All data effective March 9, 2007, unless otherwise stated.

Agency stores: operated by established retailers in communities without the population to support regular LCBO or Beer Stores.

Brewery store (on-site): a retail store operated by a brewer at its manufacturing site.

BYID (Bring Your Identification) card: a tamper-resistant photo ID card issued by the LCBO and accepted as valid proof of age in all LCBO and Beer Stores and in licensed establishments.

Challenge and Refusal: an LCBO social responsibility program in all stores that helps ensure beverage alcohol is not sold to minors, to persons who appear intoxicated, or to anyone making purchases on behalf of these groups.

Check 25: an LCBO social responsibility program in which anyone appearing to be under the age of 25 is routinely asked for identification.

Classics Catalogue: published by VINTAGES, the fine wines and spirits business unit of the LCBO. Each edition offers hundreds of premium-quality spirits, critically acclaimed wines from older vintages and sought-after selections from smaller producers and estates.

Combination or “combo” stores: LCBO stores selling a wide variety of domestic beers in every size as well as regular LCBO products. This format originated as a customer service initiative in smaller, usually rural communities, where there are no Beer Stores. Regular LCBO stores mainly sell six-packs of selected domestic and imported beer.

Consignment Warehouse: a program that allows agents/suppliers to bring products not regularly sold at LCBO retail stores to an LCBO warehouse to be held for sale. Licensed suppliers’ agents are responsible for finding buyers for these products.

CSR: an LCBO Customer Service Representative, trained to offer helpful, knowledgeable and socially responsible service.

Discover the World: the brand vision of the LCBO, designed to take customers on a journey of learning and discovery, demystifying the products we sell so that informed choices can be made more easily.

Distillery store (on-site): a retail store operated by a distiller at its manufacturing site.

Duty-free shop: a retail shop located at an international airport in Ontario, or a bridge, tunnel or land-border exit from Ontario, licensed by the Canada Border Service Agency to sell items free of duties and taxes. Duty-free shops are privately operated and regulated, as regards the sale of beverage alcohol, by the LCBO. There are 11 duty-free stores, at Sarnia, Windsor (two), Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Queenston, Prescott, Thousand Islands, Sault Ste. Marie, Fort Frances and Rainy River, and duty-free stores at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ottawa International Airport and Thunder Bay International Airport.

Essentials program: a core group of 85 world renowned brands continuously available through VINTAGES.

Flavoured wine drinks: Varietal wines mixed with essences of fruit and/or lightly carbonated.

FOOD & DRINK: the LCBO’s free consumer publication, published six times a year to help customers entertain responsibly and with ease.

Fortified wine: wine such as Port, Sherry and Madeira, whose alcohol level has been “fortified” by the addition of spirits.

Icewine: a dessert wine made from grapes – most often Vidal or Riesling – left on the vine until they freeze solid. Once the grapes are picked, ice crystals are removed, leaving behind an intensely sweet, concentrated juice often called “liquid gold.” Ontario Icewines are widely considered the best in the world, winning award after award in open competitions.

LCBO Private Ordering Program: enables LCBO customers to obtain beverage alcohol products that may not be listed for sale in LCBO retail stores. Individuals can order case lots from anywhere in the world as long as the supplier will ship them to the LCBO.

Limited Time Offers (LTOs): month-long price discounts of up to 20 per cent on selected beverage alcohol products.

Liquor Control Act: provincial legislation passed in 1927 that gives the LCBO broad powers to control the transportation, sale and delivery of beverage alcohol in Ontario.

Mocktails: refreshing party drinks that do not contain alcohol.

Microbrewery: a brewery that produces less than 150,000 hectolitres of beer annually.

Product Consultants: LCBO employees whose expert knowledge of wines, spirits and beers helps them inform customers and colleagues about every aspect of beverage alcohol.

Product Knowledge Correspondence Course: a three-level employee training program that is mandatory for all LCBO retail staff. The program is also available to the public on three CDs at a cost of $19.95 per CD.

Quality Assurance: the department of the LCBO responsible for testing products for safety and analytical purposes. It also conducts chemical tests and taste assessments for outside agencies, such as other beverage alcohol regulators or retailers or the Vintners Quality Alliance and assists in confirming whether products seized by enforcement agencies were illegally manufactured or smuggled into Ontario.

Single Malt: a type of Scotch whisky made in a single distillery, in a pot still, with malted barley as the principal ingredient.

SMAART (Strategies for Managing Age & Alcohol-Related Troubles): LCBO’s comprehensive video-based training program designed to educate staff about responsible service and related judgment calls, alcohol issues and how to handle problem customers. All employees who serve the public are required to take SMAART training.

Spirit Cooler: a mixture of spirits and soft drinks or fruit juices. Wine and beer-based coolers are also sold in LCBO stores.

Special Occasion Permit: a one-time permit issued under the Liquor Licence Act by the AGCO and available in selected LCBO stores. It allows holders to serve or sell beverage alcohol at a specific location that is not a licensed establishment or a private place or residence.

Value-adds: bonus items attached by suppliers to a liquor product sold in LCBO stores.

Varietals: wines made from particular grape varieties, as opposed to blends. Well-known red varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot; popular white varietals include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

VINTAGES: the fine wine and spirits business unit of the LCBO. It offers an ever-changing assortment of premium products of unusual nature, limited production and/or niche market interest.

VQA: Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) designation awarded to Ontario and British Columbia wines of superior quality that meet strict wine-making and taste standards, modelled on “Appellation of Origin” systems used in other wine-producing countries.

VQA Ontario: a non-profit corporation designated by the provincial government under VQA legislation to control the use in Ontario of specified terms, descriptions and designations of wine, and to set quality standards for wines to which these terms, descriptions and designations are applied.

Winery retail store: a retail store operated by an Ontario winery. Due to international trade agreements, there are two types of winery retail stores: “on-site” stores at the winery that may sell only wine made by the winery at that location, and “off-site” stores that may sell only wine made by the winery.