Exporting wine to Canada. The buyer is the province.
In Canada wine is not sold to just any importer. It is bought, or received, by the provincial body that sells alcohol.
The buyer is the provincial liquor board. Section 3(1) of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act prohibits importing alcohol into a province unless it has been purchased by or on behalf of the provincial body authorised to sell it, and consigned to it. Each province makes its own rules for submitting a wine.
The bottle must be an allowed size. For imported wine the CFIA allows 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 and 750 millilitres, and 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 litres. A 700 millilitre bottle does not qualify.
The label is bilingual. Product name, alcohol content and country of origin go in English and French. Wine is, on the other hand, exempt from the list of ingredients and the nutrition facts table, unless voluntary nutrition claims are made.
This page is part of exporting wine: the documents, who issues them and when they are needed, and covers the Canadian market. The importer's licence, supplier verification and the CETA origin declaration, which apply to every food, are in exporting food to Canada.
How to export wine to Canada: the three constraints
To export wine to Canada three constraints count that an ordinary food doesn't have. The buyer is the provincial liquor board, under federal law. The bottle must be one of the sizes allowed by the CFIA. And the label carries name, alcohol content and country of origin in English and French.
| Constraint | What it asks | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who buys | The provincial body authorised to sell alcohol, or whoever buys on its behalf. | Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, s. 3(1) |
| Size | 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500, 750 ml; 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4 litres. | SFCR ss. 187-188; CFIA |
| Languages | Name, alcohol content and origin in English and French. | FDR B.01.012(2), B.02.108; SFCR 206(1) |
Who buys wine in Canada: the provincial liquor board
In Canada wine imported into a province must be purchased by or on behalf of the provincial body authorised to sell alcohol, and consigned to it. This is set by section 3(1) of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, the federal law on importing alcohol, which applies notwithstanding any other law.
«a person is not permitted to import, or cause to be imported, into a province from a place outside Canada any intoxicating liquor unless the intoxicating liquor has been purchased by or on behalf of, and is consigned to, Her Majesty or the executive government of a province, or any board, commission, officer or other governmental agency of the province that, by the law of that province, is authorized to sell intoxicating liquor» (Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, s. 3(1))
For an Italian winery the consequence is that the Canadian market is divided by province, and each province has its own board and its own rules for submitting a wine. The first question to ask a Canadian agent or importer is which provincial board they work with, and how that board selects wines.
The bottle sizes allowed for wine in Canada
Wine imported into Canada must come in an allowed size. Sections 187 and 188 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations impose standard sizes on imported foods, and the CFIA lists those for wine: 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 and 750 millilitres, and 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 litres.
The 750 ml Bordeaux bottle, the 375 half bottle and the 1.5 litre magnum qualify. A 700 ml bottle, a 5 litre one or any size off the list do not, and must be changed before shipment. The downloadable sheet checks your size and, for the 750 ml, the minimum height of the net quantity characters.
For a 750 ml bottle up to 360 millimetres tall, section 229(3) of the regulations allows characters 3.3 millimetres high for the net quantity, instead of the 6.4 millimetres that would otherwise apply. It is the exception designed for the most common size, and the CFIA gives it on the same page on alcoholic beverages.
The wine label in Canada: English and French
The wine label in Canada is bilingual. The CFIA, on its page on alcoholic beverage requirements updated 24 March 2026, requires the common name in English and French (Food and Drug Regulations, B.01.012(2), and SFCR, 206(1)), and the country of origin in both languages on the principal display panel (B.02.108).
The alcohol content is written in one of the forms provided by B.02.003, for example «13 % alc./vol.», with its French equivalent, «13 % d’alcool par volume». Wine meeting the standard carries no list of ingredients, and above 0.5% alcohol carries no nutrition facts table, unless voluntary nutrition claims are made.
| Item | What to write | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | In English and French. | FDR B.01.012(2); SFCR 206(1) |
| Alcohol strength | «13 % alc./vol.» and the French form. | FDR B.02.003 |
| Country of origin | In English and French, on the principal display panel. | FDR B.02.108 |
| Net quantity | In metric units; 3.3 mm for the 750 ml up to 360 mm tall. | SFCR 229(3) |
| Ingredients and nutrition facts table | Not required for wine meeting the standard. | FDR B.01.008(2)(f), B.01.401(2)(b)(i) |
The Canadian label is added to the European one: Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 1308/2013 also applies to wine intended for export, as explained on the page about wine documents and its label. The differences between markets are in the export label, market by market.
The template, to download
One file, two sheets. The first is the checklist, with the Canadian law or regulation next to each line and a drop-down status to fill in. The second takes the bottle volume in millilitres and tells you whether the size is allowed, and for the 750 ml the minimum height of the net quantity characters.
| File | What it contains | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Wine in CanadaExcel, two sheets | Twelve checklist lines with the source, and the bottle size check. |
The files are free. There is no form in front of them, we don't ask for an address and we receive no notification when someone downloads them. The provincial board's rules are not in the sheet: they change from province to province and are read on the board's website.
Questions and answers
Who buys imported wine in Canada?
The provincial body authorised to sell alcohol, or whoever buys on its behalf. Section 3(1) of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act prohibits importing alcohol into a province unless it is purchased by or on behalf of the provincial board and consigned to it.
Each province has its own board and its own rules for submitting a wine, which are read on the board's website.
Which bottle sizes are allowed for wine in Canada?
For imported wine the CFIA allows 50, 100, 200, 250, 375, 500 and 750 millilitres, and 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 litres, under sections 187 and 188 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
A 700 millilitre or 5 litre bottle does not qualify, and the size must be changed before shipment.
Does the wine label in Canada have to be in French?
Yes, in English and French. The common name of the product goes in both languages (Food and Drug Regulations B.01.012(2), Safe Food for Canadians Regulations 206(1)), and so does the country of origin, on the principal display panel (B.02.108).
The alcohol content is written in one of the forms in B.02.003, for example 13 % alc./vol., with the French form.
Does wine exported to Canada need a nutrition facts table?
Not as a rule. The CFIA states that beverages with more than 0.5% alcohol are exempt from the nutrition facts table (B.01.401(2)(b)(i)), unless voluntary nutrition claims are made, and that wine meeting the standard is exempt from the list of ingredients (B.01.008(2)(f)).
Name, alcohol content, country of origin and net quantity remain mandatory.
How tall must the net quantity characters be on a 750 ml bottle?
For a 750 ml bottle up to 360 millimetres tall, section 229(3) of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations allows characters 3.3 millimetres high for the net quantity, instead of the 6.4 millimetres that would otherwise apply.
For other sizes the height depends on the label surface, and is read in the same regulations.
Notes on sources
- Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-3), full text on Justice Laws, section 3(1). The quotation marks enclose the text verbatim.
- Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SOR/2018-108), full text on Justice Laws, sections 187 and 188(1): standard sizes for imported foods.
- CFIA, labelling requirements for alcoholic beverages, page modified 24 March 2026: wine sizes, the 3.3 mm exception for the 750 ml, bilingual rules, alcohol content, country of origin and exemptions, with references to the Food and Drug Regulations.
- The sources were read on 25 September 2026. Each provincial board's rules for submitting a wine are not given: they are read on the board's website.
In Canada the first question is which province.
The board, its rules and its calendar all follow from that. The bottle size is decided before everything else. With Itria we start from the outside to build custom digital systems for exporters. For you that translates into more requests, fewer losses and less manual work. Write us a line about what weighs on you. We take the first step: what a buyer sees when they look you up, and what we found there. Even if we don't end up working together.