The Alberta government introduced its 2026 budget today and indicated that it would remove the percentage based tax on “high value” wine that it implemented last year: see page 61-62 of this budget document which states that the tax will be removed because it created “reduced transparency and business uncertainty”.
The percentage based tax was complicated and received intense criticism from industry (see: Alberta Hikes Wine Markups). It also hindered efforts at resolving direct to consumer shipments of wine between provinces since it was almost impossible to administer for wineries in other provinces.
Instead, the Alberta government has indicated that they will revert to the volume-based liquor markups on wine that they have used for many years. The budget document indicates that this markup will increase by $0.58 per litre. As the previous rate was $4.11 per litre for most wine, the new rate will presumably be $4.69 per litre (which would be $3.52 for a 750 ml bottle).
This change is good news for Alberta food and wine culture … and for wineries in other provinces such as BC.