apart from a few exceptions, Italy in particular and, to a lesser extent, Portugal, Austria, and Greece, wine production has been significantly reduced for many varietals, which have consequently fallen into obscurity. These are the grape varieties that interest Intrepid Wines.

Thanks to the collaboration of our French, Italian, and Swiss winemaking partners, our customers will soon have access to wines from nearly 30 grape varieties they've likely never heard of before. And this number will increase in the coming months.

Intrepid Wines has an experimental side, in a way, hence its name. It invites its customers to taste different wines because of the grape varietals from which they were made. It encourages them to broaden their wine selection, while still offering classics—wines they are familiar with. The best of both worlds, in short.

Welcome to Intrepid Wines !